207 replies to this topic

[skchai]

While wandering aimlessly for another thread I came across a pretty detailed history of Japanese Curry from the House Foods site.

Here it is

Sorry don't have time to translate. . .

[torakris]

While wandering aimlessly for another thread I came across a pretty detailed history of Japanese Curry from the House Foods site.

Here it is

Sorry don't have time to translate. . .

I didn't realize it had been around that long!

Guess it is time for me to get down to the Yokohama Curry museum!

http://metropolis.ja...lfeatureinc.htm

[skchai]

Guess it is time for me to get down to the Yokohama Curry museum!

http://metropolis.ja...lfeatureinc.htm

Thanks for the Article Link.

Here's the website for the Yokohama Curry Museum.

And for good measure, the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum site.

And for Yokohama Chinatown.

Hope you appreciate living there, Kristin!

[Yuki]

I made a Japanese curry yesterday using S & B..... it is really salty. I am wondering if there is any brand that any one would recommend or would it taste better if I make everything from scratch.

Tried the curry udon at a restaurant and really enjoyed the soup, but it appears to be much thinner than normal curry. What kind of ingredients are added to the curry to turn it into curry soup base for the udon? Thanks

[Hiroyuki]

All store-bought, ready-made curry roux products contain a lot of salt and fat.

***
As for curry udon, a recipe usually include curry powder, katakuriko 片栗粉, a type of starch, and dashi.
http://www.betterhom.../curryudon.html
But there is another recipe, which uses curry leftovers:
http://allabout.co.j...up/CU20020217a/
This also requires katakuriko and dashi.

[Richie111]

Does anyone know if most Japanese "Curry House" type restaurants use a pre-made roux such as S&B or do they all make it from scratch?

[Hiroyuki]

Well, I can never be sure of such a thing, partly because that involves trade secrets, but I guess all franchises have their own recipes. There are roux products available for business use, but I guess they are for small-size, independent restraurants.

Example of a roux product for business use (1 kg):
http://store.yahoo.c...i/hha00057.html

[torakris]

My husband often makes a curry udon with leftovers, thinning it out with just a little dashi.

I really hope any restaurant that specializes in curry makes it from scratch....
I too have seen those super industrial sized packs of curry roux and hope they are used more by the small restaurants that serve a variety of dishes, curry being just one item on the menu.

[redfox]

I made Japanese-style curry for the first time tonight, with 3 blocks (half a package) of Vermont medium-hot curry for

- about 400 g. tofu
- 1 large onion
- about 1 1/2 c. chopped carrots (those baby carrots, cut in half)
- 1/8 cabbage, chopped
- 1 little block "snow-dried" tofu, cut into 15 cubes
- 2 1/2 c. liquid

Somewhat to my surprise, I found it very tasty. It did have a bit of that bullion kind of flavor, but really it was darn good. Would you say curry rice is the hamburger of Japan? It sounds like it is universally beloved of children in particular (but adults too) in a similar way.

[Hiroyuki]

Today, a birthday party is given at my daughter's nursery school. They will have curry and rice, a shrimp fry, Japanese-style salad, and melon for lunch and ice cream for oyatsu (3-o'clock snack).

Sushi, curry and rice, and hamburg steak are three of the most popular items among Japanese children.

[torakris]

I too have seen those super industrial sized packs of curry roux and hope they are used more by the small restaurants that serve a variety of dishes, curry being just one item on the menu.

Or schools, maybe?

I know that it isn't used at my kids elementary school, their monthly lunch menu not only lists what is served for lunch but exactly what goes into it and in what amounts per child. So the sauce for their curry (this month was a bean curry served with naan) consists of:

ginger 0.2g
garlic 0.1g
rice oil 1g
flour 8g
margarine 7g
curry powder 1g
salt 1g
soy sauce 2 g
ketchup 2g
chuunou sauce 3g (this is sort of a cross between tonkatsu and worchestire sp? sauces)
water 80g

The gram amounts are average per child.

[Hiroyuki]

I don't like the combination of thick curry with the solidity of Japanese white rice, so this is one dish I like to have with genmai.

A good point! This has also been on my mind this year. The combination of Koshihikari rice and curry just doesn't seem right. The umami of the rice just doesn't go together with spicy curry. I'd like to try jasmine rice, but I can't get any in this rural town.

Anyway, this is what I had for lunch today. A pack of instant curry udon of Maru-Chan and some leftovers (niku-jaga and fish sausage).

[Pompollo]

HI.
First of all I found this great site for people who love food and cooking. In fact what brought me to the site in the first place was a search for Indian cooking and curry recipes. Since I live in Tokyo I couldn't resist taking a peak at the Japan site too and found this thread.

In getting back to the original querry for making Japanese curry taste different, I'll share what I do.

