Homemade Japanese Curry Rice

July 18, 2008 · 159 comments

Japanese Curry Rice
Japanese curry is thicker and sweeter than Indian curry and is always served with a bed of rice.

In a country where you can get everything from hamburgers to underwear out of a vending machine, it’s no surprise that home cooks have many instant options that make “cooking” a meal as simple as slice and bake cookies. For some dishes like カレーライス (karei raisu), it’s become the accepted norm to combine a brick of flavouring with some meat and veggies, and preparing them from scratch is almost unheard of.

Like many foods in Japan (tempura is actually Portuguese), curry is a dish that was imported from another part of the world (presumably India). Typically the mix comes in segmented bars like chocolate that you break off and add to a pot of meat, veggies and water. Japanese curry is sweeter, milder and thicker than Indian curries and used to be one of my favourite dishes growing up.

I haven’t made Japanese curry since I started blogging since using packaged food is against the very ethos of this blog. Last night, I fixed that by figuring out how to make it from scratch. For those that love the packaged curry, the taste and texture are similar, but the flavours are brighter and more intense. It has an almost creamy quality about it that the packaged kind just doesn’t have.

For those that have never had Japanese curry, this dish is chock full of big tender chunks of meat and potatoes, all covered in a slightly sweet sauce that’s redolent of caramelized onions, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and nutmeg.

The best part is that this requires only a little more effort than using the packaged variety and almost no extra time (since you make the roux while the veggies and meat are cooking).

For vegetarians, just double the amount of caramelized onions and replace some of the meat with firm tofu. In my hunger, I totally forgot to add the peas, so you’ll just have to imagine how great this dish looks with little bubbles of green popping out of the dark sauce.

Equipment you'll need:

Japanese Curry Rice

for the roux
3 Tbs butter
1/4 C flour
2 Tbs garam masala (or curry powder)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add less if you want it mild or more if you want it spicy)
fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbs ketchup (or tomato paste)
1 Tbs tonkatsu sauce (or worcestershire sauce)

for the curry
2 tsp oil
2 large onions sliced thin
2 lbs chicken thighs cleaned and cut into chunks (you could also use beef, shrimp, or tofu)
2 carrots cut into chunks
4 C water
2 large yukon gold potatoes cut into large chunks
1 small apple peeled cored and pureed (I use a microplane)
2 tsp kosher salt (use less if you use regular salt)
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 C peas

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat and add the onions. Saute the onions until they are golden brown and caramelized (about 30 minutes). Turn up the heat to high, add the chicken and brown.

Add the carrots, and the water then bring to a boil. Skim off any foam or oil that accumulates at the surface then lower heat to medium and add the potatoes, pureed apple, salt and garam masala. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until you can pass a fork through the carrots and potatoes and the meat is tender.

For the roux, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the flour and garam masala, stirring until you have a thick paste. Add the cayenne pepper and some fresh ground black pepper and incorporate into the roux. Add the ketchup and tonkatsu sauce and combine. Continue to cook until the paste starts crumbling. Remove from heat and set aside until the meat and veggies are ready.

To make the curry, just laddle about 2 cups of liquid into the roux then whisk until it’s smooth. Pour this mixture back into the other pot and gently stir until thickened. Add the peas and heat through.

Serve over rice or noodles.

  • Sodamoeba

    Just wanted to let you know how amazing this turned out. I’m new to cooking; I’m a rising senior at college and got sick of the meal plan stuff they feed us. I’m preparing for living in an apartment with its own kitchen during my senior year. Of the 7 or 8 dishes I’ve prepared so far (mostly big pots of soup), this one is by far the best! And it looks like it will make great leftovers, too! You’ve certainly gained a follower in me.

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      Glad to hear it! Good luck with your final year!

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  • http://www.facebook.com/kathleen.zevallos Kathleen Zevallos

    Will omitting tonkatsu or Worcestershire make a big difference?

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      It will make it less spicy (not chili pepper spicy, but spice spicy) and less sweet. You could substitute extra ketchup in its place.

      • http://www.facebook.com/kathleen.zevallos Kathleen Zevallos

        Thank you so much for the advice. The curry was to die for! I finally made it today and it was a huge hit!

  • http://www.facebook.com/kikielise1710 Elise Moten

    i watch alot of Japanese shows. and they always make curry i wanted to try

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  • JDM

    This recipe is awesome! I Love it. Spent four years in Japan, this reminds me of those days.. ;-)

  • Aloha Mom

    I just made this awesome curry and I can’t get enough of it! I will never buy the instant curry block ever again! LOL- My husband wants to leave work early so he can taste it. I can’t wait to try your other recipes! Mahalo!

  • southeastasia

    I tweaked your recipe a little (read-forgot some stuff and added some others) and I find that daikon (my version) taste a little too sweet and doesn’t blend too well with the curry. Overall, my curry seems ok but I’d prefer to have a slightly thicker sauce. I tried adding a little corn starch solution to it but didn’t help much. Any suggestions?

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      To make the sauce thicker you can either reduce the amount of water you add at the beginning or increase the amount of roux. Just double the amount of roux you make and add about half of it, then add a little at a time until it’s the thickness you want.

  • Frank Badura

    I’m a rather contentious hs junior and i really enjoyed this recipe. I did make a few tweaks however. I substituted shallot for the apple and used a dashi made of smoked trout bones/skin, katsuo, and kombu. I also added kale,moyashi and corn to the curry instead of the carrot. (I’m adverse to carrot.) Finally, i used skate instead of chicken and used rosemary and juniper infused coconut milk mixed with shoyu as a substitute for the ketchup. Overall, it’s a great article and it’s nice that there is room for each person to adjust the recipe to their individual taste.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001585755816 Jason Smith

    Mark I am a big fan of yours and I just wanted to post this for all the readers here. Also to get your imput on this reciepe. There is another way to make curry if you want to make it in the crok pot you just trough it in and 4 hours later its done. Its helpful if you don’t have time after work to cook becase it’s place and go. i put minced garlic in the bottom of the pot then place my chicken about 2 to 3 lbs. then I put a tablespoon of ginger on the chicken. Follow that with 2 tbls. of curry powder, 1 lager white onion, 1 can of coconut milk. 1 bag of frozen red and green peppers or you can go fresh peppers your choice and let it cook while your at work or on the go. After about 4 to 6 hours of cook time stir in 2 tbls. of flour or corn starch again your choice and 1 tbls of ketchup and it’s done. Its just a way to do it if you are too busy to stand in front of the stove.

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  • mikimoto

    Hi Marc! I’m a big fan of curry and i was just wondering how many people does this serve? And is this considered an expensive meal to make? Thanks! I can’t wait to make it!

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      It depends on everyone’s appetite, but this should serve 4-6 people. As for “expensive” that depends on what you consider expensive and the cost of ingredients where you live. In Japan, curry is considered a cheap family meal.

  • Charles

    tonkatsu or Worcestershire…this ingredient is expensive in my country, any substitute for it?
    And..apple puree….what is it for?
    I’m looking for nice japanese curry recipe :) and wish to develop it as bread filler too. Thanks

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      You could make your own tonkatsu sauce, but I don’t have a recipe for it, try searching Google. As for the apple puree it adds sweetness and a fruity flavor to the curry. You could substitute with another fruit if you’d like.
      If you’re making this to fill bread, I would make this with extra roux so the curry is thick enough to be scooped into the dough before shaping your bun. If it’s too loose it will be hard to form the bun and could leak out when you bake it.

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  • Nicole

    Made this last night. It was so delicious, we over ate and went to bed thanksgiving full.

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