How to Make Japanese Curry

One of the most loved foods in Japan.

My mom was born in Sendai, Japan and cooks us incredible Japanese dishes. I love all of them, but my favorite is the curry. Japanese curry keeps the spice from India with a deep flavor, but makes a few adjustments to match Japanese tastes. My mom makes it monthly, and my siblings and I are excited everyday to eat the curry. 

Japanese Curry was invented in the Meiji era (1868-1912), and at that time, India was colonized by Britain. The British sailed to Japan and introduced the new dish, curry when Japan was forced to abandon its isolation from other countries by Britain. Japan changed up the Indian style of curry in their own way, to make it match their taste. Japan added rice, potatoes, carrots, onion, and meat to the curry, making it have more nutrition. At the time, curry was a luxurious food, which only rich people could eat. In 1905, curry became more affordable for the people, thanks to the invention of curry powder. Japan adapted to this food so well, they combined foods with curry, such as Udon, Soba, Bread, and Katsu. Japan loves curry so much, they started to teach kids how to make curry in schools, because of how simple, nutritious, and delicious it is. Japan introduced their curry to other countries such as North Korea, South Korea and a few more countries. Japan also serves curry to the military, because it’s yummy, and easy to make. 

I’ve brought curry to school many times, but most of my friends stepped back, because of how brown it is, and the smell. But when I let my friend taste it, they were in heaven. Curry has different versions, such as mild and spicy. I personally recommend mild, but most Japanese people like it as spicy. 

Now, let’s start making the curry:

Ingredients

• 6 potatoes

• 3 carrots

• 2 onions

• 1 apple, or persimmon

• Rice

• Any type of meat (For this recipe, chicken and pork are recommended. For beef, it is recommended to use a slow cooker or pressure cooker to make the beef tender.)

• Curry roux/Curry Powder

• Instant Decaf Coffee

Step 1:

First, start by cutting the meat into 1 inch cubes, and peel off the skin of the vegetables. Cut them into chunks. The carrots and onions should be about the size of your big toe. Make the potatoes a little bigger, so you don’t melt them when you’re cooking it. Soak the potatoes in water so the potatoes lose their bitterness, and don’t turn brown. Keep it in the water for 10-15 minutes.

Step 2:

Next, apply cooking oil to a large pot, and start the fire at high heat. Put in the meat, and cook the meat’s surface, as you stir it with a spatula. After burning the surface of the meat, add the onions into the pot. Once the onions are soft, add in the carrots. As you stir the ingredients, the oil should slowly go onto the carrots.

Step 3:

Next, pour in water until it covers all the ingredients you put in. Wait until the water boils, and you’ll see scum (solid foam of blood, coming out of the meat). This will look like a brown, and greyish foam floating on the top of the pot. Scoop only the scum with a ladle so that it does not taste bitter. Use something like a toothpick to check if the carrots are soft. If they are, add the potatoes (take out the water). Use the ladle to pick up potatoes, and poke it with something like a toothpick like you did with the carrots to check if it’s done.

Step 4:

Next, you will put in the curry powder. However, if you have too much water, the curry will turn soupy, which we don’t want. So scoop out the soup into somewhere else for you to adjust the amount of soup later. Put in curry powder until the sliminess is like plain yogurt.

There are some secret ingredients my mother puts into the curry, like half a teaspoon of instant decaf coffee, 1 shredded persimmon, half a shredded apple, or mango chutney (you can get any of this at Trader Joe’s). Any combination will work. Get creative and make notes about what additions you love the most. That can be your family’s own recipe!

Step 5:

Finally we have to put it on the plate. Get some rice, and some shredded mozzarella cheese, put the rice in a bowl, and sprinkle in some cheese. Pour in the curry, so the amount of curry and rice are about the same.

You are done! Now get your spoons and start munching. 

Curry is definitely my favorite food, and I hope you enjoy it too. Americans probably don’t like the looks of it, but you can’t judge a book by its cover. 

To finish up, I want to tell you a few tips when eating curry. 

1. Eating curry with milk helps neutralize the spiciness of the curry.

2. Freezing it, then warming it up the next day gives it an even deeper and delicious taste.

3. You could add a little bit of chocolate for a slightly more bitter taste. 

4. Japanese people say “itadakimasu” before eating to show gratitude to the people who made the food, and the lives that were sacrificed for the food. When finishing, say “Gochisousamadeshita.” This basically means the same thing as “itadakimasu”, but Japanese people always say it, to show gratitude.

 Now you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to go to Japan to get their food, you can make delicious curry here!