I slice up some eggplants lengthwise (1/8 slices) and fry them in a little oil (I prefer olive oil) and salt. After they go limp, I put them in the curry with a can of crushed tomatoes. To me, this really changes the flavor the curry, but still doesn't do enough to make into an "Indian" type curry.

Just in case you are thinking of shortening steps ...... I was lazy once and sliced the eggplants and just threw them raw into the curry with the tomatoes. Unfortunately, the eggplants never got limp enough to my satisfaction, and even after they softened up they had no flavor.

As for favorite Japanese curry roux in the box, I love the Glico one that has the carmalized onions in a separate pouch. It's sometimes hard to find, but it does taste different because of those onions.

Also, instead of the roux, I sometimes make Japanese curry from scratch with curry powder from Shinjuku no Nakamuraya (the breads/foods/confectionaries store). It's my favorite curry powder. Although it's kind of like Indian, it still tastes Japanese, but good to me.

[torakris]

I have added cabbage to my curry before but I now prefer to finely shred it (like for tonkatsu) and place it in the bowl next to the rice and then pour the curry on top of it. I prefer that raw flavor and the textural contrast it gives.

[Pompollo]

Torakris,

Thanks for the welcome.

Yoroshiku.

I happened to remember what I forgot to mention in my first post.

Making the curry with only spinach (either raw, cooked, or frozen) as your vegetable instead of the standard COPs (potatoes, onions carrots) makes an interesting variation from the routine.

Also varying the cuts of meats makes a difference in taste too. Instead of the usual chunks of pork or beef, making the curry with ground beef or ground pork, or even flavored meatballs, creates a little variety. Finally, using very thinly sliced cuts of beef or pork is easy, takes little time to cook, and imparts a different texture and flavor.

Well, all curried out for the moment.

[Rhea_S]

I'm a bit curried out at the moment as well because I've been eating curry rice for the last three days. I had a craving for Japanese curry rice on Monday and discovered that I was out of pre-packaged curry roux. I decided to try making some anyway. I made a dark roux using butter and flour then I added chicken broth, a mixture of Penzey's maharajah curry powder and The Spice House's garam masala, tomato paste, chicken thigh cubes, potatoes, onions, and carrots. I let the mixture simmer until the vegetables were tender and adjusted the seasoning using soy sauce. It turned out surprisingly well although I found it a bit disconcerting that it tasted too similar to curries I've made using S&B curry roux.

P.S. I'm with all the kids. I like my Japanese curry thick and gloppy.

[Richie111]

...I was out of pre-packaged curry roux. I decided to try making some anyway. I made a dark roux using butter and flour then I added chicken broth, a mixture of Penzey's maharajah curry powder and The Spice House's garam masala,

Rhea_S, sounds yummy! I am very interested in trying to make my own Japanese curry from scratch. I have googled without much luck (all recipes say "insert pre-packaged curry roux". Would you mind posting or pming me your recipe? Or if you didn't use an recipe maybe just the approximate quantities you used of the ingredients to make yours? Or perhaps someone else might have made Japanese curry from scratch successfully?

Many thanks,
Richie

[skchai]

Lot of great ideas - it's hard to do much with the sauce itself, since the roux ingredients don't really go with the more obvious additives to a sauce such as wine, cream, coconut milk, or yoghurt. Tomatoes and / or caramelized onions both seem like great ideas. Other things that might (?) go well are a hoppy pilsner-like beer instead of water. Or putting a fairl amount of ground cardomon into the spice mixture. Or how about some yuzu juice (not too much)? All of these additions would help to "lighten" the taste of the curry. . .

[Hiroyuki]

I don't want to disappoint many of you, but I can assure you that you can't make Japanese curry from scratch, without using ready-made curry roux. I have tried several times in my life, but the result has been disappointing.

[torakris]

Before kids I always made curry with chunks of meat, but with smal kids I found it was difficult for them so I switched to ground meats, now that my kids are a little older I actually prefer the thinly sliced meats. And it cooks a lot faster too!

I have this wonderful curry book called Karee Daizenka (カレー大全科), it is a Japanese book all about curry. There are a couple recipes that actually call for curry roux but they beef it up a bit like a "Chinese" curry they makewith a packaged roux witht the addition of cloves, star anise, oyster sauce, tenmenjian and toubanjian. The rest of the recipes are made from scratch but in all different ways, there are also Indian style curries and Thai style curries as well as side dishes to go along with curries, different kinds of rice and other dishes that use either blocks of curry roux or curry powder.
The beginning of the book of the book gives hints for making your own curry from scratch by giving information about various spices and other ingredients that can add tastes to the curry. For example to add sweetness they suggest adding mire poix (sp?), sauteed onions, garlic, cheese, butter, milk, fresh cream, ketchup or apple. Apples and ketchup can also add a little sourness along with tomatoes, yogurt and oyster sauce. Ingredients like cheese, butter, milk, cream, sugar, soy sauce, cashew nuts, bananas, coconut milk, choclate and red wine add depth. And so on and so on....
It probably has close to 50 recipes for curry alone and no two of the sauces are the same!
The book can be found here:
http://www.amazon.co...5507149-4630712

[Hiroyuki]

Question: Do you eat fukujin-zuke with curry and rice?

