Japanese curry – kare raisu in Japanese – is unlike any “curry” you might know from south Asian countries. That is partly because of the nature of yoshoku (western-influenced) cuisine but also because it made a roundabout route to Japan, via the British Royal Navy during the Meiji Restoration, a period when India was under British colonial rule. It arrived in the form of British “C&B” curry powder, so it was considered western food, not Indian. Curry became a staple in the Japanese naval and army kitchens at the turn of the century and this in turn brought curry into homes and even into school lunches. Today, it is considered a national dish.
Japanese curry needed to be thick enough so that it could be easily eaten with rice, with the help of a spoon. This can be achieved with a French-style roux base of butter, flour and liquid, or it can be thickened in a more Japanese style using a potato starchy slurry right at the end of cooking, which is my preference. Then there is the spice mix. Today, Japanese S&B curry powder is one of the best known, which contains 17 spices such as turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, cumin, cinnamon, fennel, ginger and star anise.
In Japanese homes, it is most often made with a packet mix in the form of waxy cubes that you add to a stew of meat and vegetables. The cubes dissolve, turning the stew into a thick, fragrant, mild Japanese curry. Everyone has their favourite brand, or perhaps two favourite brands mixed together, that they pump up with “secret” ingredients – honey, nashi or prunes for sweetness, or coffee for colour and balance. My mother told me of a friend who liked to add dark chocolate. I know how well that works in a meaty stew – chocolate or cocoa is a popular addition to an age-old Tuscan wild boar stew that I love.
Serves 4
300g pork loin (or beef, or other protein of choice)
Vegetable oil, for greasing
40g butter
1 onion, sliced
4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 tbsp mirin (or white wine)
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp garam marsala
¼ tsp chilli powder, optional
500ml dashi (see below), chicken stock or water, 2 cups
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp salt
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into chunky slices
200g potato, peeled and chopped
80g mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 tsp potato starch or cornflour
1 tbsp water, or as needed
1 cube dark chocolate, about 10g, minimum 70% cocoa solids
Rice and pickles to serve – I love beni shoga (red pickled ginger) and rakkyo pickles (pickled Chinese onion)
Chop the meat into 3cm cubes. Heat a little vegetable oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a high heat and sear the meat on all sides, about four to five minutes in total. Remove the meat and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan, followed by the onion and ginger, and stir quickly so the onion doesn’t burn, cooking with all the browned bits gathering at the bottom of the pan, for about two to three minutes. Deglaze the pan with the mirin and scrape the brown goodness off the bottom as it bubbles. Add the curry powder, garam masala and chilli powder (if using), toss to coat everything, then add the dashi, soy sauce, salt, vegetables and meat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, turning the heat down to a gentle simmer.
Meanwhile, combine the potato starch and water to make a slurry.
Add the chocolate to the curry, stir though, then immediately add the slurry. Let it all bubble for one to two minutes, or until thickened. Serve immediately, ladled over warm rice, with pickles on the side.
Dashi stock
To make this vegetarian, leave out the katsuobushi and double the amount of kombu. The dashi can be stored in a jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Makes 1 litre (4 cups)
1 piece of kombu (dried kelp), about 10-15cm long or 10g
10g katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), 1 packed cup
Wipe the kombu with a clean cloth and place in a saucepan with one litre (four cups) of cold water. Leave to steep, if you can, for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
Set the pan over a low heat and warm until the kombu softens and the water is about to start boiling – you will see lots of tiny bubbles appear around the edges of the pan – about 10 minutes. Remove the kombu.
Turn the heat up ever so slightly to medium and add the katsuobushi to the kombu-infused water. Watch carefully – just as it’s about to boil, turn off the heat, skim off any scum that rises to the top, and let it steep for five to 10 minutes.
Strain the dashi through a fine-mesh sieve.
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This is an edited extract of Gohan by Emiko Davies, photography Emiko Davies, Hana Davies and Yuki Sugiura, available now through Smith Street Books (AU $49.99).
