Japanese Curry
Notes:
It can be pretty difficult to find different varieties of Japanese curry roux in Iceland. My favourite, personally, is Vermont Curry (medium spice), but I haven't been able to find it yet. Costco sells Golden Curry in LARGE packages.
I don't really know how to spell worcestershire, but hopefully you know what I mean. Sometimes I will substitute tonkatsu sauce, which gives the curry a fruitier flavor.
The chocolate / coffee may seem like a weird ingredient, but I promise it adds a really interesting depth to balance the sweetness of the Japanese curry roux. I learned from my friends in Japan that it's fairly common for Japanese moms to have a “secret ingredient” for Japanese curry —– something like an apple, pear, or bit of chocolate.
Ingredients
- 50g bacon
- 1 whole onion
- 1 medium sized carrot
- 10g butter
- 400ml beef broth
- 200ml hot water
- 35g curry roux
- 1 tsp curry powder (preferably, S&B)
- 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp coffee OR 20g dark chocolate
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Slice the onions, carrot, and bacon into thin strips.
- Melt the butter into a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Once the butter is starting to splutter, sautee the onions, bacon, and carrot until the onions are fully soft and start to brown. Make sure that the bacon is cooked all the way through.
- Add water and beef broth and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the carrots are fork-tender.
- Take the pot off heat. Move the contents to a blender and blend until smooth, or blend with an immersion blender until smooth. All of the solid ingredients should be thoroughly dissolved.
- Put the contents back into the pot and replace on low heat. Add curry roux and curry powder and stir until the curry roux is breaking apart in the pot.
- Add worcestershire sauce, sugar, soy sauce, pepper, rice vinegar, and coffee. Stir until integrated.
- Continue simmering on low heat for 15-20 minutes, or longer. The curry's flavor will deepen the longer it simmers. Simmer it as long as you can hold out your patience.
- Serve with rice and enjoy!