What can I make with panko?
Panko is the most-wasted item in most kitchens and one of the most useful. Recipes using panko are below, organised from fresh to properly stale.
11 recipes with panko
Korean Fried Chicken
Crispy fried chicken in a sweet and spicy Korean-inspired sauce
Korean55m4
Tonkatsu
Crisp panko-crusted pork cutlets with tangy tonkatsu sauce.
Japanese22m4Swedish Meatballs
Tender meatballs in a rich creamy sauce, served with lingonberry jam and pickled cucumbers.
Scandinavian60m4
Treacle Tart
First make the short crust pastry: measure the flour into a large bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (alternatively, this can be done in a food processor).
British4
Mushroom & Chestnut Rotolo
Soak the dried mushrooms in 350ml boiling water and set aside until needed.
British4
Belgian Meatballs in Liège Syrup Sauce
Make the meatballs 1) Mix the minced meat with the onion, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, mustard, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4
Polish patties (kotlety)
step 1 Soak the bread roll in the milk so it softens completely.
Polish4
Macaroni Pie
Bring water to a boil and add the broken-up macaroni, elbows, and salt.
4Tonkatsu pork
STEP 1 Remove the large piece of fat on the edge of each pork loin, then bash each of the loins between two pieces of baking parchment until around 1cm in thickness – you can do this using a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin.
Japanese4
Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs)
Melt the butter in a skillet or pan.
Netherlands4
Breaded Steak Recipe (Lomo de Res Apanado)
Place each piece of steak in between two large pieces of plastic and using a mallet, pound it until it is about ¼″ to ½″ thick.
4
Best uses for panko, fresh or stale
- 1Fresh: toast hard, rub with a raw garlic clove, and finish with good oil and salt.
- 2A day old: cube, toss with oil and season, and bake at 400F for croutons or a panzanella base.
- 3Properly stale: blitz into breadcrumbs and freeze them - they last months and rescue any weeknight dinner.
- 4Soaked in an egg-and-milk custard it becomes French toast or a savoury bake with almost nothing else.
What goes well with panko
Panko is at its best with butter, garlic, olive oil, cheese, eggs and herbs. Any two or three of those, plus panko, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing panko
Keep panko at room temperature in paper or a bread box for 2-3 days - the fridge makes it stale faster. For anything longer, slice and freeze it, then toast straight from frozen.
Substituting panko
If you are out of panko, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Panko recipes: common questions
- What can I make with panko and not much else?
- Plenty. With panko plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest panko recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute panko?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover panko?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover panko without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.