japanese curry

Japanese curry, simply known as "curry" in Japan, is nothing like but is still delicious compared to the Indian curry most are familiar with. With the serious one-sentence intro aside, it's like a meat and starch party in your mouth. Yes, for this recipe I'll be basically following the recipe on the back of the box, but if at the end of this post you're thinking, "Okay, that's different, and I need to make that." I've done my work.

Curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan, served in a variety of ways including with udon noodles, rice, slathered on tonkatsu, and even as a bread filling. Sure, you can add almost any vegetable you'd like to it, but the classic version includes meat (beef, chicken or pork), potatoes, onions and carrots. And the best way to do it is buy curry roux in a box which you can find now at most grocery stores. Golden Curry, Vermont Curry and Java Curry are a few of the most popular Japanese curry brands. Personally, I love Vermont brand because it has "a touch of apple and honey" in it. Whether how much or in what form, I don't care, it's delicious.

 

A few key things to note here, I've come to terms that the Japanese don't particularly have as much "spicy food culture" compared to the rest of their neighboring Asian countries. Most of the curries come in Mild, Medium, and HOT. As much as I love spicy food, I enjoy Japanese curry most when it's mild because it's already such a rich food. But Vermont Curry's "Hot" is less spicy than a sprinkle of black pepper. So if you accidentally purchase a hot curry roux, don't fret, at most it may be comparable to a bell pepper.

And also not to mention, it's perfect comfort food now that Hell has frozen over and it's seeping into the States. Itadakimasu!

Japanese Curry
(Serves 12, but you can half/quarter etc. the roux blocks)

• 1 box Japanese brand curry roux (8.8oz)
• 2 lbs of beef, chicken or pork cubed into bite size pieces (I like using stew-cut meat for beef)
• 4 medium potatoes, cubed
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 2-3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 c. Japanese or Korean short grain rice (you can use regular rice too, but short grain sticky is preferred)
• 1 tbsp oil
• water

 Add rice into a large pot and wash the rice in cold water and drain 2-3 times. Add 3 cups water to rice to let soak. The usual rice-water ratio is 1:2, so add the same amount of water that you did for the rice, plus half that amount. I actually use the "first knuckle" measurement which works splendidly (shown above) where I fill the water until it reaches the first knuckles on my hand when I place it flat into the pot. Let soak for about one hour (if it is Asian short-grain rice).

While it's soaking, cut up your vegetables and trim the chunks of meat. Start cooking your rice whether it be in a rice cooker or on the stove. Heat a separate large pot on the stove over medium high and add the 1 tbsp of oil. Add vegetables and meat and saute until lightly browned.
**Tip: When cooking with meat, I lightly brown the beef instead of full-cooking it so it remains tender and not overcooked when everything is boiled later.

Add 5 and 3/4 cups of water to the pot of meat and vegetables, cover and boil until the potatoes are tender. When cooked, reduce to medium heat and add the broken up blocks of curry roux. Stir until curry roux has completely melted. Reduce heat to a low simmer and occasionally stir until curry has thickened for about 10-15 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked, serve side to side with the curry. Mix it up, and dig in! Oh and don't forget, to get all the curry-sauce goodness, use a spoon!