BEST Japanese Curry Recipe From Scratch (カレーライス)
Japanese Curry Rice (カレーライス) may sound a bit odd, but it is one of the most popular homemade meals in Japan. Although most people use a boxed instant roux to make curry these days, in this authentic recipe, I’m gonna show you how to make the best Japanese Curry from scratch. It’s a bit of a long video but the techniques I’m going to show you will help you to make homemade Japanese curry without using curry roux by harnessing the umami of caramelized vegetables and fruits. Because there’s no roux, it’s also easy to convert this to a gluten-free curry(sub Tamari for the soy sauce) or even a plant-based Japanese curry (you’ll need to sub in a protein such as chickpeas or tofu as well as something to provide more umami like mushrooms, miso, etc). By the time your done watching this you should be able to make this authentic homemade Japanese curry rice
HELP ME OUT ▶
FULL JAPANESE CURRY RECIPE ▶
HOW TO DICE ONIONS ▶
JAPANESE CURRY POWDER RECIPE ▶
EASY JAPANESE CURRY ▶
INGREDIENTS (makes 6 servings)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
800 grams skin-on boneless chicken thighs (cut into large bite-size pieces)
30 grams ginger (grated)
20 grams garlic (grated)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
600 grams onions (2 large minced)
70 grams carrot (grated)
3 tablespoons Japanese curry powder (this is a blend of spices and should not contain salt, sugar, thickeners, or any other flavor additives)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 banana
400 grams potatoes
300 grams carrots
1 bay leaf
1 star anise
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon chunou sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
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INDEX:
0:00 Intro
1:37 Ingredients for Japanese Curry
2:25 Preparation
4:40 Browning the Chicken
5:22 Caramelizing Aromatics
6:02 How to Cut Veggies for Curry
6:57 How to Make Curry Base
9:31 How to Make Japanese Curry Sauce
10:50 My Secret Ingredient
11:35 Finished Japanese Curry
#japanesecurry #Curry #kareiraisu
Today I’m going to show you how to make a Hardy Japanese curry without using those
instant roadblocks so stick around Welcome back to new recipes I’m mark Matsumoto and
I’m here to show you how to elevate your everyday Meals so hit that subscribe button and ring that
bell so you don’t miss out if you’ve never heard Of it before Japanese curry may sound like a bit
of an odd idea but it was brought to Japan over A hundred and fifty years ago by the British
and since then it’s gone on to become one of The most popular home-cooked meals here in Japan
unlike Thai or Indian curries Japanese curry is Sweeter and thicker which makes it the perfect
accompaniment for rice during the colder months Of the year these days most households use these
instant Roux blocks to make it but it’s loaded With questionable additives and I actually don’t
think it makes the process that much easier so I like making mine from scratch if you’ve been
watching this channel for long you may remember That I first posted my Japanese curry rice
about ten years ago but since then I’ve made A bunch of improvements to the process and to
the ingredients so here’s how to make the best Japanese curry from scratch the first thing you’re
gonna need is about 750 grams of your favorite Protein I’m using skin on chicken thighs along
with the tablespoon of oil to brown it for the Aromatics I’ve got 30 grams of ginger 20 grams of
garlic 600 grams of onions a quarter cup of water And 1/8 tsp baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 70 grams
of carrots a ripe banana and 24 grams of Japanese Curry powder for the curry we need 4 cups of stock
I’m using vegetable stock I’m also gonna use 300 Grams of carrots 400 grams of potatoes 2 tbsp soy
sauce 1 tbsp chouno sauce a bay leaf star anise And 1 tablespoon of tomato paste the first thing
we’re gonna do is mix a solution of 1/4 cup water With the salt and baking soda and then stir that
together until it’s dissolved I’ll explain more Later but this is gonna speed up the carmelization
of the onions the key to a flavorful Japanese Curry whether you’re using a roux or not is to
caramelize the aromatics this can take over an Hour to do properly but I’ve found a few tricks to
speed things up and chopping the onions finely is The first one this works by creating more surface
area that can come into contact with the pan which Speeds things up I have a whole video on how to
chop onions so check the description for a link if You need help with that next I’m gonna grate the
ginger this is a japanese-style grater meant for Daikon but I love it because the gaps prevent the
teeth from getting clogged up if you don’t have One you can use the rasp on a box grater or just
mince it up finely now I’m gonna grate the garlic As well then you want to empty the hopper and
grate about 70 grams of carrots grated carrots are A flavorful way of adding sweetness to any sauce
and curry is no exception for the chicken I’m Gonna trim off any excess skin or fat and then cut
it into large bite-sized pieces I know someone is Gonna ask so I’ll address it now I don’t recommend
using chicken breasts or any lean cut of meat for Curry fat and connective tissue or what keep the
meat moist and make it fall apart tender during
The long cooking time and without it the meat
will shrivel up into a mealy dry chunk of protein That’s why you should save those chicken breasts
and pork loins for dishes that require shorter Cooking times okay let’s get the chicken into
the pot so we can start browning I’ve got a large Dutch oven preheating over medium high heat that
I’m adding the oil to and then I’m gonna arrange The chicken in its skin side down if the chicken
doesn’t all fit get as many in as you can and then Save the rest for adding to the curry later now
I’m gonna let the chicken Brown undisturbed for About three minutes okay the skin side is looking
nice and brown so I’m gonna go ahead and flip it Over and brown the other side don’t worry if it’s
not looking perfect the important thing is that You’re forming lots of little brown bits on the
bottom of the pan because this is where the flavor Of our curry is born I like using dutch ovens
for stews and curries because they’re made from A dense material that conducts heat more evenly so
you don’t end up with hot spots where your curry Might burn okay this should be good let’s go ahead
and get the chicken out of the pot leaving as much Of the oil behind as possible now I’m gonna add
the ginger and garlic and fry this until it’s Extremely fragrant and very Brown you’ll probably
