← Yamaki Jozo Organic Soy Sauce

Japanese Curry & Curry Brick

Homestyle Japanese curry with chicken, potatoes and carrots, built on a homemade curry brick (roux) of toasted spices. It is finished with soy sauce and miso to taste, freezes well, and tastes even better made a day ahead. The curry brick makes enough for 25–30 servings of curry. The curry brick is adapted from Sonoko Sakai’s book “Japanese Home Cooking.”

Serves: 6–8

Ingredients

Japanese Curry

• 2 tablespoons Wadaman Dark Roasted Golden Sesame Oil
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups roughly chopped yellow onion (about 1-inch chunks)
• Sea salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely diced fresh ginger
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, diced small
• 1 cup oblique-cut peeled carrots (bite-sized pieces)
• 1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, and cut into bite-sized pieces
• ¼ cup sake
• 3 to 4 cups chicken stock
• 3 to 4 cups Dashi
• 2 tablespoons Suehiro Usukuchi Soy Sauce
• ¼ to ⅓ of the Curry Brick (see recipe below)
• Yamaki Jozo Organic Soy Sauce - to taste
• Rokko Shiro (White) Miso - 300g - to taste
• Pickled Young Ginger, for serving (optional)

Curry Brick

• 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick, pounded into small pieces
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• ½ teaspoon whole cloves
• 2 whole cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 (1-inch strip) Aimono Rausu Konbu, cut into bite-size pieces
• Zest of 1 orange, finely grated or minced
• 1 tablespoon Takehisa Dried Shiitake Mushroom Powder
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1½ cups unsalted butter
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour

Method

Curry Brick (make this first)

1. Toast the cinnamon, bay leaf, mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds, cloves, cardamom and peppercorns in a large dry skillet over medium heat, stirring, for about 2 minutes until fragrant. Don’t let them scorch.
2. Grind the toasted spices with the konbu in a spice grinder on high for about 30 seconds, shaking now and then until the cinnamon and konbu are fully powdered. Work in batches if needed.
3. Tip the powder into a small bowl and mix in the orange zest, shiitake powder, turmeric, ground ginger, salt, cayenne and paprika.
4. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s almost melted, turn the heat to medium-low and whisk in the flour little by little until smooth. Keep stirring for 15 to 30 minutes until the roux is a medium brown, without burning. A darker roux tastes deeper but thickens less, so find the balance you like.
5. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the spice mix completely, then pour into a loaf pan. Let it cool and chill until firm.
6. Unmold the firm brick and wrap it well in plastic wrap or parchment. It keeps up to 1 month in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

Japanese Curry

1. Heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan over high heat until just smoking. Brown the chicken, stirring now and then.
2. Turn the heat to medium-high, add the onion with ½ teaspoon salt and cook 1 minute. Add the garlic and ginger for about a minute until fragrant, then the apple for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook until the carrots are heated through.
3. Pour in the sake and let it cook off. Add 3 cups each of stock and dashi plus the usukuchi soy sauce and bring to a boil, then simmer 5 minutes.
4. Add about ¼ of the curry brick a piece at a time, stirring until it melts. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until reduced by about a third and thick enough to pour slowly off a spoon. Add more brick for more body and spice, or more stock or dashi to loosen it.
5. Bring back to a boil and season to taste with the Yamaki Jozo soy sauce (darker, saltier) and the miso (sweeter, rounder). Add a little of each and adjust until it tastes right to you.
6. Serve with pickled ginger on the side if you like.

← Back to Yamaki Jozo Organic Soy Sauce