How to make japanese curry

Have you tried Japanese curry before?

Japanese curry is a quick, easy, fail-safe recipe, making it an excellent choice for busy people to prepare a simply delicious meal.

This recipe offers two methods to prepare the curry. First, use the store-bought Japanese curry cubes for cooking, and secondly making the roux from scratch, but it takes a longer time.

The word curry normally associate with the fiercely hot and spicy However, Japanese curry is an exception. It has a tinge of sweet flavor!

Japanese curry is not an original cuisine from Japan. It was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) by the British. During that era, India was under the British colonial rule, and the Britons had widely accepted curry. Curry had been popularised in Japan through improvisation hence a new flavor utterly different from any curries from the South-Asian countries was developed. Japanese curry has become a staple meal of the Japanese and is enjoyed by people of all ages.

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Here is the step-by-step guide on how to prepare the Japanese curry.

Caramelized the onion

One of the most important aspects of making Japanese curry is to sauté the onions until they are caramelized, which can take up to 20 minutes. Most of the curries from Asian countries are prepared by sautéing the onion until translucent only.

The onions should be cut into thin slices so that they can caramelize quickly. The caramelization will render the unique flavor to the curry that sets it apart from other curries.

Marinate and pan-fried the chicken

Chicken, beef, and pork are all suitable for cooking Japanese curry. I am using chicken in this recipe. You can substitute it with other meat to cook by following the same method in this article.

I prefer to marinate the chicken with some salt, although this method is not typical in preparing the Japanese curry. I find that marinate the meat can enhance the flavor substantially. Since the meat is in bite-size, marinate for half an hour should be enough.

I also like to pan fried the chicken until it turns to light brown before cooking it with water. Pan frying creates another layer of flavor to the curry through Maillard reaction, which will not happen by simmering the chicken.

Cooking the curry

• Place the caramelized onions, the pan-fried chicken, carrots, potatoes and water in a pot.
• Bring it to a boil and then simmer for fifteen minutes.

So far, the process is quite common to other curry dishes. Now we want to add a few items that are unique to the Japanese curry.

• Tonkatsu sauce. It tastes similar to Worcestershire sauce. You can use Worcestershire sauce as the substitute.
• Tomato ketchup. It changes the color of the curry to slightly reddish. You can also use tomato puree or paste as the substitute.
• Fuji apple. Grate half a Fufu apple into the pot. Apples provide a unique sweetness to the curry. Some people like add a small of honey for the same purpose.

Two ways to make the roux

There are two ways to proceed from here.

1. Use the store-bought curry roux mix

The easiest way is to get the store-bought Japanese curry roux cubes. It is widely available is most of the grocery shops in many countries. The mix contains the roux (oil and flour) and the curry spices.

It is easy to use the Japanese curry roux for preparing the curry. This method saves you time, but you have less control over the taste than make from scratch. The curry roux comes with different level of spiciness. I usually use the S&B brand that is moderately spicy.

Add the roux cubes to the pot of curry, keep stirring until the cubes are entirely disintegrated and thicken the liquid. Do a taste test as these roux cubes also contain some salt and sugar. You may want to add some curry powder and salt to adjust the taste.

2. Make Japanese curry from scratch

Alternatively, you can make the roux by following the steps below.

• Heat 60g of butter over low heat in a pan.
• Add the equal amount of wheat flour and stir constantly. Let the butter combine with the flour, and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes until it turns to medium brown, which is the characteristic color of Japanese curry. Keep stirring so that the roux will not stick to the pan. Keep the heat low so that the butter will not turn into smoke and get burn.
• Add some chili powder if you want a spicier curry.
• Add three tablespoons of Japanese curry powder (or more if you want a stronger curry taste) and mix it well until it forms a thick paste.

This roux making process is similar to making to preparing the brown sauce. Making your roux has the advantage of you controlling the level of spiciness and the proportion of various spices used.

Once it is ready, add the roux to the pot and cook until it thickens the curry.

Final tasting

Add some salt to the curry until you get the desired level of saltiness. It is better to adjust the taste now because the saltiness depends on how much the curry had been reduced. Also, store-bought roux cubes contain salt (and coloring and monosodium glutamate), so it is safer not to add too much salt at the earlier stages.

For the same reason, you need to add more salt if you are making your roux. You may also need to add more curry powder, sugar, and chili powder to get the flavor you want.

Once you have adjusted the taste, add some frozen green peas to the curry. Wait until it boils again and is ready to serve.

The Japanese curry is best to serve with steamed rice and is also good to use to prepare Japanese curry ramen.

If you like this Japanese curry recipe, you may also interested to try other related curry recipes. our Malaysian Chicken curry with gravy, Indonesian beef minang which is a dry curry, and Kapitan chicken which is a famous Nyonya cuisine.

Sitting down to write this, I had a realization that throughout my life and my time in Japan, I have eaten a LOT of Japanese curry . I just love it. Perhaps the fact is not that surprising as it’s one of the most popular dishes in the country for its appeal to both adults and kids. I tend to live life by my three favorite foods of “eggs, cheese, and curry” (but not all at the same time), so I genuinely believe that learning how to make Japanese curry is a great skill if you like to dabble in Japanese home cooking. Read on to find out all about its history and ingredients, and how to make Japanese curry for yourself!

What is Japanese Curry?

Other than being the ultimate comfort food in Japan, Japanese curry is classified as yoshoku , or Western-style Japanese food . Derived from the English word “curry,” the katakana loan word of kare in Japanese refers to both Japanese curry and curries from other countries. Kare raisu (meaning “curry rice”) is synonymous with Japanese curry. This dish consists of a rich gravy made from a blend of curry powder (conveniently sold as boxed curry roux), typically mixed with classic ingredients like beef, onion, carrots, and potatoes, best served over warm rice.

Curry powder was introduced to Japan via the British in the late 1800s, but really gained popularity during the 1950s. The sauce was dubbed “roux” after the foreign influence of French cuisine. In comparison to Indian or Thai curries, Japanese curry is much sweeter in flavor and milder in spiciness, more fitting for the Japanese palate. Curry roux can easily be made from scratch or by using instant curry sauce mixes. Invented during the late 1950s, these Japanese curry roux packets have the gravy in blocks, ready to dissolve in water to be easily made at home. Japanese curry is known for being an easy meal that anyone in the family will enjoy.

While kare raisu is the most popular dish, kare udon (curry udon) is also a delicious dish that uses Japanese curry. Another way you can eat Japanese curry is in one of my favorite snacks for when I am on the go: kare pan , meaning “curry bread.” This is a delicious deep-fried bun filled with curry! It is one of the most typical ways you will find Japanese curry, which you can pick up from bakeries and convenience stores easily.

If you’re heading to Japan, why not learn how to make it for yourself during a hands-on cooking class? Book a Japanese curry cooking class in Japan to make Japanese curry with the help of an expert cooking instructor.

Japanese Curry Ingredients

This dish can be very diverse. Additional ingredients like vegetables and meat are up to you, but to create your own home-style Japanese curry rice you will need:

1. Instant curry roux (popular brands include Golden Curry or House Vermont)
2. Oil
3. Onion
4. Carrot
5. Potato
6. Ginger
7. Garlic
8. Water or stock
9. Soy sauce
10. Rice (or udon, if you prefer noodles)
11. Fukujinzuke (Japanese pickles, to serve on the side)

If you want to jazz up your Japanese curry, you can try to add some of these ingredients to adapt that signature flavor into something more unique:

1. Ketchup (we will use it in our recipe)
2. Oyster sauce
3. Red wine or sake
4. Soy sauce
5. Chocolate (to give the curry a sweeter, more intense flavor)
6. Grated apple

If you want to make curry roux from scratch, you will need:

1. Butter
2. Plain flour
3. Curry powder
4. Garam masala
5. Cayenne pepper (if you want it spicy, or some “ichimi togarashi” chili powder)

How to Make Japanese Curry

Let’s get to it! This Japanese curry recipe uses instant curry roux, available from most Asian supermarkets and some basic grocery stores.