end up with a growing patch of brown fondant on The bottom of your pan but don’t panic you want
to get that layer as Brown as possible without Burning it so just remind yourself that bond is
flavor once it’s looking like this I’m gonna go Ahead and add the onions then you want to add the
baking soda solution and give it a quick stir you Want to cover it with the lid before the water has
a chance to evaporate so do this quickly now just Turn down the heat to low and set the timer for
10 minutes while we’re waiting for the onions to Steam let’s cut the veggies up in Japan we use
a cut called non-bt for cutting root vegetables For curry despite being asymmetric the pieces are
roughly the same size and thickness which ensures They cook through evenly you want to start by
making a diagonal cut and then roll the carrot A quarter turn and then make a cut at the same
angle again then you just continue to roll in cut Roll in cut until you end up with a pile of chunky
carrots like this same deal for the potatoes only I’m gonna cut them slightly bigger because they
take less time to cook them the carrots if your Potatoes are really big you may want to have or
quarter them lengthwise first once you get used to Cutting things a Tonya tee it becomes a no-brainer
and I love how perfectly imperfect the pieces are Okay let’s check the onions while we were chopping
a few important things have happened here so let Me explain first the water has released all that
Brown Fond from the pot effectively resetting the Clock so we can caramelize the onions without
burning anything the next thing is that water Conducts heat better than air so by steaming the
onions we were able to cook them in about half the Time it would have taken to get them this soft
by sauteing since browning reactions required Temperatures above the boiling point of water the
faster we’re able to cook the onions the faster We can start browning them the last thing is
something that you can’t see remember how we added
That baking soda solution along with the onions
well baking soda does two things to the onions The first is that it breaks down their cellular
structure allowing them to cook faster the second Is that it’s raise the pH of the mixture which
significantly speeds up browning reactions now All we have to do is turn up the heat and boil
off that excess water once most of the water is Gone I’m going to go ahead and add the grated
carrots and then we’re gonna fry this mixture Until it’s a beautiful cinnamon brown although
I’m referring to them collectively as browning There are actually two different reactions taking
place here the first is the my yard reaction where Sugars and proteins react to produce a bunch of
new flavor compounds including mommy producing Amino acid the second reaction is carmelization in
which large sugar molecules get broken down into Smaller ones which is why caramelized onions taste
so sweet this is the most important part of making A good Japanese curry so take your time to get
this mixture as Brown as possible without burning It I’ve obviously sped this footage up but it took
me about 15 minutes from the time I open the lid Until they started looking like this just look at
how glossy and beautiful these onions are I know You can’t smell them but if you could I guarantee
you’d be drooling right now next I’m gonna add The curry powder and give it a few quick stirs to
toast it and bring out the Roma’s be careful not To overdo this though because curry powder tends
to burn easily and it’ll make it taste bitter okay This is looking perfect so let’s get the vegetable
stock in there now I’m going to use a hand blender To puree this mixture this makes for a smooth
curry and the thickness comes from the caramelized Vegetables instead of a fat and flour room oops
I almost forgot to add the banana most Japanese Curries use things like honey and sugar to add
the sweetness but I like using a ripe banana along With the caramelized aromatics the banana adds
a wonderful mellow sweetness without adding any Acidity like apples or fruit juice would it’s also
another ingredient that increases the viscosity of Our curry without adding any thickeners finally
I’m gonna add the soy sauce mate Oh paste and Tuna sauce along with the bay leaf and star anise
okay let’s go ahead and return the chicken to the Pod I’m also gonna add in those vang giddy cut
carrots and potatoes now we just need to let this Simmer uncovered over low heat for about an hour
or until everything is nice and tender because the Sauce is quite thick already it has a tendency
to burn to the pot so be sure to give it a stir Every 10 minutes or so also do you remember that
secret ingredient I was telling you about earlier It’s Dutch processed cocoa powder it may sound
like a strange ingredient but this is what’s Called kikuchiyo G in Japanese which means hidden
flavor it’s an ingredient that’s added in a small Enough quantity to not be obvious but it enhances
the dish in this case the cocoa powder adds an Earthy depth to the curry that balances out the
sweetness of the fruits and vegetables as well as The pungent kick of the spices after about an hour
your curry should end up looking something like This give it a taste and adjust the seasonings
with salt and cayenne pepper if you wanted a
Bit spicier also if you want a more saucy curry
you can add a bit of water to thin it out but Personally I like my Japanese curry nice and thick
just look at how luscious that curry is and we did It without the help of a box mix my old Japanese
curry recipe was almost as good as the box true Blocks but after 10 years of tweaking I can
finally say that this is better than the box true In almost every way it tastes better it’s better
for you and it only requires a marginal increase In effort as with most zoos Japanese curry tastes
better the second day so be sure to make enough of It so you have some leftovers for most Japanese
people Kidane I see is the ultimate comfort food That reminds us of mom’s home cooking so I hope
you give it a try if you enjoyed watching this Video I’d really appreciate your support by giving
this a thumbs up and leaving a comment down below If you have friends that love Japanese curry send
them a link to this video so they could give it a Shot as much as I love making these videos for
you guys I’ve got Mills to pay so I’d really Appreciate if you’d consider becoming a patron on
patreon to support the making of these videos well I hope you have a safe warm winter and I’ll catch
you in the next one check us out on Instagram
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