In a country where you can get everything from hamburgers to lady’s undergarments out of a vending machine, it’s no surprise that home cooks have many convenient options when “cooking” a meal. For some dishes like Japanese curry (カレーライス – karei raisu), pre-made mixes have become the norm rather than the exception and a trip to the supermarket will reveal an entire section of boxed curry mixes.
These instant curry mixes usually take the form of bricks that look a bit like bulbous chocolate bars and are loaded with saturated fat, MSG and preservatives. But as much as I want to hate this junk food, it’s a comfort food I grew up on and could easily be called the national dish of Japanese home cooking. That’s why I’ve been working on my recipe for Japanese curry from scratch for the past 7 years. It may take a little more effort than using the packaged variety, but it doesn’t require any extra time, and involves only a handful of additional ingredients.
So what exactly is Japanese curry?
Like many foods in Japan, curry worked its way into the Japanese culinary repertoire from abroad. The prevailing theory is that the British introduced it as a cheap way of feeding troops en masse and that these soldiers brought their newly acquired taste for this un-Japanese blend of pungent spices home with them.
Today, curry has become a staple of the Japanese home, that’s enjoyed by people of all ages. It’s thicker and sweeter than most other curries of the world and has a depth of flavor that’s unique, thanks to an ample dose of caramelized onions. With big hunks of tender meat, carrots, and potatoes, it’s more like a hearty stew than a typical curry.
Ask any chef at one of the many famed curry houses in Japan, and they’ll tell you that the key to a really great Japanese curry is in the caramelized onions. The onions not only add a ton of umami and flavor to the curry, they also provide the characteristic sweetness without using sugar. For a more detailed explanation on caramelized onions, check out my post on caramelizing onions
Also, after years of experimenting with different curry powders and garam masalas, I’ve come to the conclusion that the most consistent way to get the right blend of spices is to use a Japanese curry power such as S&B brand. You can usually find it at Asian supermarkets but Amazon also carries it (see the widget below)
Ingredients
For curry
- 550 grams boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 14 grams garlic (~2 large cloves, grated)
- 14 grams fresh ginger (~1/2-inch piece, grated)
- 500 grams onion (2 large onions, thinly sliced)
- 3 tablespoons Japanese curry powder (Japanese brand such as S&B)
- 3 cups
- 300 grams carrots (~ 2 carrots, cut into chunks)
- 1/2 medium apple (peeled, cored and grated)
- 2 tablespoons chunou sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 350 grams potatoes (~2 medium potatoes cut into large chunks)
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas
for roux
- 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Steps
- Clean any large bits of fat or tendon from the chicken and cut into large chunks. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and mix to distribute evenly.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering and then add the chicken in a single layer. Let the chicken brown undisturbed (about 5 minutes). Flip the chicken and let it brown on the other side.
- Turn down the heat to medium-low and transfer the chicken to a bowl using tongs, making sure to leave as much oil in the pan as possible.
- Add the grated garlic and ginger and fry in the oil until it's not sizzling as much and it reaches a rich caramel brown color.
- Add the onions, and stir to coat with oil. Cover with a lid and let the onions steam until translucent and limp (about 10-15 minutes).
- Remove the lid, turn up the heat to medium and continue frying the onion, stirring constantly until it's reduced to about 1/8 of its original volume and it forms a shiny caramel brown paste (about 20-30 minutes). If the onion starts to stick to the pan before it's fully caramelized, try scrubbing off the stuck bits with a spatula. If that doesn't work you can add just a bit of water to the areas where things are sticking and then use the spatula to scrape.
- When the onions are fully caramelized, add the curry powder and saute briefly until very fragrant.
- Return the chicken to the pot and then add the stock, carrots, grated apple, chunou sauce, tomato paste, cocoa powder, salt and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, cover and simmer until the carrots and potatoes are very tender (another 15-20 minutes).
- In the meantime, make the roux by adding the butter and flour to a small saucepan over medium heat. Use a spatula to stir constantly until the bubbling subsides and the roux is a light brown color.
- When the potatoes are tender, taste and adjust salt to taste. If you like your curry sweeter, you can add some honey.
- Finish the curry by stirring in the roux and green peas and bringing to a boil to thicken the sauce.
- Serve with hot rice, or on top of a bowl of udon.
Thanks for the recipe, Marc. I’ve been wanting to make Japanese curry for the longest time now, but have been unable to find a recipe. If there are any, they’re in Japanese! I’ve been resisting the call of the packaged Glico curry pastes, and I don’t know how long I could have lasted with a family member asking for Japanese curry.
Now that I think of it, Japanese (Glico) curry and frozen tonkatsu ramen are the only “packaged food” I eat. Easy meals, easy flavours. Kudos to you for going the extra mile.
Now that I think of it, Japanese (Glico) curry and frozen tonkatsu ramen are the only “packaged food” I eat. Easy meals, easy flavours. Kudos to you for going the extra mile.’, ‘0
Great to see a recipe for this! When I was in Japan I often indulged in a “katsu curry” (I think thats right) and I do remember the sweetness associated with it. That, along with all the other wonderful foods I indulged in will always be remembered. Can’t wait to actually give this a go. Cheers Marc.
I LOVE Japanese curry. Looks great! I didn’t know it was so easy to make from scratch. Could I make the curry dark brown by further cooking the roux or will the water wash the color down anyway?
Wow, I bet it’s just delicious…love it.
YAY! marc i’m so happy you posted this! no matter how much i love Japanese curry, I always feel very guilty making it by breaking off those japanese gold ‘chocolate bars’ but now that i’ve got this recipe i shd be alright. cheers! x
fabulous! the first time i saw curry as an option on our local Japanese restaurant menu I was like, HUH??? then i did a bit of investigating and found out exactly what you discussed here. thanks so much for the recipe.
I love the packet Japanese Curry but I’ve always worried about the preservatives in it. I will definitely be trying out your fantastic looking homemade version.
Haha, I get the curry udon packs from Fubonn and they’re so good! It’s like curried gravy on udon. The first time I had Japanese curry it freaked me out a little – I thought they’d mixed curry powder with cream of mushroom soup. 😛 But now I like it. I have some of the cubes, but I still tend to make it from scratch too.
Japanese curry is my favorite and this looks good!
This is great! I have been eating a lot of Japanese curry rice lately. I have just been buying it take out from Yoshinoya and at home add a whole lot of cooked and raw veggies. It is not too bad. (Half fast food, half healthy garden veggies, kind of a weird combo.) So, I have been thinking that I want to get some new and yummy recipes for curry and make up a big batch and just freeze it. We’ll refer to your recipe. Thanks!
KyotoFoodie?Peko
This is great! I have been eating a lot of Japanese curry rice lately. I have just been buying it take out from Yoshinoya and at home add a whole lot of cooked and raw veggies. It is not too bad. (Half fast food, half healthy garden veggies, kind of a weird combo.) So, I have been thinking that I want to get some new and yummy recipes for curry and make up a big batch and just freeze it. We’ll refer to your recipe. Thanks!
KyotoFoodie?Peko’, ‘0
eatingclub vancouver, to be honest, I didn’t even bother looking for a recipe because no-one in japan makes curry from scratch.
helen, yea I still haven’t gotten the stock for tonkotsu soup down yet. Even with a pressure cooker I just can’t make it as white and creamy as the packaged kinds.
Peter G, katsu curry is definitely one of my favourite meals.
Manggy, You could try that, honestly this was my first attempt so I’m sure i’ll be doing some refining, let me know if browing the roux works for you.
Thanks Noble Pig, it was;-)
diva, yea I’ve always thought it was a bit unnatural cooking with bricks of solid chocolate like sauce.
We Are Never Full, yea it is a bit odd when taken out of context, but I think most japanese food you get in restaurants here was imported from another country (tempura, fried rice, gyoza, ramen, etc)…. kind of ironic if you think about it.
Syrie, give it a try and play around with the ingredients. I think the key to make it taste “japanese” is the caramelized onion, some kind of fruit to sweeten it and a roux to thicken it.
Heather, I just made some curry udon from the leftovers tonight and it was awesome, thanks for the idea:-)
Thanks Kevin.
Peko Peko, I’ve never been to Yoshinoya despite the fact that all the japanese expats I know rave about the place. Curry is great to freeze and have around. If I had a bigger freezer I’d totally freeze batches to have over Tonkatsu, omurice, etc.
I luv Japanese Curry esp mixed with tonkatsu! yummers!
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/hungry-for-some-japanese-curry/
I follow your blog for quite a long time and should tell that your articles always prove to be of a high value and quality for readers.
FANTASTIC!!! It is sitting in my family’s very happy stomachs as we speak. I am going to take a page from your book though and try a few tweaks!
what is japanese curry called in japan ?
kah reh (roll the “r”, and carry the “eh” sound for a sec)
I believe the origin is British rather than Indian. The roux technique with flour and butter is definitely European not used in Indian curries. The sauce is more of a British stew with Indian spices and was the British version of curry in the days of the Raj.
i just made this and thought it was pretty close to what I have had in Japanese restaurants. The only thing I had to do different to the recipe was add extra water to get the roux to a nice gravy like consistency. Thanks!
This is fantastic! I've made it twice now – sans apple and peas, and using a jumbo sweet onion – and it's just as good the next day (cooking for two people, I end up with leftovers for the week).
it's just called curry, only they say it in a japanese way (: At least that is what I have heard them say.
The blocks of curry may be easy, but they have unbelievable amounts of sodium, MSG, and other chemicals. They usually come in packages of 10 or 12 chunks. Each chunk is considered one serving, but a good plateful of rice smothered in curry uses at least two chunks. Two chunks puts you over the daily requirement of sodium. My blood pressure goes up considerably after eating it. That’s why I’m trying to find a good recipe with waaaay less salt.
Hi Jim, if salt is your main concern you could just omit adding any
additional salt to my recipe. There will still be some salt from the
ketchup and tonkatsu sauce, but significantly less than what you’ll
get in the curry blocks.
This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it!! The only thing is that I’ve always used the packaged curry and never used any curry powder before.. is there any particular kind of curry powder that I should use for this recipe? I don’t like the flavor of Indian or Thai curry, and want to make sure that I get the right kind of curry powder for this Japanese curry… Also, do you know where I can buy the curry powder in New Jersey? Thanks!!
I actually use indian garam masala for my japanese curry. It’s really just a
blend of spices and doesn’t have as much to do with the finished curry as
the preparation does. Indian curry uses other aromatics like cloves, mustard
seeds, garlic, and ginger, and it does not include a roux (to make it
thick), or any sweet elements like fruit puree.
If you go to Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ, you’ll be able to find Japanese curry
powder, but you can really use most curry powders(from a grocery store) or
garam masalas(from indian markets) and get a similar result. I hope that
helps.
I love curry, it’s the best winter staple! But I was surprised that fuluba (fenugreek) was not among your list of spices for the roux. I guess it’s not a well known in the West, but I’ve always used it and can’t imagine a curry without it. You may want to look into it.
Thanks for your comment, I’m familiar with fenugreek and it’s actually
in my garam masala. One of these days I’ll get around to posting a
list of the spices that go into it.
I have been looking for a Japanese curry recipe for a long time and am so glad I found this! (I almost had it figured out, but not quite.) I don’t like the boxed stuff, so high in sodium. Thank you, it is delicious!
