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)
Units
Ingredients
For curry
- 550 grams boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ 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 low-sodium chicken stock
- 300 grams carrots (~ 2 carrots, cut into chunks)
- ½ 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)
- ½ cup frozen green peas
for roux
- 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Instructions
- 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.
Neko Ikemoto says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Jenny says
What can I use to make it spicy like at the restaurants?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jenny, Japanese curry typically isn’t very spicy, but if you like more heat you can add some extra cayenne pepper. I’m the only one in my household that like my curry crazy spicy so I usually just sprinkle the cayenne pepper on my portion after serving it.
Kenneth says
Still my go-to curry recipe after 10 years. The small changes were nice too. Thanks, Marc!
Marc Matsumoto says
You’re welcome Kenneth, I’m glad to hear it!
Franlkin says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
CRx says
For many years I thought the Japanese edition of curry was curry and was kind of shocked by the other varieties. I lived in an area/time where the bricks weren’t available and all the recipes I found had nothing to do with what I understood curry to be. I enjoy the Indian and Thai varieties, but when I think of curry your version comes closest. Thank you.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi CRx, thanks so much for sharing your story. Japanese curry was my first introduction to curry as well so I know how you feel!
Don Taylor says
It is worth the effort
thighs better than breast
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Don! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.