1. Prepare your meat and vegetables. Trim the fat off your meat and cut it into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Cut your potatoes and carrots into rough chunks (rotate your carrot a quarter after cutting each piece to make the pieces “rangiri” style). Cut your onions into wedges, grate the fresh ginger, and crush or finely cut the garlic.
2. Sauté the onions in a large pot over medium heat. Once the onions become translucent, add in the garlic and ginger and meat, cooking until the meat changes color. (Particularly if you are using meat like beef, some people like to brown the meat off as the first step, but you don’t have to.)
3. Add in the chopped carrots and water or stock and bring to a boil. At this stage you can remove any excess fat or bubbles that rise to the top. Add in the potatoes and boil gently until soft.
4. Time to add the curry roux. For a big pot, use one or 2 blocks of instant curry roux (or to taste). Refer to the box instructions for exact measurements. Use a ladle to hold some of the soup, and gently dissolve the instant curry in the ladle before mixing it through the curry thoroughly.
5. Add some soy sauce and ketchup (if you are using it) or any other additional flavors. Slowly simmer the curry until the sauce thickens, then the curry is ready!
6. Serve up your curry with steamed rice or udon, plus red pickles on the side. A soft boiled egg is a delicious addition if you can add it. Itadakimasu!

How to Make Homemade Japanese Curry Roux

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan. Add 4 tablespoons of flour and heat it gently in the pan until the roux thickens. Add one tablespoon of curry powder and garam masala each plus chili powder if you are using it.

How to Personalize Your Curry

The beauty of Japanese curry is that it pairs well with so many other toppings of delicious Japanese food. Plenty of fast food curry restaurants offer different topping combinations like karaage (fried chicken), all kinds of local vegetables, and even cheese. My personal favorite is katsu-kare , which is Japanese curry served with delicious tonkatsu , deep-fried pork cutlet! As it’s one of my other favorite foods, I also quite like to have a soft onsen egg on top, as well.

Different areas throughout Japan have their own specialty curry recipes. For example, to really amp it up a notch, Hokkaido is famous for their spicy variation of soup curry. Full of delicious spices, local vegetables, and sometimes tender lamb pieces, it’s a dish you shouldn’t miss if you’re visiting! Black pork curry from Kagoshima or oyster curry from Hiroshima are also some local variations worth trying.

So there you have it! Japanese curry rice: worthy of its own emoji. This delicious Western-style yoshoku dish has wiggled its way into the hearts and tummies of people throughout Japan, thanks to British curry powder. Filling and hearty, everyone should learn how to make Japanese curry because it is so simple, delicious, and comforting.

Learn how to make Japanese Beef Curry from scratch

Making Japanese Beef Curry from scratch is really challenging nowadays because we can use many kinds of instant curry paste in store.

But by making our own spice blend we can get many possibilities and customize the taste if you hate particular spices.

This recipe is so rich because I use the right amount of spices and I will tell you some tips how to make slow cooked foods taste more complex and better.

Slow cooked foods is food that need more than 1 hour in one process for example simmering, smoking or baking. The key is we cook it low and slow.

Tips I use for this Japanese Curry recipe:

• Use salt bit by bit in the process. Don’t use all the salt we need in the beginning or in the end of cooking. By doing this, we layering the saltiness, hence better taste.

• Make your roux until the flour turn golden brown or dark brown if you prefer. Before adding water, toast the spice mix in the roux for 1 minute so the essential oil in the spices will taste and smell stronger.

• For extra umaminess, stir fry the beef until golden brown and toss with tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. The beef will have deeper flavor and tomato paste is caramelized. The sourness in tomato paste will be reduced and the sweetness will come out.

• If all the ingredients is already on the pan, simmer in low heat for 1 hour until the beef, the potato and the carrot are fork tender.

• The ratio between meat and vegetables is 1:1. For example I use 350g beef for the meat, 200g potato and 150g carrot for the vegetables.

You can watch our tutorial video how to make Japanese Beef Curry above.

Try make this recipe and let me know in the comment below or tag our instagram account. Happy cooking!

Japanese curry is one of the best comfort dishes you can possibly imagine. Unfortunately, the powder mix to make it is not always available if you live outside of Japan. So here is a recipe for it that uses spices you are probably familiar with! I’ve also included a basic recipe for you to make the curry. Japanese curry made from scratch with no additives and MSGs.

The Japanese Curry Powder Mix: the Secret Unveiled!

Simply mix the following powders together and you’re done!

-8 tbsp of cumin
-3 tbsp of turmeric
-4 tbsp of coriander
-4 tbsp of cardamon
-2 tsp of fenugreek
-2 tsp of nutmeg
-2 tsp of cinnamon
-2 tsp of allspice
-1 tsp of clove
-1 tsp laurel

This makes a curry powder that is much milder than the Indian or Thai ones since there are no spicy ingredients such as hot pepper powder. Feel free to add some if you like your curry spicy.

For the Japanese Curry

Here is what you’ll need and how to do it!

-400 g. beef or chicken cut into bite-sized cubes
-2 onions, sliced
-3 tbsp of curry powder (the one you made or store bought)
-2 carrots cut into bite-sized pieces
-2 potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces
-3 tbsp of vegetable oil
-3 cups beef stock (can be made from consomme)
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-2 tbsp tomato paste
-3 tbsp of butter
-3 tbsp of flour
-Salt to taste

Step 1: Thinly slice the onions and fry them in 2 tbsp of oil in a pot until translucid.
Step 2: Add the curry powder, 1 tbsp of oil and the meat. Fry a little more.
Step 3: Add the beef broth, soy sauce, tomato paste, potatoes, and carrots. Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4: In a separate sauce-pan, melt the butter then add the flour to it. Mix together until you achieve a thick paste.
Step 5: Take this paste and incorporate it into your curry pot. Mix well until the paste has blended into the curry and the texture has thickened!
Step 6: Add salt to taste. You can also add Japanese dashi powder, if you have some, for an extra taste of umami!

Voila! Japanese curry is often eaten with white rice as an accompaniment.

Alternative Recipes For Japanese Curry

Vegetarian Japanese Curry

Udon Japanese Curry

Make it a Katsu Kare (Japanese Curry with Pork Cutlets)

“Curry rice” is one of the most beloved home-cooked meals in Japanese households. It is consumed so much to the point it should be considered one of the unofficial national foods! And just as Japanese food manufacturers have made it easy to make the beloved ramen at home with instant options, making great-tasting homemade style curry rice is just as easy. Here is your quick guide for all the basics of the Japanese curry so that you can make it exactly the way you want it at home as well!

Japanese curry is thicker and milder compared to other curries, like the Indian or Thai variations. It is typically served over sticky or short-grain rice. But another popular way to serve curry is over udon, which is the thick, wheat flour noodle soup.

Curry Roux

The key ingredient and what makes Japanese curry unique is the roux. I suppose you could make the roux from scratch, but this is where you can cut all the extra time and effort by purchasing the boxed curry roux from the Japanese companies. There are a lot of varieties of curry roux, but the majority of them are manufactured by the Japanese food manufacturers S&B and House. To my unrefined palate, they are all good and there aren’t many noticeable differences in the roux, maybe except for the level of the spiciness.

