Better-Than-My-Mom's Japanese Curry

As I have previously stated in my blog, I love my mom's cooking! There's nothing better. And one of my favorite childhood memories is me eating Karei Raisu (Curry Rice in Japanese) at the kitchen counter across from my mom with an Iceberg Lettuce Salad and Cupie Mayonnaise (yes, Japanese people put mayonnaise on salad... but it's Japanese mayo so its o.k. :-).

So, I really have never tried to make Karei Raisu myself, because why should I... my mom's is the best! I was surprised and felt kind of deceived when she told me that it really isn't that difficult to make Karei. Well, it's true, I know. Japanese Curry is usually made with a boxed roux, and all you have to do is sautée up some veggies and meat.

But now, it has also become Ed's favorite Japanese dish. So, being a "good" girlfriend, I decided that maybe I should know how to make his favorite meal? That's the least I could do to show him how much I love him! Oh, I'm so annoyingly in love! The feminist in me refuses to give in to being a stereotypical housewife, but I can't help it! Cooking and baking are my passions, so it's only natural for me to show him my love through my food!

So my adventure began. I've helped my mom make curry before, and I've made it once by myself (which I don't like to talk about because I couldn't believe I messed it up. My excuse is that the directions were in Japanese :-P). But this time, I was really determined to make the best damn Japanese Curry ever. And so of course I bought a boxed curry roux that had directions in English haha!

There are many brands out there for this special Japanese Curry dish. My mom used to swear by Kokumaro back in the day, but she told me to try something else because they are all good. So I went with the House Vermont Curry because it's been around forever and everyone knows it. Also, the "touch of apple and honey" part definitely won me over.

The roux comes in this little plastic tray in connected cubes. You can use as much as you want. I used half the box (which makes about 6 servings).

So to start:

I cut up 1/2 a large onion and 1 potato and sautéed it in a large saucepan in olive oil. I would've put carrots in too but I didn't have any!

Next:

I added the meat just to brown it a little. Now, I used Sukiyaki Meat (thinly sliced rib eye) only because I had some left over. Usually, you would use cubed meat (beef, pork, or chicken).

Then:

Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then put the heat on medium and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes and onions are soft.

Finally:

Take it off the heat, and break the curry roux into cubes and disperse throughout the watery stew. Mix it around and return to the heat. Mix until the roux is all dissolved for about 20 more minutes on low. DO NOT PUT THE HEAT ON HIGH OR THE CURRY WILL BURN!


Then, of course, serve it over rice. I love hard boiled eggs in my Karei Raisu so I of course added that at the end. The thinly sliced beef was perfect. It was soft, and gave just enough "meat" to the dish (I usually don't care for the meat in curry, so this amount was perfect!).


Ed was in heaven. As was I. But I still want my mommy to make it for me :-)