Japanese Vegetable Curry (Kare Raisu)

Name: Japanese Vegetable Curry (Kare Raisu)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Japan
Ingredients: 2 tbsp neutral oil; 2 onions, sliced; 2 carrots, in chunks; 400 g (14 oz) potatoes, in 3 cm (1¼ in) chunks; 200 g (7 oz) mushrooms, halved; 1 apple, peeled and grated; 800 ml (3⅓ cups) Vegetable Stock, or water; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp ketchup; 1 tsp honey; 5 g (¾ tsp) fine sea salt, plus more to taste; 100 g (¾ cup) frozen peas or edamame; 50 g (3½ tbsp) unsalted butter; 50 g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp mild curry powder, Japanese S&B if you can find it; 1 tsp garam masala; Perfect Rice (short-grain), pickled ginger or quick pickles

Thick, mild, gently sweet curry over rice — Japan's favorite comfort food

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 25 min
Total: 55 min
Level: Easy

Japanese curry is unlike Indian or Thai curries: a thick, glossy, mildly spiced sauce, thickened with a curry roux and sweetened with grated apple. This version makes the roux from scratch with butter, flour and curry powder, which is easy and avoids the additives in packet blocks.

Ingredients

Curry

2 tbspneutral oil
2onionssliced
2carrotsin chunks
400 gpotatoes (14 oz)in 3 cm (1¼ in) chunks
200 gmushrooms (7 oz)halved
1applepeeled and grated
800 mlVegetable Stock (3⅓ cups)or water
1 tbspsoy sauce
1 tbspketchup
1 tsphoney
5 gfine sea salt (¾ tsp)plus more to taste
100 gfrozen peas or edamame (¾ cup)

Roux

50 gunsalted butter (3½ tbsp)
50 gall-purpose flour (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)
2 tbspmild curry powderJapanese S&B if you can find it
1 tspgaram masala

To serve

Perfect Rice (short-grain), pickled ginger or quick pickles

Diet: Vegetarian
Allergens: gluten, milk, soy, celery, sulphites
Origin: Japan
Season: Autumn, Winter

Method

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onions until soft and golden, 10–12 minutes. 11 min
Add the carrots, potatoes and mushrooms and stir 2 minutes. Add the apple, stock, soy sauce, ketchup, honey and salt. Simmer, partly covered, until the potatoes are tender, 15–18 minutes. 18 min
Meanwhile make the roux: melt the butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until it turns the color of peanut butter and smells toasty, 6–8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and garam masala for 30 seconds and take off the heat. 7 min
Ladle 200 ml (¾ cup) of the hot curry liquid into the roux and whisk smooth, then stir this back into the pot.
Add the peas and simmer, stirring, until the sauce is thick and glossy, 5 minutes. Taste for salt. Serve over rice with pickles. 5 min

Why it works

Cooking the flour in butter until brown gives the roux a toasted, nutty flavor, and the spices bloom in the fat. Thinning the roux with hot liquid before adding it to the pot prevents lumps. Grated apple dissolves into the sauce and brings the gentle sweetness Japanese curry is known for.

Common mistakes

Burning the roux: keep the heat low and stir.
Dumping the roux straight into the pot: it may form lumps.

Variations

Chicken curry: Brown 500 g boneless chicken thigh chunks before the onions and simmer with the vegetables, to 74°C (165°F).
Katsu curry: Serve the sauce with Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps 4 days and freezes well without the potatoes (they turn grainy).

Notes

Store-bought stock may contain celery. Without the honey (use sugar) and with oil in place of butter, the dish is vegan. Sulphites only from the pickles served alongside.