Instead of the apple, I used apple butter (about 1/4c), whose main spices are cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg. It was my own homemade apple butter, but I’m sure a good farmer’s market apple butter would also work well.
Oh, I am SO glad I found your site. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in December 2009 and have since had to cook Japanese food at home, because our favourite restaurant uses soy sauce with wheat in. I used to love the curry roux from a packet and thought I would never be able to eat it again – now – thanks to you – I can 🙂 (I will just thicken it with cornflour instead of the flour roux) Thank You xxx
Can you tell me what rice and how to make the rice, Japanese style? sticky?
You can use any rice you want, but it’s traditionally made with Japanese
rice. It’s short grain rice that’s stickier than basmati or jasmine rice,
but it’s not the same as sticky rice (used to make mochi).
Thank you! Making this today!
Can I use canola oil instead of butter in this recipe? I just found out I don’t like the taste of “cooked” butter… It always tastes a little sour for me..
Thanks 🙂
Yep that should work fine, though butter shouldnt taste sour. Are you using
cultured butter? Which brand do you use?
I used Land O’Lakes butter. It might not be the butter, it might be me. . I didn’t grow up eating butter, so that’s probably why I think it has a “strange/sour” taste when I use it to cook food. When my mom cooked she always used a neutral flavor oil.
I like butter on bread though, 😀
thanks for the recipe dude…. it do help me……
I have to make curry for Japanese class. What do you recommend is the easiest and quickest way to make a good curry??
Buy Japanese curry bricks and dissolve them in water. They can be found at any Asian Grocery Store.
This looks so good! Thanks for mentioning your curry recipe. I’m trying it very soon…can’t wait!
OK, this is a great alternative to the sodium bricks sold in stores, now how about a home made alternative to tonkatsu sauce that doesn’t have all the chemical additives?
Nice. Just tried this and it’s simpler than the recipe I had been using – and just as yummy! Bringing a batch to our friends from church who just had a baby. Thanks!
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe! It’s so flavourful and satisfying. We stopped eating the S&B blocks due to the palm oil used in it (not to mention all the other equally scary ingredients), and your version is so much better than those blocks in terms of taste and health & environmental impact 🙂 Definitely something we eat weekly, and now it’s winter in Australia, may have to consider it eating it twice a week 😉 We are vegetarian, so instead of having it with tofu like you suggested we just either have it just with the veggies or add some pan friend seitan. We’ve served this to guests, and it seems to have turned into the dish they most remember. Thanks again for sharing 🙂
how many servings does that make? and what’s the total time spent? I’ve never made the sauce myself so I’m very uncertain if the taste will come out right
It’s enough to feed 4-6 people. Total time spent will depend on the cut of
meat you use and how big you cut your vegetables, but it usually takes me
about an hour with chicken.
I love this dish, I’ve been making it for a few years now. My recipe is slightly different then yours (I’ve added mushrooms and peppers, which are great by the way, also, I’d recommend serving with green onions) I like the idea with the peas though. I might try that next time.
I’ve been looking for a good recipe to make the sauce from scratch though. I’m definatly going to try this yours!
Loving the sound of this recipe, I’ve been looking for this for ages, thanks.
Hope you don’t mind, but Spike asked for a homemade tonkatsu sauce, here is my version http://debskitchencreations.blogspot.com/2009/10/tonkatsu-sauce.html
i live in indonesia, and this country also have dish called curry. indonesian curry and curry rice explained above are very different. i cant find the right curry powder to make this dish.. 🙁
what does laddle about 2 cups of liquid into the roux mean?
Take about 2 cups of liquid from the chicken and pour it into the roux with a large spoon.
I make this almost complete by heart. It’s great. But is there anyway to preserve the roux?
You should be able to freeze it, maybe in ice cube trays so it’s easy to divide up like the store bought blocks.
if i wanted to put ginger and garlic in this dish how much would i put
Add them in when you saute the onions.
What would you recommend substituting for the apple? I’m horribly allergic to apple, but I assume it’s a key ingredient in Japanese curry =(. By the way, your blog is fantastic!
Thanks! You could substitute just about any fruit that has a fairly neutral flavor. Peaches, pear, and tomatoes would all work:-)
Curry came to Japan from the UK believe it or not!
I made your curry recipe last night and it was phenomenal..so good I’m going to design a PDF version of the recipe so I don’t have to stupidly rewatch your YT video over and over again when I miss steps LOL. The tomato substitute worked perfectly by the way!
Thank you!! This is just what I need!! I love it ^^
I love this recipe. I’ve been making it for over a year and a half now and it is sublime. Blissful, exquisite, perfect…enter any adjective here. How on earth did you figure this out?
Glad to hear you like it:-) I think I figured it out one day when I was making curry and got all the way up to the step of adding the roux and realized I didn’t have any packaged roux in the cupboard.
I love Japanese curry…i discovered it in Denver at a wonderful place called Kokoro. It took forever to figure out there recipe, but I used to live on the stuff. Recently, I discovered that I am intolerant of wheat, onions, and apples. Do you have any suggestions for substitutions? I can use cornstarch,of course, but I am at a loss over the opinions and apples. Any ideas?
That’s what I get for posting from my iPad!
There = there
Opinions = onions
LOL
And now I see that tomato would be a good substitute from below. Ok… How bout onions?
Hmm I’m assuming that means you’re intolerant to all members of the Allium genus (garlic, shallots, leeks, scallions, etc?). If so, I can’t think of anything that will substitute in for onions. You could try to add in a couple different kinds of tomatoes (stewed, tomato paste, and sun dried) which should taste good, but it’s obviously not going to give it the same flavor.
Mmm! I am eating this right now… sort of. My little boy asked me to replicate a Tofu Curry Don recipe that we love eating when we’re in town. I took your recipe, added 1c vegie broth to the roux, substituted tofu for chicken (skipped the apple), added a little curry powder instead of garam masala and once it was simmering nicely, I turned up the heat and poured in the egg. Et voila…. Tofu Curry Don. My little man says it tastes just like the restaurant one. Yay! Mummy suceeds.
I am looking forward to making your recipe as is during the week sometime (still with tofu though as we are vegie). Thanks so much. I just found your site and am looking forward to perusing the rest of it tonight :).
I have literally been searching for a recipe like this for years after our favorite Japanese restaurant who served amazing curry noodles closed down. I looked all over the web and in bookstores and nothing ever came close.
I made this last night for my husband and I and we thought it was absolutely delicious. Our search is finally over. Thank you!!
I just saw the video on you tube of this recipe and I cannot wait to make it for dinner tonight! My husband and I currently live in Japan and we’re terrified that when we leave we won’t be able to find our favorite Japanese foods so I’m thrilled to learn to make this from ingredients you can find in any country! THANK YOU!
I made this, and it was great. I’m never using store-bought curry roux again.
I always wanted to try Japanese curry and this recipe looks so freiking Delicious!! But is it possible to switch out the pureed apple for something else because I do not have the abillity to puree!
Do you have a cheese grater? If so just grate it as small as possible. Otherwise you can dice up the apple and throw it in when you sautee the onions.
What about organic apple sauce with no sugar? Yes matter of fact I do have a cheese greater and I did not think of that thank you!
Yep unsweetened apple sauce would be perfect!
I just made this recipe (minus the apples) and my lords, was it tasty.
I too grew up loving a big bowl of hot Japanese-style curry — But now I just can’t abide the fat content of the ready-made roux blocks. Tonight I made some from scratch and it was close but missing something. I searched and found your recipe. The only ingredients I was missing were the ketchup, worcestershire, and apple. I look forward to trying it again! Thank you!
how many servings did this make?
I’m cooking for six in a few nights and I can’t remember if this recipe did my husband and I for one night or two last time i made it 😕
This will comfortably feed 4, it may feed 6 if they have smaller appetites (or there are other dishes).
Finally, I can make the curry from a scratch! All the other recipes I found used the granules, which are impossible to buy in my country… I love you!
i made this tonight & it was soo good! i was going to leave out the apple since i didn’t have any, but then i remember i had a big bottle of no sugar added apple sauce, so i used that instead. beef instead of chicken, Worcestershire, s&b oriental curry powder (japanese curry powder), & no peas (didn’t have any). topped on basamati rice. i will make this again instead of the almost $4 s&b instant curry sauce mix.
Gotta add a few tablespoons of worcestershire sauce, a few shots of okonomiyaki sauce, and substitute broth for the water.
Hi Mark!
Thanks a lot for this recipe!
I had not butter in my fridge (I try to avoid dairy products).
So I used oil instead (I heard that is what cajuns do to make their roux).
I turned out a blit floury, not like a thick liquid.
I mean you could feel some little crispy grains of flour or curry.
Any advice?
Thanks again!
Hi Adrien, substituting oil for butter will effect flavor but it should not effect the texture of the roux. Based on your description I’m guessing one of 2 things happend. The first could be that you didn’t fry the roux long enough. Try frying it a little bit longer. The second possibility is that your roux didn’t incorporate into the liquid before the flour in it cooked so you ended up with little roux dumplings instead of a smooth curry. The avoid this, it’s important to ladle some of the liquid from the meat and veggies into the roux and whisking it together until it’s smooth. Once the roux is smooth and doesn’t have any lumps you can pour it into the pot with the meat and veggies and stir to incorporate.
thanks for this awesome recipe! I didn;t realize it was so easy!
A cheese grater works great for the apples; the shreds dissolve in ~20 minutes.
A few shakes of curry powder makes the flavor complete IMO, but it doesn’t need it.
Thanks for posting! I tried this recipe out, but substituted the flour for cornstarch, as I am gluten intolerant. It wasn’t too bad tonight, but it did taste a little different than the Japanese curry I was used to before my diagnosis, so I doctored it up a little. 😉 As I made it for my coworkers, I’m letting it sit overnight so all the flavors soak up into the tofu and veggies – it’s one of those foods that’s better the next day.
I was looking at the bottle of curry powder I used and realized it was missing allspice, oregeno, and cocoa (a few ingredients in Japanese curry powder). Added just a smidgen of those – voila! It was just what it needed. 🙂
And no MSG (presuming there’s none in the tempura sauce). Going to have to try this as it’s a great dish, but the MSG makes me fall asleep very quickly.
Have you ever had Japanese oxtail curry? I want to make it. I think the only variation from this recipe would be to cook the oxtail for a few hours in water with onions (and bay leaf?) which will then be discarded. Thoughts?
HI Narry, I haven’t had Japanese curry with oxtail, but it sounds delicious. Yep, you should be able to just extend the cooking time with the onions, add whatever spices you like, then when the tail starts getting tender, add the veggies, and finally the roux.
hey it’s not from scratch if you use a pre-made curry powder you gotta do that yourself
no it didn’t it came from China and came from India to China.
While I welcome a good discussion about the history of food, it would be awesome if you guys could provide some citations or background that explains your thinking. Otherwise you’re just expressing an opinion that doesn’t move the discussion forward.
How many servings will this make?
It depends on how hungry your diners are, but it should feed 4-6.
I’m so excited to find this! I have been avoiding the chemical-laden package but wanting to eat this at home…thank you!
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.
Glad to hear it! Good luck with your final year!
Will omitting tonkatsu or Worcestershire make a big difference?
It will make it less spicy (not chili pepper spicy, but spice spicy) and less sweet. You could substitute extra ketchup in its place.
