Japanese Curry Rice

By Addie

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

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

Ingredients

• For the roux:
• 3 Tbs butter
• 1/4 C flour
• 2 Tbs garam masala (or curry powder)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add less if you want it mild or more if you want it spicy)
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs ketchup (or tomato paste)
• 1 Tbs tonkatsu sauce (or worcestershire sauce)
• .....................................
• For the curry:
• 2 tsp oil
• 2 large onions sliced thin
• 2 lbs chicken thighs cleaned and cut into chunks (you could also use beef, shrimp, or tofu)
• 2 carrots cut into chunks
• 4 C water
• 2 large yukon gold potatoes cut into large chunks
• 1 small apple peeled cored and pureed (I use a microplane)
• 2 tsp kosher salt (use less if you use regular salt)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 C peas

Preparation

Step 1

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

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

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

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

Serve over rice or noodles.
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