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.
Nutrition Facts
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Nad Px says
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!
MixedUpInVegas says
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
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
MixedUpInVegas says
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.
Benjamin Zuckerman says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
FeedmeFood says
The curry was bitter and not sweet besides the flavor of the carrots. It did not taste like Japanese curry.
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
FeedmeFood says
Also, you instructed to "laddle about 2 cups of liquid into the roux". What liquid are you talking about?
FeedmeFood says
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?
Markus NZ says
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...
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
DanzaFantasma says
Can another type of flour, say coconut or rice flour be used in place of the wheat flour for someone who is gluten intolerant?
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing your technique for making it gluten-free!
Markus NZ says
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!
D says
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)
Andrea says
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!
Digatron says
I understand. Thanks for the reply! I've convinced her to suck it up and use the butter. Looking forward to trying it!
Benjamin Evans says
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!
Cherry says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Digatron says
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?
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Mike says
Would this work for the Tonkatsu recipe? Since I don't want it black.
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Liz says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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: https://norecipes.com/recipe/caramelized-onions-recipe/
Sajindaj says
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
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
mushroom says
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?
Marc Matsumoto says
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?
asyrop says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
asyrop says
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)
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
asyrop says
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?
Katherine Kato says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
A. Ryan says
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.
Katherine Kato says
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^
Marc Matsumoto says
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
Marc Matsumoto says
Approve—
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Jason says
Having never tried Japanese Curry before, I tried my hand at making it using the recipe here https://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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Amber Ayers says
Is it necessary to use water or can it be substituted with beef broth?
DatMama says
This has now become my Husbands FAVORITE meal!! Love it! This is my go to recipe for Japanese curry!!
Kerry says
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!!
Marc Matsumoto says
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!
Lynn says
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.
Mitchell Williams says
Misty I would love to get a copy of your curry! I was stationed in Oki and I miss it terribly!