[402 kcal] Japanese Curry Rice

Nutrition Facts

Calories	402 kcal
Total Fat	9.2 grams
Sodium	937.4 grams
Total Carbohydrate	56.2 grams
- Dietary Fiber	3.8 grams
Protein	21.7 grams

Ingredients and Price List

Japanese Curry

Food	Amount Used	Unit Cost (SGD)	Cost Per Use (SGD)
Carrots	25g	​$0.95 for 500g	​$1.05
​Potatoes	75g	​$3.80 for 1kg	​$0.29
Yellow onions	1/8 onion (~15g)	$2.05 for 700g	​Negligible
Boneless pork loin	75g	$6.50 for 300g	​$1.63
​Vermont Curry Roux - Mild (Curry with a Touch of Apple and Honey)	1 cube (~19g)	$5.40 for 230g	​$0.45
Salt	To taste	​-	Negligible
Pepper	To taste	-	Negligible
	​SUBTOTAL:	$18.70	$3.42

Rice

Food	Amount Used	Unit Cost (SGD)	Cost Per Use (SGD)
Cooked White Rice	105g	$2.22 for 210g	$1.11
	​SUBTOTAL:	$2.22	$1.11

Overall

​Total Unit Cost (SGD)	$20.92
Total Cost Per Use (SGD)	​$4.53

Two guilty pleasures I could name off the top of my head right now are Japanese curry rice and Pride and Prejudice. And the third: matcha ice cream. I love Japanese curry because of how flavourful this thick, gravy-like curry sauce is and how easy it is to make this dish. Convenience aside, it is a pretty healthy and hearty meal because it is basically made out of vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions) and meat (typically pork or beef).

I can't handle spicy food very well (I know, I'm a disgrace to Malaysians...), but the main difference between Japanese curry and Indian curry is that Japanese curry is sweeter and less spicy than their Indian counterpart. Many years ago, when I was first introduced to Japanese curry, I was surprised as I had always thought curry was an Indian dish and typically very spicy. So how did this dish that originates from India become a popular Japanese meal then?

Apparently, the British navy was responsible for bringing curry powder to Japan from India during the Meiji era (1868 - 1912). As curry has been adapted to fit Japanese cultural tastes over the years, with the inclusion of fruits and other local ingredients, it has become sweeter and less spicy than Indian curry.

I love Japanese curry so much that when I used to order it back in university, I would request a refill of sauce because it would be gone in my tummy within seconds. (The canteen stall decided to charge customers extra for a sauce refill after that, which made me pretty upset ... and a few years later, the stall closed down, which made me even sadder. But I digress.) Anyway, as I've mentioned, it is fairly simple to make this dish ourselves, so there's really no need to buy it anymore :)

Part of the reason why this dish is super convenient is because of the store-bought curry roux (pronounced "roo"). A roux is a combination of flour and fat cooked over low to medium heat to create a thickening agent used to thicken sauces. Just sauté onion pieces, followed by potato and carrot cubes (and meat, if you want to), add water and bring it to a boil, add a few cubes of the store-bought curry roux, simmer the curry stew for about 15 minutes, and you're done. Again, the intention of this food blog isn't to include step-by-step instructions, so if you'd like more detailed steps, you may want to refer to other sources such as this.

What I would like to mention here is Joshua Weissman's recipe for homemade Japanese curry roux. If you're familiar with his cooking videos, he usually makes everything from scratch. So it's not surprising that he shows us how to make curry roux in this video. Apparently, curry roux is a combination of unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, Japanese curry powder, cayenne, cardamom powder, fennel powder, and turmeric powder. Well, as easy as Joshua made it sound to make Japanese curry roux at home, I think I'll have to pass on that because when else would I use the remaining cayenne, cardamom, fennel and turmeric powder? :")

Honestly, the most basic Japanese curry made using the above-mentioned ingredients—potatoes, carrots, onions, maybe some meat—was delicious enough on its own. But some people like adding extra ingredients to take the flavour to the next level. Some of these ingredients might seem preposterous at first, but they are legitimately used by others in their Japanese curry recipes. Dark chocolate, for example. I tried cooking Japanese curry with a piece of dark chocolate, and although it does make the curry creamier and richer, I wouldn't necessarily say I prefer it over the basic Japanese curry.

If you're feeling extra adventurous, you could even try adding other ingredients as suggested by participants in a survey by the Japanese lifestyle portal Kufura - instant coffee, worcestershire sauce, yoghurt, to name a few.

Whatever the combination, it can't possibly go terribly wrong. It's Japanese curry—when in doubt of the flavour, just add another curry roux cube to mask the undesired taste. ;)