Japanese Curry Rice (Kare Raisu)
Photo: Ocdp · CC0

History

Curry rice entered Japan in the late 19th century through British naval recipes; the Imperial Japanese Navy adopted it as the standard Saturday lunch on warships in 1908 and the dish spread through dockyard towns to the rest of the country. Tokyo's CoCo Ichibanya chain (founded 1978) standardised the modern format with multi-level spice grading and a 12-page topping menu; the chain now has over 1,300 locations. Tokyo also has specialty curry-rice rooms (kare-ya) that have nothing to do with chains: thicker, darker, deeper-roux versions from neighbourhoods like Kanda and Jimbocho.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Soy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g beef chuck or pork shoulder, cut into 3cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 large yellow onions, sliced thinly
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3cm fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
  • 3 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks
  • 1 apple, peeled and grated
  • 1.5L beef or chicken stock
  • 1 box (about 200g) Japanese curry roux (S and B Golden Curry, House Java Curry or Vermont Curry; medium-hot grade)
  • 1 tbsp tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp honey or brown sugar
  • 1 tsp shoyu
  • Cooked Japanese short-grain rice for serving
  • Fukujinzuke (red pickled radish) and rakkyo (pickled scallion bulbs), to serve
  • Optional toppings: 4 breaded chicken katsu cutlets, soft-boiled eggs, scattered raw scallions

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Brown the meat all over in two batches, 4 minutes per batch; lift out.
  2. Reduce to medium heat, add the sliced onions to the same pot. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until deeply caramelised and golden brown. This is the structural step for the dish; do not rush it.
  3. Stir in the garlic and ginger, cook 60 seconds.
  4. Return the meat to the pot with the carrots, grated apple and stock. Bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for 50 to 60 minutes until the meat is fork-tender.
  5. Add the potato chunks and simmer 12 minutes uncovered until just tender.
  6. Reduce heat to low. Break the curry roux blocks into pieces, lift off the heat and add them, stirring until they melt fully into the sauce. Return to the heat briefly to thicken.
  7. Stir in tonkatsu sauce, ketchup, honey and shoyu; simmer 5 minutes uncovered to integrate. The sauce should be glossy and coat the back of a wooden spoon.
  8. Serve a generous mound of hot rice on each plate, ladle curry alongside (not over the rice; Tokyo convention is rice on one side, curry on the other).
  9. Add fukujinzuke pickle and rakkyo on the rim of the plate. Top with chicken katsu, a soft egg or scallions if desired.

Tip from the editors. Japanese curry roux blocks are sold in foil-wrapped trays at Asian groceries; the Vermont version is sweeter, Java spicier. The caramelised onions and the grated apple are the depth of flavour; without either, the dish reads as flat brown gravy.

Where to eat japanese curry rice (kare raisu)

Japanese Curry Rice (Kare Raisu) in Tokyo

CoCo Ichibanya Shibuya Namikibashi ★ 3.7

¥ Vegetarian

CoCo Ichibanya in Tokyo's Shibuya is the Japanese curry-house chain where you build your bowl: rice size, spice level 1 to 10, toppings, all under 1,300 yen.

TryJapanese curry rice, choose-your-spice

TipPork katsu plus spinach is the canonical add-on. Spice level 5 is mid; vegetarian curry available.

Directions

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