Thank you so much for the advice. The curry was to die for! I finally made it today and it was a huge hit!
i watch alot of Japanese shows. and they always make curry i wanted to try
This recipe is awesome! I Love it. Spent four years in Japan, this reminds me of those days.. 😉
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!
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?
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.
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.
Onions and related plants contain sulfur compounds that are rather unique to them. You could try shallot or green onion but i doubt that they wouldn’t trigger your medical conditio
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
Made this last night. It was so delicious, we over ate and went to bed thanksgiving full.
I can’t wait to try this! Always wanted to know how to make Japanese curry.
Looking forward to trying a gluten-free version of this. I was raised on the S & B bricks but now am avoiding anything with unhealthy processed ingredients. Perhaps using brown rice flour and/or kuzu as thickener? Thanks for your great recipes Mark!
This was awesome!!! It is one of my favorite dishes from pinterest!
With Celiac issues, is it possible to use rice flour in place of white/wheat flour and still have the same consistency for the roux?
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Though you may need to adjust quantities to achieve the same thickness. If you do try it out, it would be great if you could post your results so other people on a gluten-free diet can benefit from your experience:-)
Hi, this recipe inspired me to try making kare raisu from scratch. I was looking on how to substitute the commercial curry block, then I found it here. Thanks for sharing.
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was amazing! I’ve tried making Japanese curry rice before and was disappointed, but this turned out better than when I’ve used the packaged roux. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I’ve been learning on how to make curry rice, and its said that i need to use curry paste , is it other optional to replacing garam masala or both are just same ?
Curry paste has a lot of meanings so I’m not really sure which one you’re referring to. In Japan, curry is typically made from roux blocks, but I’m not a big fan of them as they tend to be filled
with unnecessary additives. You can substitute curry powder for garam masala if it is not available in your area.
Would it be alright to make the roux ahead of time and freeze/refrigerate it or will the butter not be ok?
Yep that should be fine. You could even do a large batch and freeze the roux in an ice cube tray so you have easy to use blocks. Unlike to do this with the caramelized onions too to speed things up.
I’ve made this three times now and every time I have promised to leave some for my father-in-law, but it’s impossible! This is the best curry I have ever eaten! Perfect in every way! I’ve even woke up in the middle of the night craving it like an addiction 🙂 Now I try everything with the sauce ha ha
Thank you for the recipe. I made the curry using this recipe and it actually turned out pretty good, seeing how it was my first time making this.
I used Indian Masala, is there a difference between Garam Masala and Indian Masala or are they the same? I tried to find Garam Masala in my local super market but was not able to find it, so I used Indian Masala instead.
I’ve never heard of Indian Masala, but the term “Masala” just means mixture of spices. There’s no set recipe for Garam Masala, so depending on where you are in India it includes different ingredients. As long as you were happy with the results, I’m sure the blend you’re using is fine, otherwise you can try finding a different blend.
Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) by the British, at a time when India was under their administration.
The dish became popular and available for purchase in supermarkets and
restaurants in the late 1960s. It has been adapted since its
introduction to Japan, and is so widely consumed that it can be called a
national dish. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_curry)
i was just wondering how long it takes to cook and prepare???
Hi, I would like to know if flour can be replaced with corn starch and can the cayenne pepper be left out? Thank you.
Hey Marc, I just really wanted to thank you for this great recipe. I’ve made it twice to rave reviews. I’m no cooking expert, but your directions were very easy to follow and I couldn’t be happier with the results! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Glad to hear you liked it!
I will definitely try this recipe, looks a lot more simple than the curry that we have in Malaysia
One distinct differences between Japanese curry and Malaysian curry is, for the gravy Japanese only use plain water while Malaysian curry use coconut milk. definitely healthier choice for me since i am very wary about fat intake.
Thanks! 🙂
That is the most colonist bullshit I have ever read.
I just made this and it turned out incredible! Only minor change: I’m not a huge fan of using ketchup (makes everything taste like ketchup!) so I used tomato paste and worcestershire, and to compensate for the missing sugar (which would be in the ketchup) I used 2 apples and a little oyster sauce.
Thank you for this recipe 🙂 I plan to start playing with deviations like use of coffee and chocolate, very exciting!
I have two questions…can I replace garam marsala in the curry part with curry powder as well and can I use russet potatoes?
Yep curry powder would be fine, as would russet potatoes.
I tried this recipe yesterday using russet potatoes. By the time I served the dish the russets had disintegrated. I’ll try with Holland potatoes next time.
The other variation I made was adding 1 Tbsp of honey as I did not have any apples.
Russets should work fine, they’ll melt a little bit around the edges but this is normal. If they disolved completely, you may need to cut them into larger pieces (I usually quarter them) or put them in later in the cooking process.
Made this tonight (curry powder instead of garam masala, and about 2 tsp of cayenne pepper) and it came out absolutely terrific. Will be saving this one. I made curry with blocks about once a week when I lived in Japan and it was good, but I always wondered how to do it from scratch.
Thank you for posting this recipe! I grew up on S&B curry and now am trying to avoid MSG in my diet. I’ve made this twice already. The first time my curry looked a little grey so I added 1tsp of Tumeric to the roux to get that yellow color. I also halfed the cayenne bc last time was a little too karakuchi (spicy) for me! Also added about a tablespoon of honey and some garlic. Was sooooooo good!
I made some homemade curry powder last night and I might try to do something like this tomorrow instead of my normal curry. A bit of ketchup or tomato paste and worcestershire sauce might be a nice change from my usual curry.
I use Millet Flour when making gumbo roux. it’s really fine, browns well and is gluten free.
You could try using garbanzo flour just toast until it has the consistency of peanut butter and starts to smell like popcorn. I use this flour when making gluten-free gravy.
Hello, Mr Marc, I would like to know is it okay if i dont add the worcestershire sauce ? I would be glad if you reply me soon. Thhank you.
It’s not as important as the ketchup, but will effect the color and taste if you don’t add it. If you can’t find it in your area, try adding a little extra ketchup.
I’ve been making (and loving!) this for a while, minus the peas and pureed apple (DH is averse). Any ideas, though, how I might adapt this for the CrockPot? It’d be great to be able to make this over the summer without heating up the whole place.
Hi Allene, you could do the simmering in a crockpot, but you’ll need to brown the chicken and caramelize the onions in a regular pot as its the browning process (maillard reaction) that gives the curry its good flavor. I always keep a stash of caramelized onions in the freezer ( http://norecipes.com/blog/caramelized-onions-recipe/) but you’ll still need to brown the chicken, still, having caramelize onions on hand will save you a lot of time (and heat) in summer.
So, I was wanting to make this for my dad, sister, brother and me but I wanted to know about how many servings it makes. I personally think I’d love it so I’ll probably eat A LOT of it. Please respond soon!
It depends on how much each person eats, but it should comfortably feed 4 people, 6 people if you’re light eaters.
Thanks! I was actually more worried about how the roux would work, but it sounds like I shouldn’t have been. Guess I’ll give it a try soon.
Tried to follow the link you gave just now, but I keep getting a 404 error. I remember seeing that post before, though.
Ahh, sorry, you’d also need to make the roux in another pot as it gets added in at the end. Here’s the link to the caramelized onions recipe: http://norecipes.com/blog/caramelized-onions-recipe/
im a filipino.. and i like your recipes.. 🙂 and my family likes it too..thanks
If you cannot find garam masala(which I don’t know a lot about except that I read that it is spicey) in any of your local grocery stores do you think that using curry powder would work?
That would be fine. Garam masala is a spice blend that’s the Indian equivalent of curry powder (which is a british spice blend). It tends to have a different blend of spices, but curry powder will work.
I really reallly want to cook this does it matter what kind of potatoes you use?
OMG thank you so much for this recipe! We love Japanese curry but haven’t made it in years because of the high use of Palm Oil in all brands of the prepackaged flavour blocks. This is on the menu tonight at our house once again, thanks to you.
Yep, any potatoes will work, but I like using Yukon Golds or plain ole Russets.
I made this with both an Indian blend curry powder I maade at home and regular curry powder. It was so wonderful both ways! My aunt got me hooked on the Indian version of curry about two years ago. I was completely out of coconut milk and anything I could substitute but had some chicken thighs and a craving. I looked for a recipe without coconut milk, but only found ones that substituted cream(we were so poor that week we didn’t have that either!) I remember a friend ordering curry at our local Chinese restaurant (support the mom and pop ones, the best we’ve been to are family run!) There was no way it could have coconut milk in it with the color it had… I decided to try looking for a Japanese recipe first, however, since I keep more Japanese ingredients around. This was the first one I came across. Not only did I luck out enough to have everything I needed for this one except potatoes (we substituted sweet potatoes instead, cutting back on apple to compensate for the sweetness ) it was also very simple looking. Best curry I have ever had. I made it following the recipe closer the second time, with regular Idahos. Still amazing, though I prefer sweet potatoes as well, which is similar to the Thai version a woman sold at a stall in our grocery store, but didn’t make it often because it made more than she could sell in the day her stall was open. This is a wonderful and cheap recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi I’m a guy that enjoys good food and am a fan of asian food specially jap. In my country there was this one little restorant where the owner was the cook and she was jap/italian mix and she made delicious curry, giozas and katsudon (thees where my favorite plates) for some reason she had to close shop and I havent been able to find any other place that could compare in favor to her cooking.
I have found recepies for the curry and katsudon in your site the sound exactly like what i tasted and even the presentation is similar.
Im not a chef, i will say maybe a beginner cook, but i will risk doing this recipes to see whats what.
I want to say 2 things: 1st Thank you for posting this recipes and 2nd do you hace a recipe for that stiky rice, its kind of a signatre thing in jap dishes and I know the texture will not be the same with regular rice
thanks again
Hi Carlos, the rice served with japanese food, is a type of short grain rice. It’s unique to Japanese and Korean cuisine and is often sold in other countries as “sushi rice”. I’m assuming you live in Italy? I don’t know of any Japanese markets there, but ask around and you should be able to find some place that carries it. You can also try checking online. Also, I’m sure you meant no offense, but the term “Jap” is a derogatory racial slur where I come from akin to using the “n” word to refer to black people.
Hi Marc, so sorry for the misunderstanding, it was not my intentiion, it was a case of laziness of writing the complete word.
Im actually from Panama (central america) if you are ever arroun, let me know.
Now regarding rice, i know wher eto find “sushi rice” is there any particular methos to the cooking of this specific kind of rice or the same as regular white rice aplies?
No worries, I figured it was something like that. Weight out 325 grams of rice. Wash the rice until the water runs almost clear. Add the drained rice to a pot with 400 ml of water. Bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 mintues, turn off the heat and let it steam undisturbed for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice and serve.
Ohhh, i made this today and boy was it yummy. The sauce was unbelievably creamy and had so much flavour. I made a few changes here and there but ultimately this recipe is a winner, tastes a bit like the packaged stuff but is much more flavoursome and without the preservatives etc. Thanks and i cant wait to try some of your other recipes 🙂
I really love making this. When I first tried it I couldn’t find garam masala and I personally don’t care for the turmeric in the store bought curry powder so I found using a search engine that there are some very simple mixes for garam masala that work really well. Very easy to find the individual spices in a regular supermarket and mix your own.
