When we hear the “curry”, we often associate with Indian curry. It’s true, curry originated from India. Their aromatic fragrance makes them ubiquitous in major city restaurants. Most of the time curry has its intense flavor, either mild or spicy. It has evolved in almost every culture – different cultures have their own curry.

My favorite at all times is still the easy-to-make-at-home Japanese curry. Unlike Indian curry, which is served with Basmati rice; Japanese curry is often ate with the short grained rice, similar to the rice they use in sushi. It’s also something I grew up with, the texture of the rice is on the stickier and chewy side. It gives a nice consistency. And since Japan is so close to Taiwan, Taiwanese cuisine has a lot of influence from Japan. This is how I came to know Japanese curry.

Although this would require a trip to the ethnic store, it’s totally worth it. I’d buy two or three curry packs a time to stock them up just in case. A pack is divided into two smaller packs, each small pack is 4- 5 serving and can be frozen for other meals — yeah, very convenient. Make sure you have a Japanese brand for the curry pack – for those who live in Switzerland, your best option is probably the Korean/Japanese grocery market in Zurich, otherwise look for an East Asian Market around your area.

Here’s how the pack looked like (says it’s medium spicy) for this recipe:

Recipe for 1/2 pack

Ingredients (Serving for 4 – 5)

1/2 pack of Japanese curry

250g of meat (chicken or beef)/vegetables (for vegetarian, add broccoli, turnip cabbage, cauliflower or any other vegetalbes you prefer) – chopped in small pieces

200g of onions (red or white is OK) – chopped

150g of potatoes – diced

100g carrots – diced

3 spoons of grape seed oil

650ml of water the curry

300ml of water for cooking the meat (if you have any)

3 cups of rice (your preferred kind)

Direction:

1. Chopped carrots, potatoes and onions to medium bite sizes.
2. Add oil in a big pot in medium heat, once it’s ready, add the vegetables into the pan to stir fry.
3. When the veggies turn golden and fragrance start to come out, add 650ml of water into the pot. Allow it to sit 15 minutes in low to medium. Stir occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, chopped the meat. Boil hot water (another 300ml) on the side. Prepare a shallow pot which allows 300ml of water in medium heat. Put in the meat
5. Let it sit for 2 – 3 minutes when the meat starts to turn cooked on the outside (this is to bring any dead blood away and overall a rinse for the meat to taste good). Rinse the meat with lukewarm water.
6. When 15 minutes is over. Turn off the stove. Add the meat in, then add curry blocks, stir till curry dissolves.
7. Add the meat to the pot, cook for another 10 minutes in low heat till the curry it thick. Serve over rice.

Like the Japanese say Bon Appetite —

 

Itadakimasu!

 

Enjoy your meal.

 

love and light,

Paye Tina