Mild, Medium or Hot Curry Roux Differences

Store-bought curry roux usually comes in three levels of spiciness; mild, medium or hot. Mild has absolutely no heat at all, almost on the sweet side. But Medium is barely spicy. With the Hot option, you do start to notice some heat. There is now the Extra Hot option available but it’s nowhere near spicy as what you might expect from an Indian curry. So, if you love the most extreme spiciness, you will need to add extra red peppers flakes or chili peppers to the Hot or Extra Hot roux as you cook to achieve the level of heat you want.

Traditional ingredients

The most traditional ingredients to put in the curry are:

• Beef (I use the stew meat)
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Onions

Additional ingredients

You can further customize the curry the way you want by adding some of these other ingredients based on your preference:

• Diced tomatoes
• Mushrooms
• Bell peppers
• Cashews
• Raisins

Meat options

If you are not a beef fan, you can also make the curry using other meats, cut into bite size pieces. Follow my Instant Pot recipe below to get the best result for curry cooked with meat. You can also skip the meat, of course, and the curry tastes just as good!

• Chicken
• Pork
• Seafood – shrimp, squid, mussels, etc. (Note: If you decide to follow my Instant Pot recipe below, I suggest cooking the seafood separately and mixing it to the cooked curry.)

Optional ingredients to enhance the flavor

I have heard that people add some of the following ingredients at the same time as the roux to further enhance the flavor to their liking. I don’t suggest adding ALL of the items below at once, but you can experiment with the following (about 1 tablespoon of each) to see if any of the ingredients below can help achieve the optimum flavor that you and your family might like even more:

• ketchup
• Worcester sauce
• soy sauce
• curry powder
• dark chocolate (approx. 1 inch /1.5 cm square)
• apricot jam
• grape jam
• honey
• apple – grated or sliced
• red pepper flakes or chili powder – to taste
• milk or coconut milk – for creamier texture
• top it with a pat of butter before serving

Pro tip: Make the curry one day in advance and refrigerate. The flavors blend into the meat and vegetables overnight and the curry tastes better on the second or even the third day! If you keep it too much longer though, the curry will start to separate and look kinda gnarly.

Top it with:

If you cooked a lot of things into the curry, you may not want or need to top the curry before serving it over rice or udon. But some of the options I have seen are:

• Fried eggs
• Grated or shredded cheese

What is the red relish served with Japanese curry rice?

If you have ever had the Japanese curry rice at a restaurant or in Japan, the most traditional relish that accompanies the dish is the bright red and crunchy fukujinzuke. Fukujinzuke is pickled, finely chopped vegetables usually consisting of daikon, cucumbers, eggplants and lotus root.

HOW TO MAKE JAPANESE CURRY:

There are two basic ways to make the curry:

1. Traditional way, following the directions on the package
2. Instant Pot method

Since you can just follow the directions on the package to cook it in the traditional way, I’ve provided the recipes below to make the curry using the Instant Pot. Over the years, I’ve made the curry using the traditional method. But Instant Pot has been a game changer! Just as the pot roast comes out so much faster and tender using Instant Pot, the curry can be perfectly cooked with tender meat using Instant Pot!

How to make Japanese curry with Instant Pot

Instructions: To make 1 whole package of curry sauce mix (12 servings)

1. Dice all the ingredients into larger bite-sized pieces.
2. Select Sauté function on the Instant Pot and allow to heat up.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter or heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the meat and stir until browned on all sides.
4. Add the vegetables and any other optional ingredients from above. If you are adding milk or cashews, add them later, at the same time as the roux.
5. Add water but reduce the amount by 1 cup to make the whole package or by ½ cup to make half the package. For example, if the package direction calls for 6 cups of water, add 5 cups instead.
6. Close and lock the lid. Select Manual mode and set the timer for 30 minutes.
7. Release pressure using the natural-release method for 10 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid.
8. Break up roux into cubes and gently mix into the soup. It will thicken into consistency that’s similar to beef stew.
9. Keep it on the Low mode, close the lid and let it sit for another 10 minutes. Adjust the thickness if needed by gradually adding water but remember that it’s suppose to be thicker than the Indian or Thai curry.

How to serve curry:

Once the curry is cooked, you can serve it the following ways:

• Curry rice – serve over rice
• Curry udon – serve over udon noodle soup. Find the curry udon recipe here!
• Katsu curry – serve over chicken or port cutlet and rice

Spice up your life

If you have traveled to Japan or if you are familiar with Japanese food, you will know that there’s Japanese curry. But for some of you perhaps this dish sounds completely new and until now you didn’t even know that there was a Japanese version of curry, but it exists! The Japanese are expert in taking things from other countries and adapting them to their own culture and preferences. So after the British introduced curry to Japan in late 1800, the Japanese soon adapted it. In the mid-1900s, around 1950, some companies started selling curry roux in blocks, making the curry easily prepared at home to everyone.

Nowadays you will find a great variety of different brands that offer Japanese curry roux in any Japanese supermarket. And normally all brands sell three types of spice levels: mild, medium and high. Sometimes you can find a fourth option with a super spicy level. I personally always buy the Golden Curry brand curry roux because it’s the one I like the most, and the mild spice level. Also because it’s usually the easiest to find even when I’m outside Japan. But you can try different brands and spice levels until you find the one that you really love!

Japanese curry rice or just Curry Rice in Japanese (カレーライス) is one of the most typical dishes to make at home in Japan and one of the easiest to prepare. The taste and consistency it’s completely different from Thai or Indian curry, since Japanese curry is much thicker and sweeter and they always serve it with white rice. If you have never eaten it before, I highly recommend trying it, as it’s delicious! And following this recipe, you can prepare it in just 30 minutes.

Also, for me one of the best things about Japanese curry rice is that you can change the ingredients to taste. Here I will show you my personal recipe, where for example I don’t include onion because I don’t like it, but you can add it, as well as mushrooms, asparagus, or any other similar ingredient with which you want to innovate. So let’s do it!

Japanese curry is very different from Indian curries. It’s thicker and has a milder flavor than its Indian counterpart, and the real secret is … using a curry mix from a box and that is the truth. Japanese people like to make a lot of dishes from scratch; however, when it comes to curry, there are not too many people that do.

Because it’s easy to make, but there is still room to change the seasonings to suit your taste, curry is a popular dinner choice in Japan. In the recipe below we used optional seasonings of ketchup, Worcester sauce, apricot jam, and soy sauce to deepen the flavor. However, you can omit if you choose not to use them.

You could use any kind of meat you like, but beef may be the most popular one for Japanese curry. It’s eaten with sticky white rice which goes very well with this curry. Add a simple green salad, and you have a tasty meal for your family.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 servings

• 1/2 lb beef (cut for stew)
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 3 potatoes
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 3 1/2 cups water (840ml) or see the package for the amount of water
• 1 box curry sauce mix (4 oz)
• —Optional Seasonings—
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp Worcester sauce
• 1 Tbsp apricot jam
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Steamed Rice

1. Cut vegetables into bite size pieces.
2. Heat oil and brown meat in a pot, then take meat out.
3. In the same pot, fry onions for 8 minutes. Add carrots and potatoes, then cooked meat.
4. Add water to the pot. After it boils, skim fat, and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 45 minutes until the meat becomes tender.
5. Remove from heat and add curry sauce mix. Stir well so the pieces of the mix dissolve.
6. If you’d like to use the optional seasonings above, now add the ketchup, worcester sauce, apricot jam, and soy sauce. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes (cook longer if you’d like it thicker).
7. If you’d like to add the optional curry powder, stir it in just before serving.
8. Pour the curry over rice.

