Japanese panko: The secret to ultimate crunch in your dishes

Japanese cuisine enjoys constant popularity. Many people decide not only to visit restaurants that specialize in this field of gastronomy regularly but also to try their hand at it at home. For such amateur cooks of the Land of the Rising Sun, we recommend getting acquainted with a product called panko. You definitely won't regret this decision!

When it comes to "crispy elements" in Japanese cuisine, most associate them with tempura, a method of frying food in batter in deep fat. It's worth complementing this knowledge with another concept—panko. What exactly is it? It is a breading similar to well-known bread crumbs. However, there are characteristic differences that, according to many, give the Japanese breading an edge.

What distinguishes panko from bread crumbs is primarily the size of the individual wheat flakes. Bread crumbs are tiny particles, while panko consists of pieces up to about a quarter of an inch long. This method of preparing panko makes dishes extremely crispy after frying. Japanese people use this product to prepare fish, seafood, poultry, vegetables, and tofu, which are then consumed by various sauces.

Who said you have to go to an Asian food store for panko? You can easily prepare this tasty breading yourself. An excellent product for making this Japanese delicacy is... toast bread.

First, use a knife to remove the crusts from the bread. Then, leave the bread unwrapped for about 2 days to let it become stale. You can speed up this process by using an oven set at 300°F. However, you must be vigilant to ensure the bread doesn't burn.

Now grate the stale toast bread using the large holes on a grater. Spread it on a baking sheet and place it in an oven preheated to 160°F. Bake for an hour, then let it cool. Your Japanese breading is now ready to use. Good luck with your further culinary experiments!