global July 2, 2013

カレーライス (or, for those who can't read Japanese, Curry Rice)

By Chengyi L

It can be said that curry rice is a Japanese tradition. Since its introduction to Japan during the Meiji era, it has grown in popularity, with different flavors and special mixes rising from different regions. Now, Japanese curry has strayed so far from its original sauce and has become so intrinsic to Japanese culture, it is basically a national dish.

It’s also really easy to make. How to make Curry

Obtain curry box.
Follow instructions on the back of the box.

Unlike Indian curry, you cannot make Japanese curry from mixing spices together. Japanese curry must be made from special curry blocks, which you can easily find at your local supermarket. Thankfully, we were saved from a supermarket run because Friend A happened to have tons of curry boxes sitting around, so we were saved from exercise.

Tip on curry boxes: there are usually 3 brands floating around: Golden Curry, Vermont Curry, and some other unimportant brand that I don’t remember. Both Golden Curry and Vermont Curry are legit curry brands – Golden Curry is your standard delicious curry and the one Friend A prefers, but my mom likes Vermont Curry because it has apples in it, and apple curry is great. Even if you can’t find your favorite brand of curry at your local supermarekt, you can always buy them off of Amazon.

Oh hey, the directions are even in English! Perfect.

Cut beef into cubes and chop onions finely, then stir-fry in oil in large skillet until onions are lightly browned approx. 3 min.

If you wish, add carrots, celery, bell peppers, or other vegetables. An important side note is that, even though the box doesn’t say so, potatoes are a must! It’s even on the Wikipedia article. Thankfully, our farm box came with carrots and potatoes, so we were once again saved from a trip to the grocery store.

Add water and bring to boil:

Reduce heat and simmer while covered:

The alley kitchen didn’t have the correct lids, so we just covered it with the best-fitting lid we could find.

Add the curry chunks. This is what half a box of curry chunks look like. It’s not very hard and easily broken apart by hand.

Then you’re done! The curry should have a thick consistency and look glossy – if you want it to be thicker, stir in a bit of water-cornstarch mixture.

Finally, serve with rice. We added too many curry blocks so some of it was undissolved, but it was still delicious. We even had enough leftover curry for dinner tomorrow!