I was first introduced to Japanese curry at a very young age during a play date with my Japanese friend. I instantly fell in love with it and insisted that my mother make it for me. Ever since, it’s become a common bulk-food staple for my family to serve week after week. Thankfully that doesn’t happen anymore, and since my curry urge with last week’s Thai Green Curry, I wanted something with curry but very different.
The Japanese are actually obsessed with this dish, and it’s becoming almost a national dish that’s been served since the early nineteenth century thanks to British naval fleets. It’s so popular that instant sauce mixes have been available for decades and can be bought almost anywhere. There are a lot of varieties, but the most basic Japanese curry contains onions, carrots, potatoes, and any meat stewed in a thick and creamy curry sauce. Served over Japanese short grain rice, it becomes a satisfying saucy mix where each spoonful contains a nice amount of curry and rice. And for those intolerant for spice, not to worry, there’s only the merest hint.
Glico has always been the go-to family brand, but lately I’ve tried a “newer” brand extension from Glico I found in the supermarket: Zeppin. Of the two, I prefer the original maybe because I was brought up by it. But Zeppin provides a really rich curry taste compared to Glico’s lighter curry mix. Of course, there’s a large variety of Japanese curry mixes out there that’s dominated by three main brands: House Foods, S&B Foods, and Glico. House Foods sold it first in powdered form and has since remained the dominant brand. Ironically, I like the smallest brand for Japanese curry!
When cooking Japanese curry, you can use any type of meat; I typically use chicken, but in Beijing I had it over over katsu (fried breaded pork cutlet) which adds an interesting crisp to it. Even if you can’t read the Japanese directions, it’s very easy to make: slightly cook your veggies and meat, pour in some water, mix in the Japanese curry sauce block, let simmer, and presto – delicious Japanese style curry! I prefer to serve over Japanese short grain rice, it just provides the right texture for the creamy curry sauce as opposed to stickier rice versions… but whether paired with udon noodles or bread, this dish is delicious!
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