Japanese chicken curry
45 min · 30 g protein · 375 cals / serving
The curry of Japanese curry rice (kare raisu), Japan's favourite family dinner: chicken thigh, carrots, potato and mushrooms in a thick, glossy, gently sweet sauce made with a homemade curry roux and a grated apple. Spoon it over short-grain rice. Mild enough for children, cosy for everyone, and even better on day two.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp + 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil, divided
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 1 3/4 lb chicken thigh, boneless, skinless, in bite-size pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 large carrots, in chunks
- 1 large gold potato, in chunks
- 7 oz crimini mushroom, halved, or shiitake
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 small granny smith apple, or any apple, peeled and finely grated
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Curry roux
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp curry powder, Japanese curry powder if you can, or a mild curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- up to 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
To serve
- 2 green onions, sliced
Steps
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and cook the onions 7–8 minutes, stirring often, until deep golden (cut the chicken meanwhile). Add the chicken, garlic and ginger and cook 3 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink outside.
- Add the carrot, potato, mushrooms, water, stock cube, grated apple, honey, ketchup, soy sauce and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, then cover and simmer 15 minutes, until the potato is tender.
- Meanwhile make the roux: warm the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a small pan over medium-low heat, stir in the flour and cook 5–6 minutes, stirring, until it smells nutty and turns light brown. Take it off the heat and stir in the curry powder and garam masala.
- Ladle a cup of the hot liquid into the roux and whisk smooth, then stir it into the pot. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring, until thick and glossy and the chicken is cooked through (165°F). Taste and add up to 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve over short-grain rice with green onion.
- Cooled, the curry keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months; potato can turn a little grainy in the freezer, so crush the pieces into the sauce before freezing if that bothers you. Keep rice apart, cool it quickly and refrigerate it within an hour.
Good to know
Is it spicy?
No, it is mild and a little sweet, the way Japanese children eat it. Grown-ups can add a pinch of chili flakes, shichimi or cayenne to their own bowl.
Can I use a box of curry roux?
Yes, skip the flour, oil and curry powder for the roux and break in half a box (about 100 g) at step 4, stirring until it melts. Many roux blocks contain milk and wheat, so check the label if that matters to you.
Can I use chicken breast?
Yes, in bigger pieces and added for the last 10 minutes of the simmer so it stays tender, at about 72 instead of 65.
Per
- Calories
- 87
- Protein
- (33%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (35%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (33%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 180 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2252 kcal goes into the pot and 2778 g of ingredients comes out as about 2585 g of food: 87 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.