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.
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Why My Recipe Works
- Good Japanese restaurant curry's comes from caramelizing onions and other aromatics. I build layers of flavors in this recipe, first by browning the chicken, then caramelizing garlic and ginger before going in with onions and carrots.
- The characteristic sweetness of Japanese chicken curry is created by adding fruit and sugar in most recipes. This version uses apple, which provides a nice sweetness and helps thicken the curry sauce. Be sure to choose a sweet variety of apple or your curry will taste sour.
- Japanese curry is usually thickened with flour and fat roux, but my version of homemade curry rice is thickened with vegetables and fruit, making it healthier than most.
- Kakushiaji (隠し味) means "hidden taste," and it's a cooking technique where you add a tiny quantity of a contrasting ingredient to improve the dish's taste. For this Japanese Chicken Curry I add cocoa powder. It may sound odd, but it's one of the secrets for getting an earthy depth of flavor, making it taste like it's been simmering for hours.
Convenience over Flavor
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 call this junk food, it's a comfort food I grew up on, and it 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 dozen 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.
The Secret to Making 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
Japanese Curry Powder
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 powder, such as S&B brand. You can usually find it at Asian supermarkets but Amazon also carries it. A fews years back I cracked the code for making Japanese curry powder from scratch using a curry spice set from Gaban, so if you're curious, you can read about it in this recipe, How to Make Japanese Curry Powder.
Recipe
Japanese Curry from Scratch
Equipment
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 550 grams boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 14 grams garlic (~2 large cloves, grated)
- 14 grams fresh ginger (~½-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
- 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Instructions
Why it works- Clean any large bits of fat or tendon from the 550 grams boneless skinless chicken thighs and cut into large chunks. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper and mix to distribute evenly.
- Heat the 1 tablespoon 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 14 grams garlic and 14 grams fresh ginger and fry in the oil until it's not sizzling as much and it reaches a rich caramel brown color.
- Add the 500 grams onion 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 ⅛ 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 3 tablespoons Japanese curry powder and sauté briefly until very fragrant.
- Return the chicken to the pot and then add the 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock, 300 grams carrots, grated ½ medium apple, 2 tablespoons chunou sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the 350 grams 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 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon all-purpose 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 ½ cup frozen green peas and bringing to a boil to thicken the sauce.
- Serve with hot rice, or on top of a bowl of udon.
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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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Aisyah says
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
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Aisyah, I'm glad to hear I could help sate your craving! Thanks for taking the time to drop a comment😀
Mindy says
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. 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mindy, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! I'm not a fan of the roux blocks for the same reason.
Rita C says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Rita, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by to share your story😀
Kings says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kings, thanks for stopping by to leave a comment. I hope you enjoy it!
Julie says
Hi Marc, What could I use instead of the chunou sauce if I don't have any of that?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Julie, you can do use a 50:50 combination of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.