Hi Marc! Awesome-sauce recipe! I watched your video on youtube and noticed that a couple of your steps are not in this document – – which i think would help your readers greatly:
+++++++++++++++++
Overall
Serves 4-6
Curry
1. Cover Pot when brining onion, carrot, chicken (meat) mix.
2. Cover Pot when simmering all ingredients (potato, carrot, chicken, apple sauce, meat, etc).
Note: Covering the pot keeps a little more moisture in, some readers might think to leave the pot off and they’ll loose some liquid on evaporating (you show the lid on in your YouTube video).
Roux
1. Put butter and flour in pot and stir as butter melts and fully mixes with flour.
2. Once butter and flour are mixed, add spices
3. Add tonkotsu + ketchup (tomato sauce)
4. Stir until mix starts to crumble
This worked much better than melting the butter on its own (also in your YouTube video)!
+++++++++++++++++
For my personal preference, I prefer the creamier/smoother curry, so I threw the caramelized onions (only the onions) into the food processor to make it more like a sauce!
Overall, I loved your recipe! I’m a huge fan of making things from scratch so the steps for making roux made for an awesome adventure!
Hi Chris, thanks for the suggestions. I made the video after this post, so I guess you could say the video supersedes this recipe. I’ve left this up mainly for the list of ingredients. Will update the instructions as you suggested.
I just made the dish tonight, with some Painted Hills ground beef, pink lady apple, 2tbs garam masala + 1tsp curry powder. I, too, also forgot to add peas at the end. None the less, curry came out scrumptious! This recipe is a keeper. Thank you Marc!
Hi, I’m new to your blog, and I just tried this recipe. I don’t know what I did, but mine taste only a bit like the instant block curry, BUT SOMEHOW…it is still good, I actually like it better than the instant one hahaha It taste rather light too. I ate it today for lunch, and it’s one of the BEST lunch break I’ve ever had. Thanks for the recipe lol
whats the serving size for this recipe?
Hi Sheila, the serving size is up to you and how hungry the people you’re feeding are.
Made this today (minus the apples) and it tasted awesome! will definitely be making it again. I kinda went overboard with the garam masala though, i’ll be putting in less next time. still good though!
I tried your curry recipe when I made katsu last year. I did not have the correct curry powder, so it wasnt as tasty as the boxed bricks. I tried it again a month ago using S&B curry powder and its so much better. It tastes just like the boxed curry minus all the msg. The base for your roux recipe is fantastic and have used it many times this month. It goes good with veggies and potatoes, hamburger, and my all time favorite katsu curry. Now I dont feel bad guilty eating boxed curry and just use this. Thank you so much!
Any chance you can duplicate the recipe for the curry at Coco Ichibanya? I’ve been on my search for their recipe and have never been able to come close.
Hi Baboyizm, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the curry. I’ve never eaten at Coco Ichiban, so I’ll have to eat there first before giving it a go.
Hi there, I live in New Zealand and our local Sushi place makes this for me (well sells it) and I am soo addicted to it but it costs $10 each time, and my lunches are starting to get really expensive, so I googled Japanese Curry online and saw your picture and it looks like the one I buy. I also remember the owner saying they use a roux…which you do too. I cant wait to try and make this, thank you so much for sharing this with all of us!!!!
The whole point of this recipe is to not use roux. He’s making the part where normally roux is used from scratch.
Mike is incorrect.
The point is not to use the pre-packaged bricks of Curry you can buy from a store.
A roux is merely the base for the sauce made from flour and butter. Look roux up on Wikipedia if you need more information. You can make many sauces out of a roux. This is how you make a Curry sauce from one.
I also make Curry from scratch (as above) but I just want to add that I’ve never used ketchup or Tonkatsu sauce. (Tho I am surprised the author compared Tonkatsu sauce to Worchestershire sauce. To me, Yakisoba is Worchestershire, but Tonkatsu sauce? Not so much.)
For curry sauce just use a roux and add as much curry as you like along with cayenne if you want to add some heat. I never use cayenne in mine. I like mild curry. It’s just a matter of taste.
More curry than 2TBS will make the curry flavor stronger, which I prefer. And you can add a little curry powder to your meat and veg as you’re cooking them also for extra flavor. I always cook my meat with a little olive oil and a little curry powder. Also, I use pork for mine which wasn’t added to the list of potential meats.
Pork curry with carrots and potatoes is a staple in my house. It’s delicious over rice, but be sure you’re serving a good Japanese styled rice and not the Western crap like Minute Rice. That stuff isn’t worthy of Curry. 😉
Actually you’re both right. In the western definition of the word “roux” it’s a general purpose mixture of flour cooked in a fat, but in Japan “roux” is synonymous with the prepackaged blocks used for curry. As for tonkatsu vs worcester sauce, I usually say a reasonable substitute for tonkatsu sauce is a mixture of ketchup and worcestershire. I didn’t mention it since the recipe already calls for ketchup. The reason why I add it is for sweetness and depth.
Hi, this is my first time making curry. It taste great but the sauce came out too thin. Is there any tips you can give me?
Hi Carolyna, either there was too much water or not enough roux (the flour, butter, curry mixture). Try reducing the amount of water you add next time, or make more roux.
Thanks, man, your recipe kicks ass. Did It yesterday and it was a total success.
I just wanted to say thank you for posting your recipe. I used curry powder instead of the garam masala, other than that I followed your recipe to the tee. As I was eating the curry I had a big smile because it was exactly what I had been craving since leaving Japan 1 1/2 ago. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!
I want to thank you for this recipe, I never had curry before and I found this to be quite delightful.
This was great! I have tried a variety of Japanese curry recipes over the past year… trying to phase out the boxed mixes/cubes and this is the best I’ve tried yet. Mine turned out super thick… I actually had to water it down a bit, but that is probably because I used a pot with a lid that doesn’t fit tight! Delicious, thank you for sharing!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Keep in mind you don’t need to use all the roux if it looks like it’s getting too thick.
Thank you for the authentic recipe with no preservatives that I can make gluten free. Fed 8 people tonight and it turned out wonderfully. You have a cooking talent! Thank you, thank you. Oh, and the video was super helpful for a novice like me.
I love the idea of making my own roux. I have perfected my curry (hubby was stationed in Oki) and ate at CoCos about 3 or more times a week. He says mine tastes just like it. But I was hoping not to have to use a base anymore. I am going to have to try my recipie with this and I will let you know. If it comes out betted than mine, I will let you know!
I want to make this for my girlfriend for our anniversary. Judging from how much I was salivating from just reading the directions, I may end up going back for seconds. About how many servings does this recipe make?
Nevermind. I scrolled down and saw a helpful comment. SERVES 4-6!
Thanks for this, I can’t wait.
absolutely brilliant recipe. i was sceptical that it would turn out better than those commercial curry blocks. how wrong i was!
Hi Marc, Instead of using regular flour can I use wheat flour?
Thanks
Hi Jean, I’m not sure what regular flour is where you live, but in the US, flour is made from wheat so provided your wheat flour is similar to all-purpose flour found in the US it should work.
Great recipe, my go-to when I want to impress somebody. I don’t like pureeing the apple with a microplane, though, as it’s time consuming and I fear for my fingers. Instead, I like to quarter and core an apple, skin it with a knife, and then slice each piece into razor-thin slices. They cook down to nothing as if they had been pureed in the first place, without all the fuss.
I am allergic to apple, tomatoes and soy so had to find a way around the apple, ketchup and worstershire: I use apricot nectar instead of water in the curry, and a different fruit jam (often blackberry) in the roux. It’s AMAZING.
Thanks you for the recipe. After living in Hamamatsu I really miss Japanese Curry. I’ve purchased the rue block here, but have always wanted to learn to make my own fresh. I also want to thank you for your Yaki Soba recipe.
I really like this! The idea of making instead of buying pre-packaged. Oddly though, when I was working over 60 hours a week and raising four kids while still doing all the things an active father and homeowner has to do, I was also cooking all of our meals, and used the exact opposite system. I would buy good quality foods that were mostly pre-cooked and packaged, but then combine them into dishes, so I could go from stovetop to table in 30 min or less and have healthy delicious food, fast. It was mostly being careful and choosy about brands and watching content, then maximising raw and fresh prep, and creating clever solutions to make culinary delights ASAP for those four hungry kids and we adults – things we could all enjoy and eat healthy.
PS. At least a third of the dishes were Asian styled and inspired.
I found your YouTube video nearly 2 years ago and I just got around to trying the recipe. I waited so long because I thought it would take too long to make for a quick dinner. I shouldn’t have waited, it was delicious! I used ground beef in place of the chicken. It worked like a charm. Thank you.
I tried this last night and it worked perfectly! I didn’t have tonkatsu sauce, so I used yakisoba sauce instead — still, it was so yummy. I’m glad I won’t need to spend money on those curry cubes anymore.
Misty I would love to get a copy of your curry! I was stationed in Oki and I miss it terribly!
Great recipe! “Brighter” is definitely the right word for the result. My Japanophile partner agreed this curry was tastier than the brand name brick we normally use. In the spirit of keeping it “instant”, I didn’t bother to wait until the onions were caramelized, although I’m sure it would taste great that way. Just gave them a quick fry in the pan, then the meat, then the veg, and a couple cloves worth of minced garlic + knob of ginger for good measure. As for the apple, I tossed it peeled and cored into the blender with the water before adding it to the pot with everything else. I’m now considering making the roux in volume and storing in the freezer.
Hi Lynn, glad to hear you enjoyed it. In Japan they say that a good curry depends almost entirely on how well you caramelize the onions. Give it a shot next time, it will make a big difference. I usually make a huge batch and then freeze them in a large ice cub tray (1 cube equals about 1 onion). Great idea on freezing the roux!
Thank you! I tried the curry at a Japanese restaurant a few months ago and have become kinda obsessed. Now I can try making it for myself!!
This has now become my Husbands FAVORITE meal!! Love it! This is my go to recipe for Japanese curry!!
Is it necessary to use water or can it be substituted with beef broth?
Yep, you can certainly use beef or chicken broth, but it’s not necessary as you get a lot of flavor from the meat and vegetables that go into it.
Having never tried Japanese Curry before, I tried my hand at making it using the recipe here http://justonecookbook.com/how-to/how-to-make-curry-roux/ . I used the S&B curry powder in the tin. I found my curry sauce tasteless – I mostly tasted the butter from the roux and only a hint of the curry spices. I had to add A LOT of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to add some depth and flavor to it.
Could it be because I added the chicken stock to the roux instead of the other way around? I made a big pot of chicken stock using the bones and mirepoix, wanting to save it for soup. Help!
Approve—
Sent from Mailbox for iPhone
Hi Jason, I can’t really comment on someone else’s recipe, but I don’t think the order in which you mix things should make that big of a difference in flavor. What will make a difference is how much you caramelize the onions (more is better) and what you cook with the water and caramelized onions (meat, carrots, etc). Japanese curry should be thick like gravy, sweet, and mildly spicy, but if your comparing it to Indian/thai curry, it will be much milder as it’s a family food that children love in Japan.— Sent from Mailbox for iPhone
Hi!
Have a quick question about the roux… can it be refrigerated or frozen and used at a later date? i.e. make a recipe’s worth and use half now (for kare raisu or tonkatsu kare) and freeze the rest to use later.
I’m interested in trying this recipe, but since it will just be my husband and I eating it, we can’t eat 4 cups worth of curry in two sittings, so if it can be frozen or at least refrigerated, then that would be perfect.
