Okazuya Sweet Potato & Corned Beef Hash Patties
紅芋コンビーフハッシュパティ·(beni-imo konbīfu hasshu pati)
Base Food & The Diaspora Plate
Crank the metal key on a square tin of corned beef. Authenticity isn't about rigid adherence to ancient geography; it’s honoring the ingenuity of the cooks who survived and adapted. Post-war military rations destined for the glass steam-cases of Hawaiian-Japanese okazuya are scraped into mashed sweet potato, bound with the chest-nutty sweetness of native Okinawan purple sweet potatoes, and fried to a shatteringly crisp perfection. It smells exactly like a humid morning outside a neighborhood deli—sputtering oil, frying pork fat, and sweet potato steam. Drop them in the pan, listen to the skillet oil hiss, and do not flip until the crust shatters.
Before you start
Make the mixture ahead of time.
The raw hash mix can be prepared and refrigerated for up to two days before frying, or fully cooked patties can be frozen and reheated directly in a toaster oven.
Ingredients
- Okinawan sweet potatoes1 lb
- canned corned beef12 oz
- green onions1/2 cup
- yellow onion1/4 cup
- egg1 large
- all-purpose flour1 tbsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- garlic powder1/2 tsp
- panko breadcrumbs1/2 cup
- neutral frying oil1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Boil the sweet potatoes until just fork-tender.
Submerge the unpeeled potatoes in cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not over-boil them into mush; structural integrity is key. Drain, let cool, then slip off the skins.
- 02
Dice and partially mash the potatoes.
Cut the vibrant purple flesh into 1/4-inch cubes. Lightly mash about half of them with a fork, leaving the rest intact to create a jeweled texture in the final patty.
- 03
Gently fold the hash mixture together.
In a large bowl, combine the corned beef, sweet potatoes, green onions, minced yellow onion, egg, flour, black pepper, and garlic powder. Mix with your hands until evenly distributed, adding a pinch more flour if the mixture feels excessively wet.
- 04
Form and dredge the patties.
Roll 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture into golf-ball sizes, pressing them flat into 1/2-inch thick discs. Lightly press both sides of each patty into a shallow plate of panko breadcrumbs to create the crust.
- 05
Shallow fry until deeply crusted and golden brown.
Heat 1/8-inch of neutral oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Fry the patties undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Drain on a wire rack or paper towels and serve hot.
Notes
Hold the salt.
Canned corned beef is aggressively salted right out of the tin. Rely entirely on the black pepper and aromatics to cut the fat and season the dish.
Potato substitutions.
If you cannot find Okinawan sweet potatoes (Beni-imo), Stokes Purple or Japanese Satsuma-imo are excellent alternatives. Avoid American orange yams; their high moisture content will turn the patties into paste.
From Cook Okinawan in America.