Several of my friends ask me how to make Japanese curry. Japanese curry is one of ‘Yoshoku’ (Japanised Western Foods), and one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Many people have a say how to cook, and what should be in their curry. This one is to use curry roux, I also mostly use my electric pressure cooker to save time. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can just cook in a pot.
Ingredients (about for 6-8)
400g of beef, cut in 3cm cubes *Any kind of meat should work. If you don’t eat meat, you can use chick peas or prawns. However, be noted curry roux is using animal fat.
1.5-2 onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 carrots, cut in 1.5-2cm
3 potatoes, cut in 2-3cm cubes
6-8 mushrooms, cut in half
1 package (140g) of Japanese curry roux
(You can buy it at Asian/Japanese section of a supermarket store.)
half cup of red wine
1000ml of water * 1100ml if you cook in a normal pot.
(If you have bone broth, I highly recommend to use it. It will taste even better.)
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce (if you don’t have it, you can skip this)
1 tablespoon of tomato ketchup (if you don’t have it, you can skip this)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
Rice
Instruction
1. In a pressure cooker pot or a normal pot, add oil and cook beef until the outside looks brown. Take them all out. Saute onion until the onion becomes light brown. Then add chopped garlic and carrots and cook for 1-2 mins.
2. Bring the beef back to the pot. Add red wine, water and bay leaves.
3. Close the pressure cooker, and set at a high pressure, for 15 mins, then do natural release. If you cook with a normal pot, cook at medium heat until it boils, and turn down to low heat and cook for 40-45 mins.
4. Meanwhile, microwave potato cubes until it is almost cooked.
5. Open the cover, and add curry roux and mix gently, then add mushrooms and potato cubes, Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup and soy sauce. Cook for 10-15 mins. Check if potato is cooked enough.
6. Serve with rice.
Toppings (optional)
Adding your favorite topping will make you enjoy your curry even more. Here are what we sometimes add. I usually add chopped boiled egg and “Fukujinzuke’ while my husband likes to add a row egg and grated cheese.
- Chopped or slice boiled egg, fried egg, or row egg
- Grated cheese
- Pickled cucumber “Fukujinzuke”
- Gherkin
- Marinated Chinese onion “Rakkyo”