Thanks! ^u^
Coincidentally I was trying this tonight actually. Last time I made the recipe, I made a double batch of roux and froze half of it before adding the 2 cups of liquid. I think it came out fine, so unless the chef comes on and says don’t do it I think it’s worth a try.
Also, I have frozen the complete recipe before as well, thawing it out before I want to eat it, and that works well too. I just wanted to try freezing just the roux and adding it in after cooking the vegetables at a different date.
I don’t usually freeze the finished curry because freezing changes the texture of the potatoes and carrots, but freezing the roux is a great idea. I also freeze large batches of caramelized onions, which is another way you can save a ton of time.
Hi!
I was only wanting to make the roux, divide it into half recipe portions and then put them into the freezer so that I can use it at a later time to make karei raisu or katsu curry.
I can get the pre-made S&B brand roux blocks here in London (they don’t sell the Glico type that I was raised on in Vancouver), but I find that they can be a little bit on the pricey side (200g box is USD $6/box!!!!) and the one main place where I can get it is a bit out of my way to get to, so being able to make my own roux at home would be very helpful (my husband is Hakujin and <3 katsu curry).
By the way, thanks for all of your work on this site… a lot of your recipes bring back memories of watching my Bachan and my Mom cooking when I was a child.
Hello Marc I need to ask something important. Can I mke the roux without spices (only fat and flour) and just add the spices/garam masala in the meat stew? Thank you I will try to open a kare house in my city (we don’t have that here) so I will make as tasty a curry as possible. And how do you create the dark brown color? Is dark roux sufficient?
You could do it that way, but toasting the spices with the roux brings out more flavor. As for the color if you want it to be very dark you need a dark roux and I often add things like coffee or chocolate.
Ok mister. One last question (this might be a bit blasphemous, I don’t know), is it possible to eliminate the roux and use slurry cornstarch as thickening agent? I mean, if the difference with other curry is the thickness and the sweetness (which can be attained by onion caramel and other thngs) then can I use cornstarch to create the thickness? (Might not last long though only a day maybe)
It’s not blasphemous, but it’s not how Japanese curry is made. Cornstarch will give you a different texture than a roux will. You’re also using a lot less fat, which is healthier, but will come at the cost of richness.
Thankyou very much. I will try to make a mild,sweet and thick curry any other way. Just need to create that richness, need to be creative here LOL.
If you tell me a bit more about what you’re trying to achieve perhaps I can help with alternatives. Do you want to make it lower fat? Are you trying to make it gluten-free?
Hello!
I have a couple questions and i’ve scanned the post to make sure it’s not been mentioned or what not. but if it has my apologies for asking >__<
1) how many is the recipe to serve?
2) what type of flour do i use?
Hi Mushroom, this should serve about 4-6 people depending on how much the people you’re feeding can eat. As for the flour, I use regular all-purpose flour, but you could probably substitute other types of flour if it has similar properties to AP flour.
Tried this today and came out pretty well! One question though… I had to use a bit more oil to keep the onions from blackening… Is there any other way to do that? I don’t like using a lot of oil haha
HI Sajindaj, if the onions were blackening your heat was probably up to high. It’s fine starting them off over medium heat, but you want to turn the heat down as the water evaporates to keep the caramelization even. Check out this post for more details: http://norecipes.com/recipe/caramelized-onions-recipe/
Hi there! Would coconut oil be a sub for the butter? Or should I use tapioca starch instead if the roux? I am trying to make a vegan option 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Liz, coconut oil will work, you may also want to add a bit of nutritional yeast into the curry (with the veggies) to give the curry some umami since you’ll be leaving out the meat. Also you may want to consider using veggie stock instead of water.
Would this work for the Tonkatsu recipe? Since I don’t want it black.
If you’re asking if you could pour this on tonkatsu, then yep, it’s pretty common here in Japan to pour curry sauce on top of tonkatsu.
Hi Marc! Thanks for the recipe.
My wife doesn’t like to cook with butter. Is there anything else I can substitute for the roux, or a way to make it a ‘low-fat’ curry?
Hi Digitron, it won’t change the fat content, but you can use vegetable oil for the roux. Otherwise you could skip the roux and use other thickeners like cornstarch, but it won’t be a Japanese curry.
Your recipes are all delicious, and your pictures fantastic. Please keep uploading great recipes to share with us… Don’t ever close your blog, I love to use your posts in my own cooking.
I had a blast making this with my dad today! Ended up putting in too much salt and garam masala though so it got ruined.. I’ll just have to try it with curry powder next time haha!
Thanks for the recipe!
I understand. Thanks for the reply! I’ve convinced her to suck it up and use the butter. Looking forward to trying it!
Made this today because I was didn’t have the boxed curry I usually use to make curry. I will never use boxed curry sauce again. This recipe was fantastic! My husband is half Japanese and he loves his curry. He said I had outdone myself! Woohoo!! Had to make a few substitutions – didn’t have the garam masala, so I used curry powder. Also, I didn’t have the worcestershire sauce, so I substituted with 1/2 tbsp soy sauce. Excellent recipe. Thank you for posting. Definitely a keeper for me!
Hey Marc, it would had have been useful if you said that somewhere in your blog text. I live alone and I did not know for how many people that was. So I just used half of the ingredients but it were still too much for me to handle x_X. (well, I continued eating it the next day, but you know… it was Overkill as I always tend to eat everything up and cook it fresh whenever I want to eat something. Don’t like to put stuff into fridge)
Hi Marc, just wanted to say thanks – this is an awesome recipe and the whole family loves it – kids too! I’m a recent convert to Japanese curry rice since meeting my (Japanese) partner a few year back, but lately can’t use the manufactured roux due to the fact that wheat flour and I don’t get on at all well…. so I substituted in a gluten free flour (and gf garam masala) and it was all good….. and it’s amazing how the potatoes absorb the flavour from the masala too. With winter coming this dish will become a regular meal for sure.
Anyway, you’ve got a new fan base in NZ. Many thanks!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing your technique for making it gluten-free!
Can another type of flour, say coconut or rice flour be used in place of the wheat flour for someone who is gluten intolerant?
Rice flour should work, but I’ve never tried it so I can’t guarantee it. I do not think coconut flour will work since it’s not a starch.
I’m using a combination gluten free flour which includes maize starch, rice flour and soya flour – the roux has turned out really well and also mixes in well and smoothly with the other roux ingredients (i.e. no lumps or weird separation is seen). If you’re particularly sensitive to wheat flour check that your garam marsala or curry powder does not contain wheat flour too…
Hello Mark! I tried making this last night and it came out really wrong..I used curry powder in place of marsala garam. Could that be the reason?
Also, you instructed to “laddle about 2 cups of liquid into the roux”. What liquid are you talking about?
Hi FeedmeFood, while different brands tend to have different flavors, in general curry powder should work. Can you be a little more descriptive in what you felt was wrong? As for the liquid it’s the liquid the meat and veggies are cooking in. You add it to melt the roux before transferring it back so you don’t end up with lumps of roux in your curry.
The curry was bitter and not sweet besides the flavor of the carrots. It did not taste like Japanese curry.
There’s a couple possibility on the bitterness. The first is that the curry powder you used includes too much turmeric (which has a bitter taste). Try tasting the curry powder straight, it will taste a little bitter, but if it tastes very bitter, that could be the culprit. Because there’s so much variation in the spices used in curry powder (and garam masala), it’s hard to give recommendations, but if you want one that will definitely work, try looking for S&B brand curry powder which is a Japanese curry powder. The other possibility on the bitterness is that the curry powder got burnt in the roux. If you think this might be possibility, next time, try incorporating the curry powder and other spices after you take the roux off the heat as the residual heat should be more than enough to toast the spices.
As for the sweetness, did you include ketchup, tonkatsu sauce and a sweet apple? If so and you felt it needs to be even more sweet, try adding more apple.
I made this again last night – my second try. The first time it came out well, but last night I stuck closer to the instructions and it came out PERFECT. Everyone loved it, and it was the “hit” of the evening. This is the best “Japanese Curry from Scratch” recipe I have tried. I think that the apple is essential. Thanks so much for sharing this!
I want to make this to serve over tonkasu pork. Can I substitute chicken broth for the water and omit the chicken thighs? It seems redundant to have two kinds of meat when I only want the sauce for the pork.
Hi MixedUpInVegas, you could do that, but be sure you’re using good quality chicken stock. The other thing you could do is use ground pork.
Dang, good call, Chef! I never thought of that. As it happens, I made it per my original plan. Husband, who is a curry freak, went crazy. Ate 3 big helpings all the while raving about what a delicate curry it was. Unfortunately, it was just too licorice-y for me. Guess it was the particular blend of garam masala. Either way, it was a good learning experience and the pork was killer. Maybe I’ll tonkatsu pork donburi with it. Thanks so much for your kind reply
Hi!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I grew up knowing only Indian/Malay/Indonesian curries but when I visited Japan a few years ago, I absolutely love the sweet, mild curry I had there.
Had a craving for it today and so I googled and found your recipe. Apples in curry are completely unheard of where I come from but I followed the recipe anyway.
What do I know. The curry tastes wonderful! I love how thick it is. It’s very similar to the ones I had in Japan. My curry still has a hint of spiciness, though, as the curry powder and garam masala I have are meant for authentic Indian curry. But that’s perfectly fine with me.
Thanks again!
Hi Marc! Thank you for posting this. I am half Japanese and prego and had a hankering for kare rice but as I was cutting my veggies, I realized I didn’t have any of the instant packs! This tasted pretty close. I omitted the apple and ended up adding sugar. It was still good.
Hi Jen! You really should try it with the apple, it’s the single most important ingredient in my opinion. If you want it to taste closer to the brick Curry that you’re used you, you’ll have to add MSG or other sodium-rich flavorings. Try a pinch of chicken bouillon or ramen packet and it will bring the saltiness closer to what you’re used to. Happy cooking!
The recipe is nice and easy, I’m not American but I speak English the problem is in the last paragraph I don’t understand the part of ” just Laddle two cups of liquid into the roux…”, two questions 1: what does laddle means? 2: what liquid am I going to put into the roux? If someone could help me please I will be very grateful for it. Again thanks for the recipe, greetings Donald Reyes from Dominican Republic.
Hi Donald, 1) ladle is a kind of large spoon used to serve soup. When used as a verb it means to use a ladle to pour something. 2) The liquid is the liquid from the meat and vegetables.
It sounds great and I plan to prepare it tomorrow but i have two questions :
1. How many servings is it ?
2. When should I add the tofu when I use it instead of the chicken ?
Thank you 🙂 your blog is amazing btw.
Hi Spenja, the number of servings will depend on how hungry the people you’re serving are. For me, this makes about 6 servings. As for adding the tofu, you’d still caramelize the onions, and then add then add the tofu with the potatoes. If you’re using tofu, you may want to substitute vegetable stock for the water.
I made this with an Asian pear apple. Turned out really good! I’ll be saving this recipe! Thank you!
Hi, Do I need any specific flour to make the Roux? Will plain flour be okay or should I use whole-wheat flour? Is corn flour an alternative at all to the Roux?
I use all purpose flour. I’ve never tried corn flour, which should work for thickening but you won’t get any flavor out of it as it only contains starch.
Hi, I am about to make this recipe this week. I love japanese curry, I’ve eaten premade curries, as well curry udons, in Yokohama, I now want to make one from scratch.
