![Supermarket display of curry rū (roux) A pyramind of curry rū (roux) piled up in a local supermmarket](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7y1MONNz0GmQHMP3-iFk9Ot8kLYI1HxwIXpczmOus0IOqjt0FTeGR09_yE42QTz68zFmGyqTO8Qje4Or0jk8WyYouOvxyGXJuHqmoY22fM6_p5BvcNx2cvjDelKrBr-tuaYXIP9MhJSk/s320/IMG_1376.JPG) |
Supermarket display of curry rū (roux) |
Curry may be the
national dish of Britain, but it's practically a national dish in Japan too - albeit one introduced by the British. A
2008 survey found that 20% of men ate "curry rice" (カレーライス) - basically curry on top of rice - once or more a week with 92% of all respondents saying they liked it. For children, it consistently comes in at number one in lists of favourite dishes: since 1945 it has remained the
top choice for elementary schoolers. Interestingly number 2 and 3 in the ranking has become a lot more luxurious in recent years: whereas
omu-raisu (rice inside an omelette) and hamburgers made up the top three for post-war kids, today sushi and fried-chicken occupy those spots! Other everyday curry staples include
karē-udon (curry on top of thick noodles),
karē-pan (deep-fried pastry filled with curry), and even
curry pizzas!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijV2EpXzeRs-qzqphLRWCgyq6wrW5tpK3cZGFjxgJhnysx0JXC8lDW5KibYoUX85YTffRKJXk_nIJ8IPHV_lJdjblkMZfqIIiVkO9LhmhQ9Szru5mg8gfuS5rhtzPZX_hSYIAVl83hJSI/s320/IMG_1390.JPG)
Perhaps one of the reasons for the popularity of curry-rice is that it is very easy to cook - but at the time relatively healthy. Japanese typically use curry blocks known as
karē-rū (roux) to make the sauce - the picture above shows them piled up on display in a local supermarket. Onions, potatoes, carrots, and meat (chicken or beef) are the standard ingredients, but other
popular additions include garlic (
nin-niku), aubergine/eggplant (
nasu), honey (
hachimitsu), chocolate, and even coffee! The sauce itself tends to be rather mild and sweet - apple and honey is a popular roux flavour - and rather different from Indian curry which is also popular in Japan. In terms of
toppings, cheese, egg, and especially
katsu - deep-fried pork or other cutlets - are common. My simple five-step recipe is pictured below: no potatoes (because my wife doesn't like them in curry!) but I add green pepper (
pīman) and brown-beech
mushrooms (
buna-shimeji) together with quail eggs (
uzura no tamago) topped off with a giant pork cutlet and a sprinkling of cheese. The picture shows the final result: tasty even if I say so myself!
![5 step recipe for making curry-rice 5 pictures showing the key steps in making curry-rice using a curry roux block](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPoz4Xo2YG3hRdBpXTIqlFSiGiAHHgpKYVkaG4veH7VjulFIe1X1zVTGwj_XAFvd1v-3Zg6bqo_R6YSWzEEwahL-8qPHOxGeuGhUS2n9LBcNFlgfJdrhYCGNhzGrZ0LmggMUOl2knDQA/s640/FUVO6170.jpeg) |
Left to Right: (1) Fry garlic and caramelise onions (2) add vegetables and keep frying (3) add 850ml water; simmer for 15 minutes while removing aku (scum) (4) stop heat and add roux; simmer on low heat for 10 minutes (5) done! |
As a final aside, many speciality shops offer a giant
katsu-karē which if eaten in a fixed time comes at no charge! For example, I recently read about a restaurant called Takeharu in Fuefuki, Yamanashi, which offers a huge pork cutlet curry dish weighing 4kg for ¥3,600: if you can finish within 15 minutes you apparently get a ¥10,000 prize!