Japanese Curry (sweet). The consistency of Japanese curry sauce is much thicker and the taste is on the sweeter side. The sweetness comes from caramelized onions, grated apples. This Japanese Curry Recipe is a little spicy & sweet, with a thick gravy-like sauce that’s silky I’ve been in love with Japanese Curry since I was a little girl.

Japanese curry is very forgiving of basically anything you want to put in it, but in my experience, it pairs particularly well with sweeter starches. Japanese Curry is a roux thickened stew that typically includes a protein, onions, carrots, and potatoes. It comes in varying levels of spiciness; still, most Japanese curries have a sauce the. You can cook Japanese Curry (sweet) using 16 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Japanese Curry (sweet)

1. It’s of Curry Paste:.
2. Prepare 3 Tbsp of butter.
3. Prepare 3 Tbsp of all purpose flour.
4. Prepare 1 Tbsp of garam masala.
5. Prepare 1 Tbsp of curry powder.
6. It’s 1 Tbsp of honey.
7. Prepare 3 Tbsp of Apple sauce.
8. You need 1 Tbsp of cayenne pepper.
9. You need 1 Tbsp of soy sauce.
10. You need 1 Tbsp of ketchup.
11. It’s of Stew:.
12. It’s 3 of Medium Carrots.
13. Prepare 2 of Small onions.
14. You need 3 of Small sweet or regular potato.
15. You need 2 of cut up chicken breasts.
16. Prepare 2 Cup of water.

Japanese curry is a quick, easy, fail-safe recipe, making it an excellent choice for busy people to This is fantastic! I’ve made it twice now – sans apple and peas, and using a jumbo sweet onion – and. Japanese curry is much different than curries from other places (like India); it is generally thicker and sweeter, so you must try it to taste the difference! Japanese curry rice is very easy to make and a.

Hi, I’m Chris Kohler, Kotaku’s new Features Editor. I’d like to introduce myself to you by talking about how much I love the Super Nintendo, or Ouendan. And that’s what I’d do if this were a video game website. But since it’s about snacks and anime, I will begin with Japanese curry secrets.

So below (reprinted from my personal blog) is my method for making Japanese curry rice at home and making it taste not-bad, the easy, fast, and lazy way. The answers—to this, and to so many of life’s questions—are salt, fat, and chocolate.

While my preferred method of eating Japanese curry, the world’s most perfect food, is fly to Japan and have an expert make it for me, sometimes I make it at home. In all the times I’ve ever made curry, though, I’ve actually made it from scratch—like, scratch scratch—once. And that was mostly my wife doing that. The secret to making curry at home is to just use the curry bricks they sell in grocery stores, but to do it the right way, and then to jazz it up at the end with ingredients they’d never put on the directions on the box. That’s what I’m gonna show ya.

But brick curry tastes a lot like, well, brick curry—it can have a bitter aftertaste, it’s a little thin in terms of its flavor profile, and it’s just miles away from the best stuff you can have in Japan. I can’t make anything as good as the best Japanese stuff, but I can fake it, and so can you.

The best bricks to start with are Vermont Curry. You may have to go to an Asian specialty store to get these, but you can also find them on Amazon pretty easily. This has a sweeter flavor (although it doesn’t exactly taste like honey-drenched apples as the box implies) than the others. And since I like sweet curry, this is a good place to start. (The procedure below will work with all bricks, but really, try to get Vermont.)

Bad restaurants and many Japanese moms like to put gigantic chunks of barely-cooked vegetables into their curry. No thank you! If you like huge veggies in your curry, go for it, but these would be considered an optional topping at a Japanese curry joint, not an essential ingredient.

That said, we can add some rich flavors to our curry with some finely-diced veggies that we saute well in the pan first. (If you have a Le Creuset or other enameled cast iron Dutch oven, this is the time to let it shine.)

Butter is a delicious condiment or just as a snack by itself. Use a bunch to saute the veggies! It’ll all just go into the sauce later and make it delicious.

Don’t just “sweat” the onions and carrots. Really cook the crap out of ’em. If they start to brown too much on the bottom because your heat is too high, throw in some water to deglaze everything. Or hell, throw in some white wine. Might as well start building the flavors now!

When everything is nice and mushy and brown, throw in some salt! Seasoning at every step is one of the things that home cooks often forget to do. My guests often comment on how good every little piece of onion tastes. It’s because they’re seasoned!

Even if you’re going to have katsu curry or other toppings, you still want a nice fatty cut of meat in there, because the fat’s gonna render out and continue to make the curry delicious. This is a chuck steak that I cut into 1-inch cubes and browned in a frying pan. You can do this in the Dutch oven too, just throwing them in once the carrots and onions are done. I just, uh, forgot.

When the beef is brown on all sides, season it with a pinch of salt!

To your carrots, onions, and meat, add the amount of water that the directions on the brick box say to. Should be 3 cups of water for a half-size, 6-brick box, or 6 cups for a full-size 12-brick box. I always make more curry than I think I need. On the incredibly rare chance that there are leftovers, it reheats beautifully.

Bring the water to a boil. And now…

Brick time! Break ’em up and toss ’em in. Stir until they’re dissolved. Now simmer it for about 10 minutes, and watch as the pot of thin brown water magically thickens up into curry. Curry that looks like this:

Now, the box says to just eat the curry as it is right now. And you could. And it would be… okay. Aftertaste-y. Somewhat satisfying. At this stage, try a spoonful and see what it tastes like, for comparison purposes later. Because we’re not stopping here. Note that there are many, many places you could go, but here’s where I’m gonna take you:

Secret ingredient #1: Milk chocolate! I found out about this from a friend of a friend way back in the day, and I’ve never made curry without it since. In this case, I use one standard-size Hershey bar for a 12-brick package of curry. This doesn’t make it taste like you’re eating hot chocolate. What it does is round out the flavors, take away all that bitter aftertaste left by the bricks, and make it taste a bit more like the curry you’d get at a curry shop in Japan, many of which use chocolate in their recipes.

Melt it all in (it’ll take a bit longer than the bricks). Taste again. You’ll immediately get it.

Secret ingredient #2, which I didn’t take a picture of: Honey! As I said, I love my Japanese curry on the sweeter side, but there’s no sweetness in the bricks. You’ve got to add your own, and honey is a great way to do that. For a pot this size, I threw in 2 tablespoons. But again: taste, and try it, and maybe you’ll want more!

Secret ingredient #3: Shredded cheddar! Now, cheese is a somewhat popular topping on Japanese curry in Japan—like, they’ll plate your curry, then throw some shredded cheese on top. Usually, this cheese wouldn’t be something with such a strong flavor as cheddar. That would overpower the taste of the curry. So they’d use something on the order of Monterey Jack—creamy and melty, but something that blends, not overpowers.

But that’s not what we’re doing. We’re melting this cheese into this curry. Do it a bit at a time, melting a pinch of it (as above) fully into the curry, then another couple of pinches. This will continue to add different flavors to the curry, while softening up the texture of the whole thing. Again, taste it after you add each pinch of cheese, and watch it transform bit by bit.

Are we done now? Yeah, if you want to be. You’ll notice in the pic above that there are still some little flecks of unmelted cheese. This won’t be the case if you now do what I did, which was to transfer the whole pot into a slow cooker and leave it on Low for a couple hours prior to dinnertime. Everything will totally incorporate, the hanger-on bits of cheese will melt, and people will be very surprised when you tell them there’s a fistful of cheddar inside the pot, because this will be the best damn “homemade” Japanese curry they’ve ever had, guaranteed.