Two questions puzzle me, what kind of garam masala ? Each indian family has their own blend of spice mix which is called garam masala. Should I be using any special premixed brand ? Second, is butter essential, or can I use substitute ?
Hi Anil, regarding the garam masala, I blend my own as well with cumin, coriander, turmeric, fennel, cayenne pepper and fenugreek. But I like my Japanese curry spicy. If you want a really Japanese tasting Japanese curry, use S&B brand curry powder.
As for the butter, it adds richness to the sauce, but you could use any fat. Ghee or rendered chicken fat would both work well, plain vegetable oil won’t taste as good but will work as well. I hope that helps!
Thanks I’ll order it, and let you know how it goes.
is first class flour ok?
Hi Dantalian, I don’t know what first class flour is. Can you describe it?
Hi, is possible to frozen the finalized curry? I`m thinking im make this advnce and just heat up in morning and put over the rice
Hi Aneopa, while it’s possible to freeze it, I would not recommend it because potatoes take on a spongy texture when they’re frozen and defrosted.
I tried, though it is not exactly the taste that i get outside(maybe cause i lack some ingredients). But it is definitely great. I mix and match any flavors i wanted (as long as it is save), and it is simply amazing.
Thank you so much, marc~
regarding msg and ramen packets, pls bear in mind not to let it heat over fire as it will release toxic out in huge amount. so turn off direct heat, put them in and mix before serving.
Wonder if there would be a way to make it in a crock pot.
Hi Mtheartist, you could make it in a crockpot, but to get the flavor you’ll still need to caramel use the onions and brown the meat on the stove. You’ll also still need to make the roux separately.
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Hi Marc
I absolutely love your recipes – every one I try is just *spot on* in flavor and authenticity, thank you for this amazing blog!
I’d like to find an alternative to the bulldog (chuono) sauce – would be great to find a breakdown of alternative ingredients if possible.
Thank you!
Hi Y-y, thanks for your nice note! Chunou sauce is basically worcestershire sauce with a bunch of fruit in it, which makes it sweeter and more viscous. You could make something similar by mixing worcestershire sauce and ketchup.
Love this site. I hope you’ll come out with a cookbook!
I’m sure this recipe will become a family favorite. Which chunou sauce would you recommend, Bulldog or Kagome? Or another brand? Thx!
Thanks, mon! No plans to release a cookbook (at least not on paper), but you guys will be the first to hear of it if I ever do:-)
Hi not_configured, to be honest, I’ve never really done a taste test so I can’t say which is better, but I suspect you won’t notice a difference in this recipe as the dominant flavor is that of the curry powder. The Chunou sauce is for sweetness and the blend of spices.
Yum! Love and miss the ease of getting Japanese curry (when I lived in Japan…); I’ve only made it a few times since coming back to the U.S. and haven’t quite got it where I want it yet, so I’ll try this and see if it makes a difference! Thank you!
One type of Japanese curry I’ve been trying so hard to replicate is the Yokosuka Navy/Naval curry (よこすか海軍カレー). It’s just a bit different (as are many curries, I know) and seems to include various other ingredients, but I haven’t been able to nail down the flavor yet. Have you tried it, and if so, how easy do you think it would be to replicate?
Hi Ashley, thanks for the note! Nope I haven’t heard of Yokosuka Navy Curry, but I’ll try and see if I can find it the next time I’m at the store. As you might imagine, with all the curry places, shops have to do something unique to get noticed. This often includes unusual techniques or ingredients. I’ve seen everything from bananas to coffee being added for kakushiaji (hidden taste), and my own weird ingredient is cocoa powder.
Hi, Marc. Love this site!!! Do you know the difference between Bull-Dog Vegetable & Fruit Tonkatsu Sauce and the Bull-Dog Vegetable & Fruit (Chuno) Sauce? And if so, what is your opinion on substituting one for the other? Thanks!
Hi Melissa, good question. They’re very similar with the main difference being viscosity. Tonkatsu sauce tends to be thicker than Chunou sauce. Any of these sauces will work for this recipe.
Thanks for asking that, I had the exact same question…
Dear Marc, thanks for sharing your seven years’ worth of work – really appreciate your identifying the specific brands for all of us. I used to give in to S&B’s curry mix, or rather, the MSG in them. Not anymore 🙂 Great, great site!
You had a different version of your recipe until recently. Is there a was to still get to the earlier version?
Made it a few days ago! Delicious! I think one thing we weren’t doing was caramelizing the onions as much as you recommend above, and we also had a super rich homemade beef stock we used. I experimented this time and tried to replicate Japanese curry powder and think it turned out. Also improvised with apple cider vinegar (only a touch) because I can’t eat tomatoes and with worcestershire sauce in place of chuuno sauce. So good; thanks again for sharing!
Hi Marc, I’ve made this recipe many times (or rather, the previous one at least), but I’ve been wondering what other accompaniments to serve with a Japanese curry, like pickles and such.
Love the site, and thanks in advance.
Hi Joel, in Japan, curry is usually eaten with sweet pickles such as Fukushinzuke (daikon, cucumber, lotus root, red shiso, etc in a sweet brine), or rakkyou (an onion that’s kind of like ramps picked in sugar and vinegar). Because they can be hard to find in the US, I usually serve it there with sweet gherkins or chutney.
Hi Allen, this version is meant to be an improvement on the older version, which is why I replaced it. Was there something in particular that you preferred with the older version?
what kind of apple would you recommend I usually eat green apples but those don’t seems traditionaly Japanese
I loved the improvements made in this recipe. Today was a curry kind of day, cold and snowing all day. I had to use what we had so I used a ripe pear instead of an apple and Worchestershire sauce instead of the chunou sauce. The curry was delicious! My kids loved it!
Amazing. Can’t wait for the leftovers this week! I used some okonomiyaki sauce I had, added some more apple to fruit it up. Yum. I think the key is getting the onion carmelized enough. I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to the curry bricks again. Thanks!
Great recipe, thank you. I will be trying this with my students later this week. I hope you don’t mind, though, I am giving them a translated version with the link to this page.
why is no one mentioning that this curry looks separated as f*#!? some of the graininess could be the apple, which i doubt, and i know curry seizes up very quickly as it cools, but regardless, i want a curry to presented to me that is mostly smooth. no offense marc, i love some of your food and would order your katsu-chocolate curry as my last meal before execution, but this pic is just ew.
Hey guys usually when I cook pork curry for my dad (his a Japanese) I will always not saute the meat,onions,and other veg.
I prefer boiling the onions first then add my carrots and a little bit later I add the meat.
And when the meat is cook is when I add my curry sauce or bars and lastly I put my potatoes in.
Trust me guys you will love this 🙂
Wow this is really simple (-:
I will try this tomorrow
Thanks for sharing ayumi •__•
ddarko, it’s not separated. Roux does not separate. The texture is a mix of the onions, and crumbled potatoes, and carrots. I prefer my veggies melt-in your mouth tender, but this inevitable results in them crumbling a bit which is why the sauce is not smooth. If you want the sauce smoother you can puree your onion and not cook the potatoes and carrots as long.
Hi Ayumi, that’s an interesting technique, but have you tried sautéing the onions and meat before? It will make your curry taste much better due to the Maillard reaction (which cannot be achieved through boiling). See this wikipedia article for an explanation of the Maillard reaction: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction
ok, that makes sense. but are you saying your particular roux didnt separate or that roux’s in general dont separate? because if you ment in general, that would be a pretty ridiculous statement considering that’s all a roux is known for and I have personally had at least a dozen separate on me
Hi ddarko, making a roux (vs adding fat and flour separately to the curry) has 3 purposes. The first is to toast the flour so it doesn’t give your curry a raw flour taste. The second is to allow each particle of flour to absorb some of the fat so that the flour doesn’t gelatinize on contact with the hot liquid causing lumps. The third is so the fat does not separate out from the liquid because the gelatinized particles of flour retain the fat rather than letting it escape back into the liquid. I’ve never heard of roux prepared with a proper ratio of fat to flour separating. I have heard of roux clumping, but that’s a separate issue (caused by adding roux straight to a boiling liquid). This can be avoided by either adding the roux with the heat turned off, or tempering the roux by slowly introducing hot liquid into the roux and then dumping that into the liquid once incorporated.
eh? isn’t it common knowledge that a roux separating is one of the main difficulties of handling it? just go to google and type in “roux separate”. i’ve had so many roux’s separate on me i lost count. lol. where i can literally see the particles of flour and fat floating in whatever liquid it’s in. roux’s are a mystery to me. hot to cold, cold to hot, hot to hot, cold to cold, i’m never really sure what will happen when im dealing with a roux.
Hi ddarko, by “separate” do you mean the oil and flour literally separate or that you end up with clumps? If it’s the later, this can happen if you add roux to a boiling liquid because the flour doesn’t have a chance to disperse evenly into the liquid before it gels, leaving you with lumps of roux in your sauce. If you mean the oil and flour separate I’m really not sure what’s going wrong as I’ve never seen this happen. The only thing I can think of is that the recipe you were following included too much oil relative to the flour so that the flour wasn’t able to completely absorb the oil. I usually like to go with a flour:fat ratio of 1:1 by volume. I did take a look on Google, and while I see some people having the problem, there seems to be no consensus as to why it happens. Also, the questions are almost universally about roux for gumbo. I’m pretty sure roux for gumbo is prepared differently (you cook the roux much longer to get it dark brown). Perhaps this has something to do with it.
yes i literally mean the flour granules separate from the fat. it definitely happens more often with darker roux’s. when i was trying to figure out hayashi rice with a super dark roux, it ended up grainy/powdery literally every single time (15-20 attempts), no matter what proportion of flour/fat or type of fat and flour i used. i finally gave up and used a white/beige roux and the hayashi became smooth as can be. i have also had trouble with bechamels in the past but that may have been more clumping like you described and i just now make sure nothing is boiling hot and to go super slowly and whisk super aggressively. anywayz, love your recipes. keep up the good work!
Marc, it turned out absolutely perfect – on my first try! I’m so happy with myself (and my tummy is soooo happy too ^^). Thank you for such a beautiful recipe! I was a bit confused as to how you’ve achieved the consistency of the caramelized onions pictured – mine looked just like brown onions may look, but they still worked just fine. I had to come up with my own mix to substitute for the S&B powder, as well as had to improvise with the chunou sauce.. but I’ve managed! It tasted so much better than ready curry cubes! I will never go back to using them. I may consider sourcing Japanese curry powder.. but as I know how to make it myself.. who knows 😉
Thank you! ^^
Did you change the recipe? Because the last time I remember, it didnt use bayleaf and you changed tonkatsu sauce with tomato sauce + winchester sauce.
I’ve made it before, it was really good. But I lost my note, so I came here to check the recipe. And it’s lil bit different from what I remember.
Didnt mean to brag, I’m just lil bit confuse.
It seems the recipe changed. Would it be possible to change it back, or to repost it, or to email me the old one? I dont quite have it memorized
My husband made this today, and it was amazing! In addition to following the recipe, he added 2 chicken bouillon cubes and some ground chili.
I’ve had this on my to-do list for a long time and finally did it today. It was so easy and everyone loved it! I don’t think I’ll use the curry blocks ever again! Thanks Marc, love your website!
