Japanese Chicken Curry | Instant Pot Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Japanese curry sauce made of? ›

What is it? The usual ingredients added in Japanese curry include potatoes, carrots, onions and meat. The sauce itself is usually made from curry powder or roux, which consists of a blend of basic Indian spices.

For one, Japanese curry uses curry powder with less spices whereas Indian curry uses a variety of bases such as cumin, paprika, turmeric, and many more. Indian curry is more vibrant and bursting with flavor, while Japanese curry is sumptuous and “umami” but in a more understated manner.

While curry is prevalent in multiple countries, Japanese curry is usually thicker in texture, sweeter, and less spicy than its Thai or Indian counterparts. That sweetness often comes from the addition of an apple and/or some honey.

Recommended beef cuts for Japanese curry: Beef chuck or shoulder: These cuts are commonly used in Japanese curry due to their balance of tenderness and robust flavor. They break down beautifully during cooking, infusing the curry with their rich taste.

To say it in simpler words, Japanese curry is not a much healthy meal since it is not nutritionally balanced. Depending on the ingredients, it may contain more than 500 calories and more sodium than anyone should consume in a month.

The sauce is thickened by a roux (a mixture of fat and flour and an addition of curry spices). You can find many variations of Japanese curries, ranging from regions to households, but the most basic one uses chicken, which is the recipe I'm sharing here.

The stand-out feature of a Japanese curry is its thick, rich sauce. The thickness of the sauce which can only be found in Japanese curry is supported and beloved by many. The rich and indulgent sauce mixes with rice so perfectly, you will find it difficult stoping eating.

Korean curry has similar ingredients and methods of preparation as Japanese curry but is notably spicier (and tends to be a bit heavier on the garlic). Korean curries utilize a roux as their foundation like Japanese curries to get its thick consistency.

Japanese Curry Powder

You can use other brands of curry powder. However, to achieve the authentic Japanese flavor, I strongly recommend using S&B Curry Powder for making the homemade curry roux. These days you can buy the S&B Curry Powder on Amazon.

In Tokyo, pork curry is the mainstream version, while in Osaka or the Kansai region, beef curry is commonly served. It is usually eaten with pickled vegetables - the Japanese version of chutney - such as red pickled ginger, pickled shallots and a brown pickled radish called f*ckujinzuke.

What vegetables go in Japanese curry? ›

The triad of vegetables most commonly found in Japanese curry are onion, potato, and carrots, but you can use almost any combination of vegetables and protein. Here, I've added celery, green beans, and corn to the mix, and use chicken thighs as my protein.

Japanese curry is often served alongside with steamed rice and an accompaniment of bright crimson red relish called f*ckujinzuke (福神漬け). These pickled vegetables are sweet and tangy, which is perfect to set off the richness of curry.

Along with the sauce, a wide variety of vegetables and meats are used to make Japanese curry. The basic vegetables are onions, carrots, and potatoes. Beef, pork, and chicken are the most popular meat choices. Katsu curry is a breaded deep-fried cutlet (tonkatsu; usually pork or chicken) with Japanese curry sauce.

My Japanese chicken curry is an easy weeknight version filled with tender chicken and sweet root vegetables in a savory thick sauce.

Vegetables: The most standard vegetables added to Japanese curry are onions, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. However, feel free to use other vegetables like peppers, kabocha, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans or okra. Butter: Adds richness to the curry.

It starts a little sweet as curry should, thanks perhaps to coconut paste in the mix, but right away the spices kick in, and they are harsh. There is no subtlety in the transition from sweet to spicy, nor in the medley of spices.

Japanese curry is meant to be mild. Even the commercially bought ones that are labeled hot are not very spicy. Two spices that can bump up the heat without changing the flavour are cayenne and black pepper. A little cayenne pepper goes a long way so be sure to add just a pinch at a time.

Although spicier versions exist, the commonly encountered versions of Japanese curry powder are relatively mild, with turmeric and coriander forward notes and a residual sweetness (S&B's version purportedly contains 30 spices).

It reheats and freezes beautifully. Perhaps when you hear curry you automatically think of a spicy Indian or Thai dish, but curry is very popular in Japan as well. Japanese curry is quite different from its spicy cousins though. It is more like a thick mildly spiced gravy.