A day for Japanese croquette, "kurokke", in Japan

Today, and May 6th annually, is Croquette Day in Japan. Croquettes arrived in Japan during the wave of Western influence, inspired by the French dish croquette, but they very much adapted for the Japanese market. The croquettes I grew up with in Europe are very different to the croquette in Japan. They are like two entirely different products, but both made from potato.

The croquette potatoes in my home country are mainly potato, but in Japan they include ground beef or pork and onion at the least. The batter is similar though, with breading of flour and beaten egg. They are a very common side dish for dinner in Japan. Sometimes homemade. But the company that created the May 6th "Croquette Day" anniversary make frozen croquette, which are also popular. 

The date of the anniversary comes from a wordplay on 5/6 which can be read as "ko (5) ro (6) kke", the Japanese way to write croquette. Even overseas they are known as "Korokke" rather than "croquette" speaking to how much they have become a Japanese dish independent of the French cuisine that first inspired them.