Hi Mai, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it and that it was able to lure you away from those instant blocks:-)
Hi Izabela, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this! For the onions, they take on that consistency because they are caramelized to the core. If your onions looked like sautéed onions they may have been caramelized on the outside but they probably were not caramelized on the inside. It takes a long time and a bit of patience but try slicing your onions thinner next time to speed it up a bit. If you slice them on a mandolin they should get to the point of being fully caramelized in about 45 minutes. I hope that helps!
Can I get the old recipe? I liked it a lot!
I must try this at sukiya
I just made some last night for a party. I grew up in Okinawa and have many find “curry memories.” I find curry to always taste better the second day. I hope everyone will enjoy it! It’s my 大好物!
Hi Daniel, thanks for sharing! Yep, it’s definitely better the second day. Hope you enjoy!
Someone told me I missed my calling as a chef. I sent them the link to your recipe!
Glad to hear it was well received:-)
hii!! your recipe looks delicious. my father is japanese and we’re all major fans of japanese cuisine so we often make curry. or well, i do actually cuz hes too lazy to. i never seasoned the chicken before, will def try that next time. we like adding cabbage to our curry its really good!:))
Hello! I am sixteen years old and don’t know a single thing about cooking. I was intrigued with curry, so I decided to do a bunch of research. Luckily your instructions made it possible for a young chef’s second dish. Thank you so much!
hi marc i’ll have to try this recipe, btw do you have a recipe for making the curry powder?
Hi Ryan, I’ve been working on it, but still can’t get the same Japanese Curry taste that you get with S&B.
Hi,
I made this a little while ago but it didn’t come out quite as I expected. It was good and certainly we didn’t get the off feeling afterwards like we had eaten something unhealthy that we get from using the cubes.
It came out a bit spicy, so I added some honey which sweetened it, but then you kind of had this peak of spiciness and a peak of sweetness, but the middle felt a little flat, like it was lacking umami? Not sure if my explanation makes sense but that’s how it felt. We usually aim for 中辛
I don’t know if I didn’t caramelise the onions enough, or they didn’t have enough flavour (I often find it difficult to get good onions for some reason), or if there is something else I missed.
Any ideas? I am looking to make this again next week.
Hi Jamie, it sounds like you weren’t getting enough sweetness from the onions and apple. Were your apples very sweet? The onions do take quite a while to caramelize properly, which is critical to making a good curry for two reasons. The first is that it adds sweetness and the second is that it adds umami. Here’s a post I did that gives more details on caramelizing onions: http://norecipes.com/recipe/caramelized-onions-recipe/ As for spiciness, did you use S&B brand curry powder? The reason I ask is that different brands use different blends of spices so the heat can vary from powder to powder. If you did you S&B and it was still too spicy, you can just use less curry powder. I hope that helps.
I was hoping for a curry from scratch recipe that doesn’t rely on prefabricated sauces, surely a scratch dish means that you either grind spices or buy pre-ground and mix them. I have no access to any Japanese products where I live so would love to know how to get the flavour for a curry. What is happening here is a bit like making an Indian Madras curry with a box of Madras Masala.
Hi! You mention that the 500g of onions get reduced to 1/8 of the size while caramelizing…how much should I put in if I caramelize the onions ahead of time?
Doesn’t the S&B brand list all the ingredients on the can? Is it the ratios that you are uncertain of?
Thanks so much for this! I have been making Japanese curry for years with the packaged blocks, and didn’t know how to get the same effect with just the S&B powder, which is all I can find now. I’m making this for a friend tonight. I am vegetarian so I use deep fried tofu triangles instead of meat.
Yep they do, but I can’t seem to get the ratio right.
Provided you have fully caramelized onions you could use about 60 grams. Of course this is one of those things where more is better, so add the caramelized onions at your own discretion.
Good call! Be sure to get the onions caramelized fully, and you can replace the chicken stock with a good vegetable stock.
Is it important to grate the garlic or can it be minced or pureed? Also when serving this with rice does the type of rice matter? I have some koshihikari rice as well as the basmati white rice, they have distinctly different flavors so I wonder which would have a better complimentary flavor.
Hi Amber, grating results in a puree that allows for more even caramelization which is why I recommend it vs mincing. As for the rice, you can serve this with any kind of rice, but in Japan it’s always served with Japanese rice (Koshihikari is a type of Japanese rice), which would be my recommendation.
Marc, have you tried making Hokkaido style white curry with yellow rice? If you have, any chance of posting a recipe? There are no recipes on the web in English, as far as I could find. The closest white curry blend I was able to find was Vadouvan…do you think that it might have been used in the original white curry recipe? Or perhaps something different?
Hi CJ, I haven’t had this one, but it sounds like it’s made in a similar fashion to chicken cream stew (http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/creamy-chicken-stew/) minus the turmeric, which is what gives regular curry its yellow color. My guess is that the curry flavor comes from other spices in curry powder like fenugreek, cumin and coriander seed.
You’re right, I’ve read the same thing. The difference between cream stew & white curry is that the former is not spiced, & the latter is. Gourmet magazine published a recipe for Vadouvan spice blend in 2008–which interestingly enough, was about the same time I noticed white curry receiving media buzz here. The recipe ingredients have a good deal of onions, shallots & garlic, followed in descending order, by ground cumin, fenugreek seeds, ground cardamon, brown mustard seeds, turmeric, hot red pepper flakes, & ground cloves. The reason I mention the white curry-Vadouvan connection is that a regional spice seller, Colonel De, here in my area, sells a packaged Vadouvan powdered curry mix. The recipe ingredients follow the Gourmet list exactly, but substitutes freeze dried onions & garlic for the fresh. The color? A light beige. Making a curry with this packaged mix would turn out with very light (white?) results. I’ve never eaten the Hokkaido white curry. I’ve seen photos, & the curry is not exactly white. But the original Gourmet recipe calls for caramelizing the onions & shallots, however, & that would darken the results a lot…..
I’m very confused. The YouTube video links to this recipe but the ingredients are completely different. There is no garam masala on here, no cardamom, this lists chicken stock but the video uses water. What am I missing
Hi Renee, the difference is the video is version 1.0 while this is more like version 3.0. I’ve replaced the garam masala with Japanese curry powder in the recipe because garam masala varies so much by brand, it’s impossible to get consistent results. There’s cardamom already in the Japanese curry powder, which is why you don’t need it. As for the chicken stock, it produces a more flavorful curry than using water, but you can still use water if you’d like.
Well, I made a mixture of the two versions last night (using some garam masala and some S&B curry, and half water and half stock). It was pretty amazing! Family said it was FAR better than the block stuff. I have to agree with others that this recipe is pretty forgiving and tweaking it for personal tastes is the way to go. I’m trying to imitate the great curry I grew up with in Hawaii and this recipe is a KEEPER! You rock, Marc!
I made this dish yesterday without ever trying the packaged curry mix. It was a hit for my dinner party. It took much, more prep time than 10 minutes but the time and effort was evident in a delicious meal. When guests arrived they said it smells “divine.” I made a double sized batch and followed the recipe to a tee, except for vegetarian modifications. From a local Asian grocery I found the sauce… (the thicker kind) and the spice. For the meat I used vegan Japanese beef slices that I hydrated, chopped, and sautéed w a dash of sesame oil. For the broth, I used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken. Thank you- delicious!
Hi Marc, I was sending the link for this recipe to someone in the family and noticed the ingredients had changed a bit. Just wanted to say we’ve making your karei raisu version 1 every Saturday night for about 18 months as it’s soo good (usually in double portions so we can have a day or two later for lunch as well) – lamb was my favourite although pork fillet is a close second.. Will have to try your new recipe altho not sure whether we can the Japanese Curry powder at the bottom of the world yet so some experimentation may be needed… so glad I found your website – keep up the good work! Guess I should try some other recipes too!!
Hi John, glad to hear you enjoyed it! As for the curry powder, the recipe you linked to sounds mostly right, but it’s missing fenugreek, which is a key component of Japanese curry powder.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful dish!! I’m very excited to attempt it, being a huge fan of the Japanese curry mix “bricks.”
Wait–did you change the recipe? My original had garam masala and no cocoa powder, bay leaf, etc….wondering why the change?
Hi Niky, this is a newer version of my ever evolving curry recipe. I swapped the garam masala for Japanese curry powder because garam masala varies so much by brand, it’s tough to find one that actually tastes like Japanese curry powder (which is available on Amazon in the US).
Hello, if I want to make a vegetarian version of this, would it make a big difference to the curry taste?
Hi Jo, making it vegetarian will definitely make it taste different since the sauce gets its flavor from the chicken. That said, you could probably make a vegetarian version that tastes pretty good, but you’ll need to think about other ways to get the umami taste of meat into it. Ingredients like mushrooms, konbu, tomatoes, and soy sauce are all rich in glutamic acids that stimulate the umami sensing tastebuds on your tongue.
I prefer not to use MSG when possible. Do you have a recipe for homemade chunou sauce?
Hi Paul, I don’t know what brand of sauce you’re looking at, but mine (Bulldog brand) does not contain MSG. I also just checked a few other brands on Amazon and they do not contain MSG either. As for making it yourself, the easiest substitute is to make a 50/50 mix of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Not quite as fruity but you’ll get a similar blend of spices.
Hi Marc,
This looks delicious. But I wanted also to try making curry with beef. In Japan the meat is always melt in your mouth tender but cooking with USA meat, it comes out very tough. I suspect I am not cooking it slowly enough. What process is used to get the beef so tender in Japan? Can you give me any pointers? – Thanks.
Hi Gregg, there’s a couple of things that could be going on. The first is that Japanese beef is much more heavily marbled than in the US, so the extra fat will make it more tender/moist. The second thing is that when you slow-cook meat, you’re breaking down the collagen (gristle and connective tissue) into gelatin which is what lubricates the meat fibers and gives the impression of moistness. If you don’t have a lot of connective tissue in the meat it will just get dried out and stay hard. This is why it’s important to use a cut of meat with lots of connective tissue. Shanks probably have the most, so that’s a good place to start.
I plan on making this recipe but I want to replace the chicken by beef, specifically cubed blade roast. I will brown the meat properly to get that nice flavor to come out but I was wondering, to really loosen and “melt” the connective tissues in the meat, would it be ok to simmer for an hour instead of 15 minutes in step 8? Perhaps longer? I’m thinking step 8 because I know carrots can retain firmness even if simmered over a long time but the potatoes from step 9 might become too tender if I cook them an extra 45 minutes. Any suggestions please let me know 🙂 thank you!
Hi Gabriel, yep you can adjust the cooking time to suite the meat you’re using. The carrots will take about 30 minutes to cook but will be fine if you put them in earlier, however the potatoes will melt away if you put them in too soon. They should take about 15 minutes to cook, and I wouldn’t leave them in for longer than 30.
Thank you for the extra details! I’m really happy I was able to find bulldog brand Chunou sauce and the S&B curry powder at a specialty Japanese & Korean grocery in town. The curry powder smells simply wonderful, makes me want to make some singapore noodles! I can’t wait to try the curry, I’ll start by caramelizing a big batch of onions following your guide. Thanks again for everything 😀
I’m severely dairy intolerant. What would you recommend as a butter replacement when making the roux?
Hi Tanya, it won’t have the same flavor, but you could use coconut oil or whatever oil you prefer using.
Also, if your problem is lactose intolerance, you could try ghee (clarified butter). Butter has very little lactose to begin with and almost all of it is removed when the butter is clarified.
