Japanese Curry

Ah, Japanese curry. Usually served as curry rice, this dish is the stuff of Japanese home-cooked dinners and tight-belted college students trying to come up with a decent meal plan that fits their budget and will last a few days longer even though they know they'll eventually get absolutely sick of it. Unlike the more flavorful Indian curries or the well-balanced Thai curries, Japanese curries are made from solid gold curry blocks packed with just about everything a typical curry soup stock needs, minus the veggies and meats of course. But don't shun their curry just because it's not like the Indians' nor the Thais'; their curry is just as flavorful with the right ingredients... And other seasonings.

New to Japanese curry? Here's how they look on the package.

Here's a personal take on this classic Japanese dish.

This should serve 4 people at best.

Ingredients:

• 4 blocks Japanese curry
• 4 fillets chicken breasts or thighs or 600 grams of beef
• 2 carrots
• 2 large potatoes or 4 small potatoes
• 30 grams broccoli
• 1/2 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 grams chocolate
• 100 grams cream
• 10 grams mild cheese
• salt and pepper as needed
• 750 grams water
• 3 cups uncooked rice
• 15 grams butter

As you can see, this is my mise en place. It's a lot to add in my curry given the fact that I'm the only one eating it, but bear in mind that I made my curry with the intent of it being my dinner for the next 2-3 days.

1. Wash your rice repeatedly until it's clean. Put your rice in your rice cooker pot and put water in it, just enough so that it covers the rice. Clean the rice by taking handfuls of it and just crushing it in your hands for several seconds. Drain the liquid by tilting the pot just enough so that the water pours into your sink. Use your hand to make sure rice doesn't flow out of your pot by accident. This should take about 3 washes; after the third wash put 4 cups of water into your pot. If the water is clear enough for you to see the rice at the bottom, cook it in your rice cooker; otherwise, wash it again until it becomes so.
2. Dice your onions and garlic.
3. Cut stalks of broccoli.
4. Wash and peel your carrots and potatoes. Make round slices of carrots. Cut your potatoes into 1/4's and then store them in water to prevent them from browning and turning starchy.
5. Slice your chosen meat into chunks.
6. Shred or cut your cheese into small cubes.

From this point on there are either two ways you can go about with this. I'll outline both processes below.

Rice Cooker Method

This method is for everyone who have only a rice cooker in their home. This is a very straightforward method, one that I managed to achieve through some experimenting. If you have only one rice cooker, you need to wait for your rice to cook then set it aside before you can get started.

1. Set your rice cooker to cook. If you are using a Japanese rice cooker, set your rice cooker to takikomi (炊込み). From there you can add some oil in your rice cooker pot and start sweating your garlic and onions.
2. After you've sweated your garlic and onions, add your carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and meat.
3. Add your 750 grams of water, curry blocks, and cream. Let your liquid boil in your rice cooker until it beeps. You'll want to mix the liquid a few times though.
4. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
5. Don't forget to add your cheese and chocolate. 
6. Serve with rice.

Stove Pot Method

This method is the traditional one with a proper pot and stove. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of a huge pot to make this curry in, but the cooking process is more or less the same (in theory). Plus I'm sure a lot of people feel more comforted having to do a less unorthodox method of cooking their curry.

1. Set your fire to a low heat. If you're using an induction stove, set it to about 170°C. Oil your pot and sweat your onions and garlic.
2. After sweating, add your carrots, potatoes, broccoli, and meat.
3. Add your 750 grams of water, curry blocks, and cream. Set your fire to high heat and let your liquid boil (set to about 200°C for induction stove users).
4. When the liquid boils, let it boil for about 10 seconds, then lower the heat until it's just about simmering (180°C on the induction).
5. Let your liquid simmer for an hour. Add your cheese and chocolate. Don't forget to mix it around a few times.
6. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
7. Serve with rice.

Here's a clearer version of the curry. Certainly beats the last one!

And that's it. Pretty simple and straightforward cooking. If your curry is watery at first, it's normal. If you're worried about the curry blocks not melding in with the liquid at first, don't worry; it's also normal. Give it time and it'll become a nice brown liquid, and when it cools it becomes thicker, and tastes even better when reheated.

Best meats to use for this curry would be beef and chicken. Pork is too tough, and fish, while not impossible to work with, is honestly something I'd personally rather not have with Japanese curry. Having friends over and you wanna serve more than what your ordinary kilo of beef can afford? Be like the guys over in Macau and buy some pot stickers or gyoza, or fish balls (quenelle for the French). Just put them in your curry and let them cook and soak in that savory goodness.

Other people prefer to cook their meats and veggies separately before adding them into the liquid. This way you release more of their flavors with the heat. Nothing wrong with that, as you are making your curry taste better. I just prefer dumping everything inside your pot, then boiling and simmering it. Why? Three reasons:

1. Your veggies will eventually be cooked and attain the flavor of the curry since they're being boiled in the pot.
2. There is no point seasoning and searing your meat if all that's gonna happen is that it'll end up getting boiled the hell out of itself. Plus your tongue will be too overwhelmed by the taste of the curry for you to even taste whatever seasoning you've put into it beforehand.
3. By boiling your meat and veggies you've created a fundamental basic stock out your liquid. Their natural flavors along with the curry blocks will still blend together in the liquid and still result in a flavorful curry.

But again, nothing wrong with cooking everything separately. I just prefer to save time this way by hitting two birds with one stone (three in this case).

If you really wanna take your curry up a notch, you could also dump your rice into your curry and mix it all together for some real curry rice. Rice cooker users should just be careful though; your curry might spill out of your pot if you have too much stew inside (refer to image above for an estimate of too much). Nonetheless it's another pretty good way for you to eat your curry.

Enough chatter though. Enjoy wolfing down your curry, amigos!