I think that the combination of curry and fukujin-zuke is superb.

[Palladion]

Also, my husband made a Sri Lanka-style curry last week (he saw an actual Sri Lankan make it on TV, so it MUST be authentic!) that was so easy and simple. He just chopped a bunch of onions and totamoes, layered them in a big pot, topped it with curry powder and garlic(his own addition) and chicken thighs (with skin and bone, he'd sauted them briefly in butter first). Then he covered it and simmered for an hour. No liquid, no oil or fat (except for sauteing the chicken), no roux, no stirring.
And it was good! Very simple-tasting, but considering the ease of preparation it was great. I hope he makes it again.

I read this post a few days ago, and decided that it sounded like a good, very simple meal. So I gave it a shot tonight, and was impressed by how well it worked out. I have no real experience with Sri Lankan or Indian curries, but it was certainly tasty.

I added a few things to add some complexity to the flavor. I cooked a small handful of dried chickpeas earlier in the day and added them and the water that they were cooked in. I also added the juice of one lime and a little sugar to balance the sourness. Also threw in a tiny bit of natural peanut butter. Used chicken breasts instead of thighs, because it's what I had on hand.

[Akiko]

Question: Do you eat fukujin-zuke with curry and rice?

I think that the combination of curry and fukujin-zuke is superb.

Is there any other way to eat Japanese curry? I thought the fukujinzuke was the whole point!

[torakris]

Question: Do you eat fukujin-zuke with curry and rice?

I think that the combination of curry and fukujin-zuke is superb.

Is there any other way to eat Japanese curry? I thought the fukujinzuke was the whole point!

I sometimes make curry just because I want to eat fukujin-zuke!
and rakkyo too, I must have both!

[torakris]

I just ran across this:

http://www.sbfoods.c...402/07761_L.jpg






perfect for the person who has a phobia of eating foods that are not perfctly round......

[scott123]

I came across a recipe for Japanese Curry Roux containing the following ingredients.

onion (sauteed in butter)
honey
3 tablespoon curry powder
2 Tblespoon tumeric
1 tblspoon graham masala
cayenne pepper
salt
cardomam
nutmeg

Is Japanese Curry powder different than Indian? If it isn't, I'm guessing that this person might be getting Indian curries confused with Japanese since the ingredients appear almost identical.

What's the delineation between Japanese and Indian curry?

[tektite]

I cant speak for everyone, but the girl who taught me how to cook a Japanese curry made it a lot thicker and a bit more mild then any indian curry I have ever had.

[torakris]

I am not an expert on Indian curries or Japanese ones for that matter but in my experience Japanese curry tends to be of a thick sauce with some meat and vegetables ( most commonly potatoes, carrots and onions) while curries in India are more of a meat and/or vegetable dish with some sauce for binding. Japanese curries also tend to be milder and sweeter.
But don't forget there are also Indian style curries made in Japan, these tend to focus more on various spices rather than a pack of roux.

[mikehart]

For what it's worth, my Japanese wife makes a curry which has a lot of very thick and yes, sweeter/milder sauce----it's almost like a thick stew. It generally has stewing beef, potatoes, carrots and onions (as mentioned before). Most Japanese housewives would not even consider making it from scratch but rather, buy a package of "curry" sauce or powder and add the ingredients and let simmer like a stew. Sometimes this is even served with or poured over rice.

[smallworld]

I came across a recipe for Japanese Curry Roux containing the following ingredients.

onion (sauteed in butter)
honey
3 tablespoon curry powder
2 Tblespoon tumeric
1 tblspoon graham masala
cayenne pepper
salt
cardomam
nutmeg

Is Japanese Curry powder different than Indian? If it isn't, I'm guessing that this person might be getting Indian curries confused with Japanese since the ingredients appear almost identical.

What's the delineation between Japanese and Indian curry?

Most Japanese people, at least in my experience, are unaware that curry is actually a mixture of several different spices. So they make curry with either a pre-prepared roux or a store-bought powdered curry. The recipe you found is unusual, as I think few households have any of those spices other than curry powder (and I'm pretty sure you can't find garam masala in a regular Japanese supermarket).

There are many different versions of both Japanese curries and Indian curries (if there even is such a thing as an Indian "curry"), but I guess the main difference is that typical Indian curries are made with a mixture of spices, freshly roasted and ground, cooked with onions, garlic, ginger etc before other ingredients are added. While Japanese curry is made the same as stew, with a hard, store-bought roux melted in at the end.

So yes, Japanese curry is different from Indian curry. As is Thai curry, Jamaican curry etc.