Coconut oil ads a pleasant Indian/Thai curry style twist.
I can’t quite seem to get the onion paste quite right. Either the onions don’t cook down enough, or I seem to overcook them slightly, while getting the paste. Any suggestions?
Hi Cross, have a look at this post on caramelizing onions: http://norecipes.com/recipe/caramelized-onions-recipe/ my guess is that you have your heat up too high and the onions are burning before they’re able to fully caramelize.
Hi Marc, I’m thinking about making this for christmas in a slow cooker/crock pot and adding the roux before serving, any suggestions?
You can buy spices online, the s&b oriental curry powder is on amazon
Hi Callum, you can do this in a slow cooker, but it’s going to involve a bit more work and dirtying an extra pot as you need to to do steps 2-7 in a regular pot (crock pots won’t get hot enough to brown the meat and caramelize the onions). I’d also recommend doing part of step 8 (adding the liquid) in the pot to scrape up any browned bits of flavor with the liquid to ensure you get all the flavor into the crock pot.
A sweet apple like a gala apple 🙂
this was am amazing dish! i made it it took a while because i’m new to the processes but it was so good!!! it came out just right though i did add a few dashes of texas pete and some crushed red pepper for heat. the thigh meat really makes this dish though i can plainly see! thank you for this can i follow the same resapie with beef?
i also used fuji apple and instead of deglazing the the brown from the bottom of the pot with water i used a little aji-mirin.
Hi Travis, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Yep, you can follow the same process for beef, though depending on the cut (I’d recommend a cheap cut with lots of connective tissue), you’ll need to cook it longer to tenderize the meat.
Very nice recipe, thank you! By the way, I happen to have dried curry leaves, can I also use these instead of the curry powder for the same recipe?
Hi Stefan, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this. It’s a little confusing, but curry leaves are not the same thing as curry powder. Curry leaves are the leaves of the Murraya Koenigii plant. Curry powder is a British blend of spices that usually includes cumin, turmeric, cloves, fenugreek, coriander, cayenne, etc. Unsurprisingly they have very different tastes.
Hi Marc, I am enjoying your blog and wishing you had cookbook.
What is chunou sauce?
Great recipe! Didn’t want to use the manufactured cubes. This was natural and yummy too.
Hi Linda, Chunou sauce is a Japanese fruit sauce that’s a bit like Worcestershire, but thicker and sweeter. It’s sold on Amazon, but you can also get something close by mixing ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in a 50:50 ratio.
Hi Stephen, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it. Yea I know what you mean. I like the cube taste, but don’t want all the frankeningredients in them.
Is ‘Cocoa powder’ used in this curry? Its mentioned in the ingredients, but cant find it in the recipe.
Hi Deepthi, sorry about that there was a typo and it said “coco powder” in the instructions. It’s fixed now.
Our family loved your recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Helen, I’m so glad to hear your family enjoyed this, thanks for leaving a note!
i absolutely love this recipe, its my favorite curry so far (>^_^<)
I absolutely love this recipe, its my favourite curry so far (>^-^<)
Hi Sara, glad to hear you enjoyed this!
Hi marc i noticed the recipe directions on here are different than the youtube video. Should i use the directions on this page or on the video . Thanks! Cant wait to try this
Hi Anh, this is a more recent version of the recipe, so I’d suggest trying this. You can still use the techniques shown in the video though since those haven’t changed much.
Hi I wonder if you could recommend a way to make this recipe with beef instead? thank you!
Hi Nanda, this could definitely be made with beef, or lamb, or pork, or any other kind of meat. The directions are mostly the same, but the cooking times until the cut of meat you chose is tender may vary. For beef its best to use a cut with some connective tissue like chuck or short-rib as it will get tender after cooking without getting dried out.
Hi Marc, thank you so much for the quick reply. I absolutely love short rib flavor and texture. Can you give me a little more guidance on the cooking times and technique? I thought short rib would need a lot longer cooking time than the Curry generally takes to make?
Hi Nanda, the time it takes to cook is going to depend on how big you cut the pieces and how much connective tissue is in the particular piece of meat you use. If you cut it very thin and there isn’t much connective tissue, it could be as fast as 40 minutes, but if you cut them into large chunks and there is a lot of connective tissue it could take up to 3 hours. As for the process, it remains the same up until step 8. You’ll want to add the carrots and potatoes later on in the cooking process depending on how thick you cut the meat.
it’s look like a shit, i wonder how its taste
enjoy it
Hello! I cannot look at older comments on my computer so I apologize if this has already been asked, but how would I incorporate the pre-made curry cause cubes into your recipe?
Also, I cannot find the Chunou sauce at my local stores and was wondering what would be a decent substitute?
Thank you!
Hi Liesl, if you’re in the US, Chunou sauce can be found on Amazon, otherwise you can approximate it with a 50/50 mix of ketchup and worcestershire sauce. As for premade curry blocks, just use the block in place of the roux.
Wow your idea of adding tonkatsu is amazing. I wonder, why do you heat the roux for so long? I generally just let it heat a minute or so to kill the flour flavor.
I guess my mom’s version was towards home-style, but yes I believe the flavor of homemade is so much better than the cubes. If I run out of S&B powder, curry is on hold until I make it to an Asian market. I do believe I’m going to try carmelizing the onions next time. Umami is a good thing! Thanks for the idea.!
Hi Chibi, caramelizing the onions is what the the famous curry houses do here in Japan that sets their curries apart. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Kasper, sorry for the slow response the roux is cooked for a longtime to brown the flour. This develops additional flavor for the same reason that toasted bread is more savory than untoasted white bread.
The chunou sauce I find in the stores has high fructose syrup and modified corn starch. Is there a better alternative?
Hi whenrainmeetssun, you could use a mixture of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, but many ketchups contain HFCS as well, so you’d have to find one that does not.
Hi Marc, your recipe looks great. Would I be able to use this same recipe (but without putting the meat in it) and use it as a sauce over some chicken katsu? Also would it work if I blended the sauce? Keen to try this recipe for the first time this weekend.
Just finished making the curry from scratch. Of course, making something from scratch takes longer, so be prepared. My daughter is gluten-free so I used mochiko (rice flour) in the roux. It came out well. My daughter is also dairy-free, so using the non-dairy Smart Balance margarine worked out fine in the roux, too, to thicken the curry sauce. I used a cast iron pan to caramelize the onions so it came out darker. The taste was a bit stronger because of that so I just added some sugar to smooth out the taste. I also fried my potatoes before adding them to the curry, which took time. I think it helps the potatoes not to melt. I heard if you add a pad of butter/margarine to the potatoes, they don’t melt as much. I added some thin green beans to the curry to add more color. Well, we are about to eat, so it’s time for me to go! Thanks Marc for this good idea for curry!
Ive had this page bookmarked for years and i remember this recipe called for beef, and i dont remember things like bay leaf, cocoa powder and other things. I remember curry was made separately by adding the curry powder flour, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup, until it turned into the paste, then was added into the pot later…I wish i could have the older recipe…
Hi William, there was an old recipe but the results on that were less consistent. For instance garam masala tastes wildly different depending on the brand, so using a Japanese curry powder is a better option. Also by mixing the curry powder and ketchup into the roux, some people had problems with the curry powder or ketchup burning making their curry bitter. I’ve also found that adding the curry powder earlier on flavors the meat and veggies. As for using beef you can substitute beef for the chicken and just increasing the cooking time a bit.
Hi Wendy, glad to hear you were able to make it work out with the substitutions and thanks for sharing the advice for other readers! Good idea to fry the potatoes first to keep them from melting. Personally, I kind of like the vegetables to all be melting into the roux, but this is totally a personal preference thing. Hope you enjoyed it!
Hi Shane, yes you could make this to use as a sauce, but you’d want to use a rather concentrated chicken/beef/pork stock as the sauce gets a lot of flavor from the meat that’s added. Also, don’t see any problem with blending the sauce.
Good recipe but would be nice to have a printable recipe without having all these pictures eating up ink.
Hi Damon, thanks for the suggestion. The site used to have this function but we recently moved platforms and lost this ability. It’s high on my list of things to have my developer fix. In the mean time, I’d suggest cutting and pasting the recipe into a document editor and removing the photos before printing. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Hi Marc, What could I use instead of the chunou sauce if I don’t have any of that?
Hi Julie, you can do use a 50:50 combination of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
Thank you so much, after visiting japan I wanted to eat some more japanese curry. Now thanks to you, I can now eat more curry.
Hi Kings, thanks for stopping by to leave a comment. I hope you enjoy it!
This was fantastic! “Ka-re” was my favorite of all the foods that my Japanese mother cooked when I was growing up, I would stand by the stove waiting for that final simmer of the potatoes and roux. On my own, I would make it using the store bought blocks but stopped after realizing all the chemicals in it. I have been looking for a Japanese ka-re recipe that was reminiscent of my childhood favorite and have found it here. Thank you SO much!
Hi Rita, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by to share your story😀
this is a great recipe! I was looking for a homemade version of japanese curry, the bricks you can buy have SO much sodium in them. I like the convenience of having the paste and just adding water, so I made this recipe with everything but the water, vegetables, and meat. adding everything in the paste, including the roux, and instead of chicken stock I use chicken base paste, so I can have my own “just add water” version. made a double batch so I can keep some in the freezer for another time. 🙂
Hi Mindy, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! I’m not a fan of the roux blocks for the same reason.
Hi I tried it today. I was absolutely craving this after my trip to Japan but I wanted a kare that I could cook more healthily as I have a 2yo. This was PERFECT! I cant believe that I got it tasting right this first time. THANK YOU
Hi Aisyah, I’m glad to hear I could help sate your craving! Thanks for taking the time to drop a comment😀
Hi! Im a foreigner married to a Japanese and living in Japan. I have no idea how to cook Japanese food but your website helps me a lot. I cooked curry according to your recipe (I don’t like using the Japanese cubes) and my husband loved it. He also loved Hayashi rice and Hamburg steaks I made according to your recipes. Thank you so much!
Hi Neko, I’m glad to hear you find my recipes helpful. It’s funny that you commented on this post today, because I just shot an updated video with my new recipe for Japanese curry. It’s even better than this one, so I hope you try it out after I release it.
Still my go-to curry recipe after 10 years. The small changes were nice too. Thanks, Marc!
You’re welcome Kenneth, I’m glad to hear it!
Hi Marc. Another great recipe. Much appreciated. Great balance and deep flavor. But be honest here… there is no way to get the onions caramelized as described in 20-30 minutes. It is at least an hour or two if you don’t want to scorch the onions. It’s worth it, but please update the recipe to reflect a realistic time for that step. Otherwise, great job and thanks!
Thanks Franklin, the caramelization time is not stated as 20 minutes, it’s 10-15 minutes to steam and another 20-30 to caramelize (that’s a total of 30-45 minutes). It’s shorter than the time you’re used to because the steaming step breaks down the onions faster and gets them to release their water (which is essential before caramelization can start), the onions are also sliced extremely thinly (using a mandolin). I’ve found a better way though that can cut the full time down even more and it’s reflected in my newer curry recipe: https://norecipes.com/japanese-curry-recipe-from-scratch/ I have a few tricks in it to cut the caramelization time down significantly. I’m also releasing a Katsu Curry recipe next week that takes the method even further allowing you to cut caramelization time down to 8 minutes.