Japan – Japanese Curry Rice (karē raisu)

by Zayna Khan

Curry is basically a gravy made up of some specific ingredients, spices, yogurt, cream by adding vegetables and meat in it. There are many varieties of curry cooked all over the world. Japanese curry is made by basic vegetables like onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and some meat can be added to make it meat curry or simple vegetarian curry. Meat like pork, fish, beef, chicken, etc. The first time Japanese curry was made to cure BERIBERI.

CURRY

Curry is sauce-like textured gravy. It is originated from the Indian Subcontinent by adding Indian spices salt, turmeric, red chilies, cumin powder, coriander powder. They have one compulsory ingredient that is also known as CURRY LEAVES. They have specific mustard yellow-colored curry. But Japanese has some variation by adding their different spices and different cooking method, but this ends up looking like the same curry all over the world.

All over the world, there are many curry varieties in different cuisines.

AFGHANISTAN

In Afghanistan, their national curry is

• KORMA
• KARAHI

They used to cook this curry by adding a huge amount of oil and onions, with their spices. Then other vegetables are also added like tomatoes, green chilies, etc. This curry is usually made by meat portion beef, chicken and fish also.

BURMA

In Burmese cuisine, two different types of curries are cooked.

• SPICY CURRY
• MILD SWEET CURRY.

They add chili paste, ngapi, some spices in fish and prawns. These curries are very oily and buttery so it is served with rice and slices of bread.

CHINA

In China, curry powder is sold in groceries stores to add in simple curry. They must have one or two spices that are stars of the dish, STAR ANISE, and CINNAMON STICK. By adding these spices, the CHINESE CURRY is very fragrant and smells good.

Gā lǐ is the Chinese curry that consists of all the meat portions, seafood, beef, mutton, chicken, pork, etc with vegetables like onions, pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, tofu. Different sauces are added like

• Soya sauce
• Mirin
• Sake
• Hot sauce
• Pepper sauce, etc.

JAPAN

karē raisu is Japanese curry. It is served on rice with some vegetables that are pickled. This is thick stew-like gravy or curry. It has a very huge addition of ingredients like vegetables, fruits, meat, etc.

Vegetables are more onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, tofu, etc.

Meat is pork, beef, chicken, fish, prawns, shrimp, mussels.

Apples are also sometimes added with honey to make it sweet and spicy side by side.

THAILAND

Thai curry is also very famous throughout the world. There are many varieties of that curries like :

• Green curry
• Jungle curry
• Red curry
• Yellow curry
• Hang le curry
• Sour curry

HISTORY OF JAPANESE CURRY

This dish is first time introduced at the MEJI ERA. Curry was used to serving in Japan by 1870.

The first dish was KARE RAISU. Curry with rice, is like a rice bowl top with Japanese curry. Japanese navy used to serve Japanese curry as the FRIDAY MEAL. It is also a very popular story that Japanese curry is used to cure BERIBERI disease.

For Japan, Japanese curry is the national dish of Japanese cuisine.

Nowadays, this dish is so popular, it is now sold as curry maker packets, preserved curry sauces, curry powder, etc. This can be served in many varieties like spread on the rice bowl, only vegetarian version curry, curry noodles, curry soup, etc.

VARIETIES OF JAPANESE CURRY

KATSE KARU

This dish has three main elements on the plate :

• Rice plate or bowl
• Japanese curry
• Tonkatsu or pork cutlet

This can be served with miso soup or some dips, pickled vegetables, etc. All these three elements are served on the same plate or bowl. The bed of rice having thick textured vegetable stew or curry with thinly cut slices of tonkatsu.

AIGAKE

It is a rice dish in which HAYASHI CURRY is served over it. HAYASHI RICE is another dish.

It is a curry made with caramelized onions, mushrooms, red wine, tomato sauce, etc. This recipe has no other variation in the addition of vegetables only mushrooms and onions, tomatoes, etc.

It is more like a Western-style dish, also known as HASHED BEEF RICE.

SUPU KARE

• This curry is more like soupy and watery consistency.
• It is very thin and mild in flavors.
• Broth like curry, with chunky vegetables and chicken meat.
• Have boiled egg in it.
• Served with rice

JAPANESE LOCAL CURRIES

• Scallop curry
• Mackerel curry
• Natto curry
• Whale curry
• Oyster curry
• Black pork curry
• Nashi pear curry
• Sika deer curry

SERVED WITH

SAUCES

Present this dish with different soups and broth also with sauces like :

• Dashi broth
• Mirin
• Sake
• Miso soup
• Soya sauce
• Daku Daku
• Vegetable dashi
• Tsuyu

DIFFERENT TOPPINGS

We can add topping to this dish for more flavors :

• Kimchi
• Welsh onions
• Negi
• Sesame seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Nori
• Daikon
• Sesame oil
• Beni Shoga

OTHER SIDE DISHES

• Udon Noodles
• Chili paste
• sesame seeds
• Curry bread

INGREDIENTS OF THE DISH

• Rice : 2 cups
• Chicken : 1 lb
• Mushrooms : 1/2 cup
• Scallions : 2 chopped
• Garlic : 6 cloves
• Carrots : 2
• Onions : 1
• Russt potatoes : 2
• Corns : 1 cup
• Soya sauce : 1 cup
• Tomatoes : 2
• Japanese curry mix : 1 packet
• Sesame oil : 4 tbsp
• Vegetable oil : 4 tbsp
• Cilantro : few leaves
• Honey : 3 tbsp
• Yogurt : 3 tbsp
• Chicken stock : 2 cups
• Mirin : 4 tbsp
• Sake : 4 tbsp

COOKING METHOD

• For rice, add 4 cups of water in 2 cups of rice and place in the rice cooker with some kosher salt and vegetable oil, so they donot stick to eachother.
• For Curry, take vegetable and sesame oil with some onions and garlic cloves and mix them. Add salt and cook them for 5 minutes, then add tomatoes and let the water releases of tomatoes so they get soft enough.
• When they soft enough add 1/2 cup of water and turn off the flame, remove it from lid and after cool down, blend it into a paste.
• In the cooking pan, add chicken stock with this onion tomatoes paste let the chicken cook for 10 minutes.
• After that when half of chicken is done, add all the vegetables and sauces.
• Now let this thin curry simmer for 15 minutes so chicken cooked, vegetables cooked and sauce thickened.
• At the end, add honey and yogurt into the curry and some cilatro for nice green color.

SERVING

• Take a plate, add rice on the bottom as the flat surface.
• Add chicken vegetable Japanese curry over the rice.
• Place tonkatsu slices on the side.
• Add boiled egg with it and serve.
• ENJOY 🙂