Ah, Japanese Curry. A popular dish in Japan common enough to be seen in most Japanese houses, Anime shows, and Manga. The aroma of this dish is mild compared to other curry variants making it appealing to a wide variety of tastes; it’s not too strong and not too bland and perfect for those who cannot stand the spicier variants of curry. It is an excellent balance of a variety of flavors mixed together that form a wonderful dish that is sometimes touted to be one of Japan’s national dishes.
Curry and Raven Republic have a bit of a history together. Japanese curry rice is commonly served during the times our members meet, and its taste always touched a soft spot among our members making them come back for seconds and asking for bigger servings. There even is a joke among some members that it is OK for them to be paid with curry instead of a monthly salary. Such voracious appetites demand more sophisticated tastes and we have tried Katsu-kare, (breaded pork fillet with curry sauce on top), and a bunch of other curry variants. Thus, to help in the variation, I’ve come up with this recipe inspired by restaurants such as Pepper Lunch and Pepper Steak that have recently popped up across the city.
This variation of Japanese Curry Rice uses the roux to coat each grain of rice with curry flavors instead of normally mixing it in water to create a thick broth. It is less messy and easier to make than standard Curry Rice since one does not have to worry about having to boil water and make sure the ingredients do not overcook. I got the idea after eating at Pepper Lunch and enjoying their Curry Rice special and so I thought maybe I can do it at home. After some trial and error, I think I have come to the perfect recipe for Japanese Beef Curried Rice.
Ingredients (Note that the picture shows only 1/3 the amount of the ingredients listed):
3 strips of sukiyaki style cut beef (Or any thinly sliced beef, preferably a little thicker than paper thin. More into this later)
3 Tbsp Corn oil (any cooking oil will do as well)
Optional: 1/4 chopped onion, 1/4 chopped carrot, and 1/4 chopped potatoes
Curry Roux (Just break off ? from a small tray)
2 cups of cooked rice
Optional: 1 tsp Curry Powder
3 Tbsp shredded corn
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chopped green onion (for garnishing)
Salt and pepper to taste
Step 1: Cook the sliced beef in a non-stick pan or skillet until browned.
Preferably one would like to use the thinnest slices of beef possible to get a soft texture that easily mixes well with the rice after cooking. That is why I suggested a sukiyaki cut meat, which is slightly thinner than what they use in Yakiniku restaurants, though Yakiniku style cuts are also good. The thing is, local beef tends to be tough, and unless you?re planning on using imported beef (Australia and US beef are good alternatives), the chances are that the meat you get will be quite hard to chew if it has a thick cut.
Step 2: Remove the beef from the pan. Then add the corn oil and curry roux and let it dissolve in the oil. Optional: Add whatever vegetables you want to stir-fry with the dish. Cook the vegetables until they are tender.
I wanted to use corn oil because it gives a better yellow hue when mixed with the rice and adds that corn aroma that goes well with Japanese Curry.
Step 3: Add the cooked rice and make sure to keep stirring as much as possible to get an even coat of curry on the rice. Add the curry powder at this point if you have it.
Step 4: Add shredded corn, soy sauce, cooked beef, and chopped green onions into the pan and keep stirring. The soy sauce is supposed to enhance the flavor and the color of the dish, so adding salt is not necessary. The corn goes well with the taste and adds a bit of color to the dish while the green onions provide a color contrast to the overall yellow color. Add salt pepper to taste.
Serve and eat. The beauty of this dish compared to regular Japanese Curry Rice is you do not need to make large batches at a time. One can simply make enough for as many people as they wish, from 1 person to 10 people by simply multiplying the ingredients. My rule of thumb is 1/4 a tray for 1 cup of rice, but thats just me. You can try to experiment on the curry to rice ratio for yourself and find your preferred curry-to-rice ratio.
Done and done. I hope this inspires you to make this easy to do curry dish and share it with your friends and family.