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Nihonno karé

There are countless regional varieties of the popular curry dish. In our part of the world, you will most often encounter traditional Indian or Thai versions. However, the history of Japanese curry is a little more complicated, even though nihonno karé is now considered one of the classic Japanese dishes. Surprisingly, it did not come to the islands from India, Thailand, or other Asian countries. The Japanese were introduced to the magic of curry at the end of the 19th century by the British, who had grown fond of it during the colonization of India. As a result, it took on a Europeanized form. The flavor profile and types of spices used are reminiscent of Indian curry, but this one is darker, sweeter, and thickened with flour. Traditionally, it also contains only potatoes, carrots, and onions... But we won't waste time cooking curry from scratch. On the contrary! We will use the most traditional ingredient in Japanese home cooking: Golden Curry cubes!

Ingredients

4 cubes of Golden Curry
1 large potato
1 carrot
1 red onion
1 bag of dashi no moto
700 ml water
salt
brown sugar

Preparation

  1. Cut the red onion in half, then cut each half lengthwise and twice crosswise to get six pieces from each half. Cut the peeled potato in a similar way and dice the carrots.
  2. Lightly fry the onion and carrot in oil in a pot, add the chopped potato and pour in water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, pour the entire bag of instant dashi into the pot (for vegetarian curry, use kombu seaweed dashi) and add two pinches of salt.
  3. When the vegetables are soft, start adding the curry cubes. I find it best to cut each cube in half first and then gradually dissolve it in a strainer submerged in the pot, using chopsticks or a fork, for example.
  4. The cubes will not only add flavor, but also thicken the curry. The ideal consistency is slightly thinner than our dill sauce. Taste the curry as it thickens to adjust the seasoning. When you reach the right consistency, wrap the rest of the cubes and sweeten the curry with brown sugar and salt if necessary. Serve with rice or on its own. If you need to enrich it, fry some tofu cubes or sliced chicken breast with the vegetables at the beginning.