This curry is made with beef, a classic curry powder, vegetables, plus other ingredients that make it uniquely Japanese.

This Japanese curry version is unlike any other curry: it’s sweet and savory at the same time but loaded with practically the same ingredients that make curry delicious. What makes it uniquely different from the Indian curries and even our Pinoy version is that it’s sweet. Honey and apples bolstered with a little brown sugar sweeten the curry sauce. It’s a perfect marriage of sweet, salty, savory, and spices.

This version is made from scratch, but if you find yourself in the Asian or international section of your supermarket or grocery, you can also try the ready-made Japanese curry sauce versions which we found to be delicious, too.

However, if your craving is for the homemade version, you’ll want to try this easy Japanese curry version that may be just become your new favorite curry dish.

Japanese Beef Curry

Takes 90 minutes

Makes 6 servings

1 kilogram beef sirloin, cubed

3 cups water, more as needed

2 tablespoons salt, more to taste

2 large white onions, peeled, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons garam masala powder

2 medium potatoes, peeled, large chunks

2 large carrots, peeled, large chunks

1/2 large Fuji apple, peeled, cored, grated

1 teaspoon brown sugar, or to taste

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1 Place beef cubes in a large pot, and cover with enough water to cover. Add salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Cover and cook for at least 1 hour and 30 minutes or until beef is tender.

2 Meanwhile, in a large wok over low heat, heat oil. Add onions and let cook over low heat, stirring, until onions begin to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add flour, and stir to mix. Continue cooking until the flour begins to color and the onions are browned. Add and stir in garam masala. Cook, stirring, until aromatic.

3 Add potatoes, carrots, grated apple, honey, sugar, and water. Season with salt to taste. Bring to a boil then simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Five minutes before vegetables are tender, add peas and beef, and let peas cook until tender and beef are reheated through. Serve with steamed white rice.

When I traveled to Japan last October, I knew I would be eating lots of sushi. I assumed I’d have tons of sake, and I was super excited to eat anything and everything matcha flavored. What I didn’t expect to try was Japanese curry.

Inside Mitsuwa, the Best Grocery Store in America

What’s Japanese curry, you ask? I had the same question, when a chef presented the spicy gravy over udon noodles at a supper club during one of my many epic meals in Tokyo. A few days later, I was chatting with Alisa Sanada, COO of Nagomi Visit, a Tokyo-based program that helps promote cross-cultural exchange by pairing Japanese home cooks with foreign travelers. “The easiest weeknight dinner?” she said. “Japanese-style curry is the number one thing to make.”

Easy and weeknight? My ears perked up. Back in New York, and missing Japan like no other, I was flipping through Masaharu Morimoto’s latest cookbook, Mastering the Art of Japanese Cooking (which is full of amazingly witty Morimoto musings on Japanese cooking, like his headnote for the curry recipe, BTW), when I stumbled on his recipe for Karei Raisu, or Japanese-style curry.

“Everyone grows up eating curry at home,” Morimoto explained to me via e-mail. “It’s a taste of home cooking. It’s a dish that mothers make for their children.”

The ultimate comfort food dish, Japanese-style curry is a warming one-pot meal you can toss any meat or vegetable into. And as Yuki Sugimoto, one of the Nagomi Visit hosts explained to me, it’s the kind of dish Japanese kids learn to make early on. “Since curry and rice is one of the easiest dishes to cook, my mom taught me how to make it when I was a small kid and I’ve cooked it for my family since then,” says Sugimoto. “I was already a ‘good curry chef’ at the age 10 or 11.”

If curry doesn’t sound particularly Japanese, that’s because it’s not. The Indian dish came to Japan at the end of the 19th century by way of Britain, who approximated the traditional flavors with their C&B curry powder—reportedly the world’s first manufactured curry powder. However, according to Tadashi Ono’s Japanese Soul Cooking cookbook—which devotes a whole chapter to Japanese curry—the dish didn’t really become popular in Japan until British seamen introduced it to the Japanese navy. Realizing it was a great dish to serve for a huge crew, the seamen started making giant pots of it to feed their hungry sailors. The sailors then brought their love of the dish home, and it has since become a Japanese staple of cafeterias and weeknight cooking.

Unlike the spicy Thai or Indian curries the word curry might call to mind, Japanese curry is made with a thickened broth that’s more like a gravy. It’s less spicy and more sweet, and it’s served with a variety of familiar Japanese ingredients. Many cities and regions have their own favorite curries; in Hiroshima, you’ll see it made with oysters, in Kumamoto, it’s made with horse meat, and in Hakkaido the specialty is squid ink curry.

Curry has been listed is one of the famous dishes all over the world. So, today, we are going to discover a simple recipe to cook Japanese chicken curry. This kind of curry will be easy and simple to cook for a short amount of time. But we have delicious and mouth-watering food for our families. Now, let’s do it together!

Preparation

1 Yukon gold potato

2/3 cloves garlic

1/3 tsp of ginger

200 g chicken thighs without bones and skin

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 Tbsp of vegetable oil

1 cup of (250 ml) chicken stocks

80g Japanese curry roux

1/3 Tbsp of ketchup

1/3 Tbsp of soy sauce

Furkujinzuke for garnish

How to make Japanese chicken curry

Step 1: Cut 1 big onion into small pieces, and for ½ big carrot, cut it into small cubes, and then cut 1 potato into 6 small cubes

Step 2: Chop 2/3 cloves garlic, put I and 1/3 tsp of the chopped ginger into a bowl, then mix them.

Step 3: For this step, cut 200 g of chicken thighs without bones and skin into small pieces, and put in a bowl. And, put freshly ground black pepper, kosher salt, which depends on your own taste.

Step 4: In this next step, prepare a pressure cooker at high pressure and stew mode in 15 mins.

Step 5: Add 1/3 Tbsp of vegetable oil, small pieces of onions, the mixture of garlic and ginger, chicken thighs, carrot, potato cubes, 1 cup of (250 ml) chicken stocks and 80g Japanese curry roux.

Step 6: Now, it’s time to stew them in 15 mins. After that, add 1/3 Tbsp of soy sauce, and then stir them well. When it is done, you can put in a bowl, and enjoy it with rice.

All in all, that’s all for the Japanese chicken curry today. And, I hope you will be successful, and enjoy it!

Curry has been listed is one of the famous dishes all over the world. So, today, we are going to discover a simple recipe to cook Japanese chicken curry. This kind of curry will be easy and simple to cook for a short amount of time. But we have delicious and mouth-watering food for our families. Now, let’s do it together!

Preparation

1 Yukon gold potato

2/3 cloves garlic

1/3 tsp of ginger

200 g chicken thighs without bones and skin

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 Tbsp of vegetable oil

1 cup of (250 ml) chicken stocks

80g Japanese curry roux

1/3 Tbsp of ketchup

1/3 Tbsp of soy sauce

Furkujinzuke for garnish

How to make Japanese chicken curry

Step 1: Cut 1 big onion into small pieces, and for ½ big carrot, cut it into small cubes, and then cut 1 potato into 6 small cubes

Step 2: Chop 2/3 cloves garlic, put I and 1/3 tsp of the chopped ginger into a bowl, then mix them.

Step 3: For this step, cut 200 g of chicken thighs without bones and skin into small pieces, and put in a bowl. And, put freshly ground black pepper, kosher salt, which depends on your own taste.

Step 4: In this next step, prepare a pressure cooker at high pressure and stew mode in 15 mins.

Step 5: Add 1/3 Tbsp of vegetable oil, small pieces of onions, the mixture of garlic and ginger, chicken thighs, carrot, potato cubes, 1 cup of (250 ml) chicken stocks and 80g Japanese curry roux.

