A delicious social distancing strategy.

With SoraNews24 headquarters located in Tokyo, the most crowded city in Japan, and specifically near Shinjuku Station, the most crowded train station in the world, we’ve got as much of our staff as possible working from home during the coronavirus outbreak. That includes our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun, but telecommuting is taking a toll on the poor guy.

No, he doesn’t miss riding on packed commuter trains or being pressured by his officemates into blasting his manly parts with cooling spray, and he’ll be OK for a while without the manly camaraderie of impromptu in-office wrestling matches. No, what P.K. really misses these days is the branch of pizza chain Shakey’s that’s just down the street from our regular workplace, where he likes to head to after work for his Mojo Potato fix.

Luckily for P.K., though, Shakey’s Japan has been kind enough to share its recipe through the company’s official Twitter account!

The ingredient list is pretty short. Aside from potatoes (obviously), you’ll need:

● Fried chicken breading mix (100 grams/3.5 ounces)

● Salt (30 grams/1.1 ounce)

● Pepper (10 grams/0.4 ounces)

● Cooking oil

Step 1 is to cut the potatoes (Shakey’s doesn’t specify what quantity to use) into 9-millimeter (0.4-inch) slices.

Next, pop those slice spuds into the microwave for five minutes (Shakey’s recommends a power setting of 700 watts).

Once the time is up, remove the slices (very carefully, because they’ll be super hot). In a bowl, combine the fried chicken breading mix, salt, and pepper, then mix in the potato slices until their surfaces are covered with the seasonings.

Toss the potatoes into a frying pan and fry them to your desired crispness, in the cooking oil (P.K. used canola)…

…and that’s all you have to do to have Shakey’s potatoes at home!

Holding out until the exact moment they became cool enough to eat, P.K. popped one in his mouth, and the texture was exactly like what he’d been missing, with just the right amount of density to the breading and soft fluffiness at the potato’s core.

They tasted great too, but if (OK, let’s be honest, when) P.K. makes another batch, there are a few changes he’d make to bring the flavor even closer to what Shakey’s provides in its restaurants. First, there’s a bit of an herb flavor to the restaurant version that wasn’t present in P.K.’s home-cooked effort, so adding a dash of celery powder, or maybe using a fried chicken breading mix with some herb in it, would do the trick. He’d also cut the amount of salt by about half, since his results were saltier than he’d expected.

Still, we’re happy to have a new addition to our cooking repertoires, and between the generosity of companies like Shakey’s and Kyoto Animation, being stuck at home is getting a little more pleasant.

Photos ©SoraNews24

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[ Read in Japanese ]