Word
panko
/ˈpæŋkoʊ/
Definition
n. a type of breadcrumb used in Japanese cooking that is very light and crunchy. You use it to coat food before frying to give it a crispy texture.
n. a variety of flaky breadcrumb used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy coating for fried foods. Produced from bread baked by electrical current, resulting in a crustless loaf that yields large, airy flakes.
Examples
“I use panko to make the chicken extra crispy.”
“The chef prefers using panko over traditional breadcrumbs because it absorbs less oil during the deep-frying process.”
“While traditional breadcrumbs are often dense and sandy, panko consists of larger, jagged flakes that create a distinctively light and airy texture when applied to seafood or vegetables.”
Examples
simple
“I use panko to make the chicken extra crispy.”
contextual
“The chef prefers using panko over traditional breadcrumbs because it absorbs less oil during the deep-frying process.”
complex
“While traditional breadcrumbs are often dense and sandy, panko consists of larger, jagged flakes that create a distinctively light and airy texture when applied to seafood or vegetables.”
Real-World Examples
“Dredging your protein of choice in flour, then dipping it in beaten egg before a run through a bowl of panko gives you a crust that's light and lacy, never dense or heavy.” “Panko is super airy (while other breadcrumbs are too fine to support air pockets), which delivers an unparalleled crispiness from a short toasting time under high heat.” “Panko is Japanese for bread crumbs, and chefs and home cooks are discovering that this light, airy product makes for a crunchier coating than traditional bread crumbs.” Etymology
From Japanese パン粉 (panko), a compound of Portuguese pão ("bread") and Japanese ko ("powder, crumb"). The Portuguese arrived in Japan in the sixteenth century and, among other exports, left behind their word for bread; the Japanese combined it with a native suffix for flour or fine particles. The resulting term describes a breadcrumb with a characteristically light, flaky texture produced by an electrical current passed through bread dough before baking — a manufacturing refinement that postdates the word's etymology by several centuries.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.