Step 6: Now, it’s time to stew them in 15 mins. After that, add 1/3 Tbsp of soy sauce, and then stir them well. When it is done, you can put in a bowl, and enjoy it with rice.

All in all, that’s all for the Japanese chicken curry today. And, I hope you will be successful, and enjoy it!

Flavorful, filling, and warm, curry is one of the absolute best comfort foods. Unfortunately, the times when we’ve got the strongest cravings for comforting cuisine are usually also the times when we’re feeling lazy, which puts us in a bit of a bind.

Sure, you can buy pouches of instant, microwavable curry, but they don’t taste quite as good as making the dish from a proper block of curry roux. Luckily, though, we’ve now got a way to get legitimate curry without even having to turn on the stove.

The box for Range de Curry (“range” being what Japan calls a microwave) describes it as “a magical container,” though the magic here is of the physics and engineering type, not the arcane. It’s still a unique-looking piece of kitchen equipment, though, looking like the nebulous design intersection of a coffee cup, cooking pot, and gravy boat.

You also get a spoon and recipe book as part of the 1,200-yen (US$11) package, and we immediately flipped to the page with the recipe for beef curry.

● Onions (20 grams)

● Carrots (15 grams)

● Potatoes (20 grams)

● Cherry tomatoes (2)

● Water (120 milliliters)

Chop all of the vegetables thinly and toss them into the Range de Curry bowl, along with the meat. The recipe isn’t too specific on the amount of curry roux to use, so we broke off a roughly half-palm-sized block and added it to the other ingredients.

Then all that’s left to do is pour in the water.

Then pop the container in the microwave.

▼ You don’t even have to put a lid on it.

The directions say to microwave the curry for five minutes if you’re using a 500-watt microwave, but you can cut that down to four minutes and 30 seconds if you’ve got a 600-watt setting.

When the timer went off, we pulled the Range de Curry out of the microwave, and to be honest, initially it was a little underwhelming, visually speaking.

But after a few stirs with the included spoon, our ultra-easy curry transformed into something with restaurant-quality mouthwatering good looks.

Curry is like pudding, though, in that the proof is in the eating. Yep, just as promised, Range de Curry let us make full-fledged, non-instant curry with the minimum amount of effort. Everything was thoroughly cooked, and though the carrots were just a touch on the firm side, that was the only nitpick.

Want a taste of international travel without leaving your kitchen? Try making one of Japan’s most recognisable and perhaps best-loved dishes, katsu curry.

What is it?

Second only to ramen as Japan’s favourite food, katsu curry is a complete meal of pork cutlet doused with curry sauce served with rice and a side of shredded cabbage. This recipe is for katsu curry with pork, but chicken, as well as vegetables (flattened and coated in breadcrumbs), are also popular variants.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the curry sauce:
1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp fennel seeds, ground
1 tsp turmeric, ground
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice flour or plain flour dissolved in 2 tbsp of water

For the pork cutlet:
4 pieces pork loin (approx 500g/1lb)
250g (9oz) Japanese panko or ordinary breadcrumbs
1 large egg, beaten
Plain flour for dusting
Oil for frying

To serve:
Plain boiled rice
Finely shredded cabbage

How to cook

Step 1: Prepare the pork cutlet by flattening each with the back of a knife or a rolling pin to tenderise the meat.
Step 2: Dust each cutlet with flour, dip in the beaten egg then coat with the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for at least half an hour.
Step 3: To make the curry sauce, dry-fry the spices and curry powder in a saucepan for a few minutes to release their aromas, then add the oil, onion, honey and soy sauce and cook for a few minutes until the onions have softened.
Step 4: Add the flour mixture and cook until the sauce has thickened. Set aside.
Step 5: To cook the pork cutlets, fry them in a pan with oil over medium heat, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook both sides of each cutlet until the crumbs are golden. Drain the cooked cutlets on a wire rack or paper towel.
Step 6: Serve the pork cutlets with plain boiled rice, topped with the curry sauce and garnished with the shredded cabbage.

Tasting notes

It might seem like a bit of a production line, buying a meal ticket from a vending machine and queueing up for seats at one of Japan’s curry houses, which are likely to serve only one type of katsu curry and have their own cult following. Crisp and juicy deep-fried pork cutlets served with gooey, mildly sweet but still pungent curry, rice to soak up the sauce and balance the crunch, and raw shredded cabbage to refresh the palate, make for a satisfying meal. Despite its richness, the Japanese enjoy katsu curry just as much in the summer as winter, believing spicy foods to be good for stimulating the appetite, and wash it down with an ice-cold beer or soft drink.

Have you recreated any of the dishes featured in this series so far? Share your pictures with us on Twitter and Instagram by tagging @lonelyplanet. For more great recipes, check out Lonely Planet’s book The World’s Best Spicy Food.

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How to make Japanese Curry

Yes that’s right Japan likes curry, they call it Kare Rice. Their love of curry dates into prehistory when they met the British Navy, at that time the biggest bestest navy in the world. The Japanese looking at this navy decided the best way to get a navy just as good was to copy it down to the tiniest detail, a cunning plan. One of those tiny details was the meals – curry! Or at least that’s one of the stories I’ve been told, and I believe anything.

Japanese curry is much milder than say India or basterized British creations, and sometimes they do crazy things like add apples to make it sweet. But don’t worry, we won’t be adding any apples today. Japanese curry is the favoured meal of the college student and mother as it’s quick, tasty and cheap. The best way to make it is to use Kare Rice Blocks.

Japanses Curry Recipe

• 2-3 good sized potatoes
• 2-3 carrots
• 2 large onions
• Curry blocks
• Thinly sliced beef (a little bit fatty is best)
• Short grain rice
• Pickled Daikon (optional)

First you get a very large pan and heat some oil in it, so it’s very hot. Peel and slice the potatoes into chunks (think half wedges). Peel and chop the carrots, chop the onion into 6 or so big pieces. Throw all the vegetables in the pot. This will create a satisfying hissing sound.

Mix them around and when you see the vegetables starting to go a little brown on the outside throw in the thinly slice beef, which should brown fast. Once it’s browned add enough water so that everything is just about covered and simmer.

This may a good time to start cooking the rice. After a minute or two add a serving of the curry blocks (probably 2-4 depending on the size of the curry blocks). This should slowly dissolve and eventually thicken. You can add salt, pepper and other spices at this point.

Cover and simmer until the potatoes are so soft you can cut them with a fork. Then it’s ready, pour to one side of the white rice and garnish with pickled daikon.

This is a very easy to modify recipe. I like to use chicken and spinach. You can also serve it with udon if you add more water a little dashi so it’s more soup like. Experiment and enjoy!

Today I’ll share Japanese curry recipe! I was so surprised when I found out Japanese curry is pretty famous in other countries. I saw a couple of Japanese curry restaurants in my neighborhood and my American friends love it!

But for Japanese people like me, Japanese curry is normally something we make at home. I was 8 when I first made Japanese curry at home by myself! That’s how easy you can make Japanese curry at home.

Easiest Japanese Curry Recipe

Generally speaking curry needs variety of spice and it takes so much time to make complex deep juicy tastes. I like Indian curry so much!! But when we make Japanese curry, we just use Japanese curry sauce mix! You don’t need any spice. All you need is just vegetable, meat and the curry mix! That’s why this Japanese curry recipe is so easy.

You can find curry sauce mix at Asian or Japanese supermarkets around $3-5. Or you can always find them online. It looks like a small box and you can make lots of curry from just one box. When I used whole box, it took 3 days for my husband and me to finish it! Picture is below!

source :

Normally each brand has 3-4 types depending on the spiciness level. I recommend medium spicy one but even the spiciest one isn’t that spicy compared to Indian curry I think.

