Japanese Curry Rice

Homemade Japanese curry and rice is definitely one of our families most favorite meals.  It is a great pot of meat, veggies, sauce and spices.  Japanese curry is sweeter, milder and thicker than Indian curries but sometimes I like to make it a bit more soupy. You can buy the curry bricks at the grocery but I haven't for years because of the MSG and other additives, so I found this homemade curry recipe that uses a roux instead.

Japanese Curry Rice

for the roux
3 Tbs butter
1/4 C flour
2 or 3 Tbs Curry Powder*

for the curry
2 tsp oil
2 large onions sliced thin

2 cloves garlic
2 lbs meat beef or chicken cut into chunks

1/2 of bag of mini peeled carrots
6-8 C water depending how thick you want it

2 Tbs beef or chicken bouillon depending on the meat you use
4 or 5 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
Salt and black pepper to taste

Rice (I mix half brown and half Japanese sticky rice)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat and add the meat, garlic and onions. Sprinkle with black pepper. Cook meat and onions until meat is brown.

 

 Add the carrots, bouillon and the water then bring to a boil.  I love this bouillon paste from Costco, but bouillon cubes work too, but again the MSG. 

Simmer for about 30 minutes or until you can pass a fork through the carrots and potatoes and the meat is tender.

I love any recipe with sauces and gravies and once you learn how to make a good roux, you can make any sauce or gravy.  For the roux, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour and curry powder, stirring until you have a thick paste. Add some fresh ground black pepper and incorporate into the roux. I usually add a few Tbsp of water at this point to make a gooey paste. Remove from heat and set aside until the meat and veggies are ready.
To make the curry, just laddle about 2 cups of liquid from meat and veggie pot into the roux then whisk until it’s smooth. Pour this mixture back into the other pot and gently stir until thickened.
Serve over rice or noodles.






* There are many curry powders that you can purchase.  There are a few consistent spices, but some varying spices.  I usually prefer the more orange or red to the yellow or green curry powders.  I love the one made by Simply Organic.  It has a great mixture of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and nutmeg that produce a more intense flavor.