(In case you cannot find the Japanese curry mix at Asian supermarket or Amazon, I’ll show you how to make curry without Japanese curry mix next time!)

Today I’ll share Japanese curry recipe! I was so surprised when I found out Japanese curry is pretty famous in other countries. I saw a couple of Japanese curry restaurants in my neighborhood and my American friends love it!

But for Japanese people like me, Japanese curry is normally something we make at home. I was 8 when I first made Japanese curry at home by myself! That’s how easy you can make Japanese curry at home.

Easiest Japanese Curry Recipe

Generally speaking curry needs variety of spice and it takes so much time to make complex deep juicy tastes. I like Indian curry so much!! But when we make Japanese curry, we just use Japanese curry sauce mix! You don’t need any spice. All you need is just vegetable, meat and the curry mix! That’s why this Japanese curry recipe is so easy.

You can find curry sauce mix at Asian or Japanese supermarkets around $3-5. Or you can always find them online. It looks like a small box and you can make lots of curry from just one box. When I used whole box, it took 3 days for my husband and me to finish it! Picture is below!

source :

Normally each brand has 3-4 types depending on the spiciness level. I recommend medium spicy one but even the spiciest one isn’t that spicy compared to Indian curry I think.

(In case you cannot find the Japanese curry mix at Asian supermarket or Amazon, I’ll show you how to make curry without Japanese curry mix next time!)

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Katsu Curry:
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Japanese Chicken Curry

Ingredients

500g (1 lb) chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

steamed rice to serve

pickled ginger to serve (optional)

50g (1.7 oz) unsalted butter

¼ cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)

2 tbsp curry powder (a Japanese brand preferably)

2 tsp garam masala*

Japanese Curry Sauce:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely diced

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

¾ cup apple juice

2 cups chicken stock

2 peeled potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 carrot, cut into bite-sized pieces

chilli powder to taste

sea salt to taste

Instructions

STEP 1

To make the roux, heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter is starting to foam, add the flour. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture has darkened slightly. Stir through the curry powder and garam masala. Cook for a further 2 minutes. Then transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside for later.

STEP 2

To make the curry sauce, heat the oil in a large wok or saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion. Season with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring every so often, for 2-3 minutes. Then stir in the roux. Now add the chicken and mix until well coated. Then add the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, apple juice and chicken stock.

STEP 3
Add the potatoes and carrot. Bring the curry to a simmer. Then turn the heat to low and simmer with the lid off for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the curry sauce has thickened. Taste and season with salt and chilli powder to taste. Remove from heat and serve with steamed rice and pickled ginger if using.

*NOTES:

• Garam masala is an Indian spice blend you can find the in spice section of most supermarkets or order online.

(Technically, I’m in Japan, but this video was shot while I was still in the US)

Today we make カレーライス (Curry and Rice), which is a very popular dish in Japan. You can make it your own with just a few ingredients (the hardest part will probably be the Japanese Roux, which you should be able to find at an Asian mart).

Prep time:

15 minutes
Cook time:

Ingredients – Serves at least 2 2 carrots
2 potatoes
Medium onion
2 cups of rice (with accompanying water)
1 lb of beef (or meat of choice – ground turkey does wonders!)
6 cups of water
Japanese Curry Roux – see note below

Japanese Curry Roux? What’s that?

This is pre-made curry roux that has been made for your convenience. This already has all of the spices and thickening agents you need. Yeah, it’s pre-made, but it will be a whole lot easier than making it from scratch.

Most supermarkets that have an Asian section will carry this, but just in case you can’t find it (or just want to order it from your phone), we’ve found some at Walmart, and Amazon. However, the spice level is up to you – the links we’ve provided are to the medium-hot versions.

Everything ready. Now what?

Before we get started, wash your rice and begin to cook it in a rice cooker. If you don’t have a rice cooker, boil the water and rice (1:1.5 ratio of rice to water) in a big pot and cover. Once it boils, turn off the heat and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, still covered. If your rice isn’t done yet (or water isn’t evaporated), add a bit more water, boil again, and let it sit until it’s ready.

Aside from the whole recipe itself, the rice cooking may take the longest time.

Now let’s get started

Now, dice your veggies, and thaw the meat. Put a bit of oil in your pot, and brown and drain your meat. Set aside.

(Peeling the potatoes is optional – we like the skin for extra flavor.) Using the residual grease from the meat, put the potatoes in on fairly high heat and soften. Next, put in the carrots and onions until the onions are translucent (or the carrots are softer). Re-add the drained meat, and add 6 cups of water.

Also, dice (1 package of, not the whole box) the Roux in small bits, and add to the water.

Boil uncovered for 30-45 minutes.

When it reaches the consistency you like, serve with white rice either side by side, or right on top.

That’s it!

Curry with Rice is fairly simple, and can use a lot of different ingredients, so feel free to make it your own. This is just a version that we like to use often, and can serve 2 people for a few days.

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or the like, please let us know!

It’s the perfect blend of DIY project and instant gratification.

Japanese curry is a wondrous thing: The sauce is silky smooth, slightly sweet, gently spiced, and completely addictive. To make it at home, most people turn to the curry-roux “bricks” you’d find at Japanese groceries, which resemble overgrown bouillon cubes. They are also wondrous things—add one or two bricks to a pan of sautéed meat and vegetables, and, as someone far more resourceful than me once said, you’ve got a stew going.

But while reading Sonoko Sakai’s amazing cookbook, Japanese Home Cooking, one particular recipe intrigued me—how to make DIY curry roux at home. She promises an even more vibrant taste (along with a lack of preservatives and additives found in the store-bought stuff), but the long list of ingredients—over 14 whole and ground spices!—made me hesitate. With a toddler at home, I didn’t feel up for a weekend project.

Everything changed when I discovered through a Diaspora Co. Spices newsletter that Sakai had begun packaging her own DIY Japanese curry kits, including all of the spices, from cardamom and cloves to fenugreek and fennel. Suddenly, an intimidating project became an achievable endeavor. And curry bricks shifted from an occasional store-bought indulgence to a full-on lifestyle. Sakai describes Japanese curry as “nourishing and delicious survival food for all.” Friends, this is the truth.

The process of making curry bricks with this kit is as delightful as a home science experiment: You tear open the beautifully designed packet and toast the whole spices you find inside in a skillet until fragrant, then add the morsels of dried shiitake mushroom and kombu seaweed that come with and blitz them to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Then you pour that fragrant, freshly ground blend into a bowl and stir in the packet of pre-measured ground spices (ones that don’t need to be toasted), including plenty of Diaspora Co. turmeric.

Then it was time to make the bricks. I heated 3 sticks of butter in a skillet until melted. Then I added some flour and stirred the roux until it turned light brown—about 15 minutes of meditative, non-frenetic stirring. Then came the best part: Adding the bowl of fresh curry powder and mixing it in. The heat of the roux instantly bloomed the spices, releasing an aroma that was much, much fresher and more vibrant than anything I had tasted in a Japanese curry before.

Finally, I poured that lovely curry roux into molds and chill them to form “bricks.” Sakai calls for three mini-loaf pans, but since I rarely bake minis of banana bread, I poured the roux into some silicone broth cube molds I had on hand. It worked like a charm—after letting the roux cool and chilling it in the fridge, the bendy silicone sides made it easy to pop out the blocks of roux. Then all I had to do was cut them into my desired portion size (one DIY curry kit makes 36 servings of curry, so if you usually cook four servings for dinner, you’ll end up with about 8 curry bricks). That’s eight dinners I know will require minimal thought from me.

Just like store-bought curry roux, these DIY bricks transform into curry in a flash. Sakai includes a handy recipe card for a simple Japanese chicken curry using her roux. Basically, you just saute chopped onion and minced garlic and ginger with bite-size vegetables (a great way to clear out whatever’s in your fridge) and chicken chunks. When everything is lightly cooked, you add broth, a touch of soy sauce, sake or white wine, and one of your very own curry bricks. Simmer it down until thickened but not too thick, and pair with some rice that you remembered to put into the Instant Pot at the last minute. Then you’ll thank Sakai, just like I did, for bringing something so easy, so special, and so satisfying within reach.

• Total: 50 mins
• Prep: 20 mins
• Cook: 30 mins
• Servings: 4 to 6 servings

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Curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japanese cuisine that is served both at home and neighborhood cafes and family restaurants. It’s often a favorite dish among children and regularly served at home.

There are many variations of Japanese curry available. For example, chicken curry or beef curry is the most common, which is made of protein, potatoes, onions, and carrots.

Other types of curry include seafood curry, vegetable curry, and mincemeat curry (made with ground beef, ground chicken, or ground pork).

Other popular variations of curry include different toppings that are served atop traditional curry roux made with potatoes, carrots, and onions. Some of these toppings include Japanese deep fried chicken or pork, known as tonkatsu (katsu curry), or curry with breaded and fried shrimp (ebi fry).

Find recipes for restaurant-style katsu curry, Japanese vegetable curry, prawn and tomato curry and more! Browse our entire Curry collection for more ideas.

7 recipes

Ingredients

• Beef (2)
• Chicken (2)
• Vegetable (2)
• Herb and spice (1)
• Seafood (1)

Dish type

• Curry (7)
• Main (5)
• Vegetarian (1)

Total time

• Under 30 minutes (1)
• 30 minutes to 1 hour (5)
• 1 to 3 hours (1)

Cuisines

• Asian (7)
• Japanese (7)

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This is my version of the delicious Japanese katsu curry that they serve at Wagamama. So good! Serve with white rice.

Recipe by: Annicakes

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I recreated a Wagamama classic. The full menu for katsu chicken curry with rice and apple and ginger dim sum with vanilla custard dipping sauce can be found on my blog.

Wagamama-style Japanese katsu curry

This is how you can make the Japanese katsu curry served in Wagamama. The MAJOR flavours are contributed by the liquorice root and star anise. My husband could hardly tell the difference between the home-made one and the Wagamama-one. My 22-month-old baby girl absolutely loved it!

Beef meatballs in Japanese curry

A delicious Japanese curry dish, made by simmering beef meatballs with onions, carrots, potatoes in a Japanese curry sauce. Serve with freshly cooked white rice.

Japanese Prawn and Tomato Curry

Japanese curry doesn’t taste like an Indian curry but it is easy and simple to make, and a nice change! You can use chicken instead of prawns, if you like.

Japanese beef and potato curry

The sauce for this Japanese-style curry is made with stock, curry powder, rice vinegar and treacle.

Recipe by: mdcook

Japanese vegetable curry

A delicously quick, yet satisfying vegetable curry. Vegetables are sauteed, then simmered with a Japanese curry sauce. Serve with freshly cooked white rice or whatever you fancy.

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Learn how to make Instant Pot Japanese curry the whole family will love. This simple homemade recipe is made from scratch rather using ready-made boxed curry and is super delicious. We used chicken, carrots and potatoes but you can make a vegetarian/vegan version as well. We’ve provided instructions below.

WHAT IS JAPANESE CURRY?

Japanese curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan and is enjoyed in many countries around the world. It can be made with a variety of meats and vegetable but the key is its thick, gravy-like curry sauce. And, Japanese curry comes with a lot of sauce! The flavour is a crossover of Japanese, Indian and Western cuisines.

Many people resort to store-bought curry sauce out of the box (e.g. Golden Curry) but it’s quite easy to make from scratch at home. It will be much healthier and all of the ingredients are usually easily available at the supermarket. This sauce is sometimes poured over breaded pork or chicken cutlets (katsu).

Our curry recipe is based on a few traditional recipes and the ingredients that often go into the commercial sauce.

VEGETARIAN & VEGAN JAPANESE CURRY

This Japanese curry recipe is made with chicken but you can easily turn it into a vegetarian and vegan version. Use 2 cans of rinsed chickpeas instead of chicken and vegetable stock. The rest of the ingredients are pretty much the same (feel free to add more potatoes or carrots).

You can also add a cup of frozen peas for extra protein and colour. The cooking time will remain the same BUT you don’t need to do 15 minutes of natural release. You can perform a quick release to let off the pressure once the cooking timer stops. Then follow the steps as described.

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT JAPANESE CURRY

For this recipe, we are using free-range, skinless chicken thighs. You will need to cut them into bite-size pieces, somewhere between 6-8 pieces from each thigh. Chicken breast or various diced chicken can be used. Turkey and pork meat would also work well in this curry. Season with a little salt and pepper. If not using chicken, prepare chickpeas, beans, peas or whatever you like.

Cut up the onions, potatoes and carrots. I used baby potatoes in our recipe.

Here is what we used to flavour our curry: fresh ginger and garlic (it does work best with the fresh stuff but you could use powders if needed), mild curry powder, garam masala (Indian spice blend), chili powder or cayenne pepper, ketchup, tomato paste, a little honey, plus soy sauce and chicken stock (swap for vegetable stock).

STEP 1. First, you will need to sauté the onions in some butter (or dairy-free alternative). Then you add the chicken, veggies and our flavourings.

STEP 2. Stir everything through and add the stock. The lid goes on and the curry will have to cook for 10 minutes at HIGH pressure. Once cooked, the meat and potatoes should be nice and soft (see full timings in the instructions below). It might seem like there is a lot of broth liquid. Don’t worry! We’re about to thicken it into the most delicious gravy.

HOW TO THICKEN THE CURRY

Okay, this is the crucial part and this is what gives a Japanese curry its velvety texture and body. Using a ladle, scoop about 1-2 cups of the broth into a bowl or a blender. We’re going to make a cheat’s roux (thick flour mixture) that will thicken our gravy. Add the flour to this bowl and either whisk it vigorously or process in a blender for 5-10 seconds, which is what I did.

The flour is starchy and will thicken the broth. The main thing is to avoid any lumps, that’s why blending might work better than whisking. We’re going to add more soy sauce and tomato paste to this roux and then stir it back into our curry. That’s when the magic happens and the curry suddenly thickens. Have a taste and add a little more salt if you need. It’s now ready to serve!

WHAT TO SERVE WITH JAPANESE CURRY

This curry deserves a simple side dish that will easily absorb all that delicious gravy. Regular rice, brown rice, or quinoa will work well and if you want a lower-carb version, try serving this curry with cauliflower rice instead. It’s delicious and the crunch works well with the soft potatoes and carrots. You can also serve this curry with some crusty bread or naan bread to mop up the sauce.

MORE CURRY RECIPES YOU WILl LOVE

• Indian Chicken Curry & Rice
• Thai Chicken Curry
• Goan Shrimp Curry
• Even more curry recipes here

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Instant Pot Japanese Curry

• Author: Instant Pot Eats
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 4
• Category: Main
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: Japanese

Description

Delicious homemade Instant Pot Japanese curry for the whole family. Made with chicken, potatoes and carrots and can be turned intoa vegetarian version. Serve with rice or cauliflower rice.