Japanese Beef Curry

Japanese Beef Curry
5 Apr 2019

Japanese Curry is commonly served in three main forms, curry over rice, udon, and curry filled bread. It is one of the most popular dishes in Japan.

Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
2 hr 0 min
Servings
6 people
Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients

1 large onion

3 carrots (8 oz, 230 g)

2 russet potato (9.5 oz, 270 g)

8 mushrooms (9.2 oz, 260 g)

1 kg Lean beef stew meat

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. olive oil (1 Tbsp. for beef, 1 Tbsp. for onion)

2 Tbsp. butter (1 Tbsp. for beef, 1 Tbsp. for onion)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch (2.5 cm) ginger, grated

1 Tbsp. curry powder

2 Tbsp. tomato paste (or ketchup)

1 cup red wine

8 cups (2 QT, 1.9 L) beef broth

2 bay leaves

1 box (7-8.4 oz, 200-240g) Japanese curry roux (or make homemade roux)

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ apple (I use Fuji apple) (optional)

Fukujinzuke (pickled daikon, eggplant, cucumber, lotus root) to serve (optional)

Instructions
  1. Cut the onion into thin slices. Cut the carrot diagonally while rotating it a quarter between cuts (in Japanese we call this cutting technique “rangiri”).
  2. Halve the potato, and then cut each piece into quarters. Soak in water for 15 minutes to remove the starch.
  3. Clean the mushrooms with a pastry brush (don’t wash mushrooms) and slice them.
  4. Cut the beef into 1 ½ inch cubes and sprinkle salt and pepper. Coat the meat with the flour.
  5. In a cast iron skillet, heat oil and butter on high heat. Add the beef but do not crowd the skillet. Do a second batch if necessary. Cook beef until brown.
  6. In a large heavy bottomed pot or large pot, heat the butter on medium heat and add the onion. Add the olive oil and stir to coat the onion with the oil. Add 1 tsp. salt after 10 minutes and sauté the onion until it’s soft and translucent.
  7. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and tomato paste and sauté for 2 minutes.
  8. Add the beef and the wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
  9. Add the vegetable and pour the beef broth until it covers the vegetables. Cover with the lid and bring it to a boil.
  10. When boiling, skim off the scum and fat from the soup. After skimming, I dip the fine mesh in a measuring cup to clean. It’s easy to remove the scum/fat from the fine mesh this way.
  11. Add bay leaf, cover with the lid but leaving slightly ajar, and simmer until vegetables are tender.
  12. Once in a while, skim the broth. Add the rest of beef stock (if you have any leftover and if necessary).
  13. Using a ladle and with fork/chopsticks, dissolve the roux. If the curry is too thick for your taste, add water to dilute. From this point, stir often and be careful not to burn the curry!
  14. Add milk and Worcestershire sauce. Grate the apple to add a hint of sweetness. Simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the curry becomes thick. Serve the curry with Japanese rice on the side topped with fukujinzuke.
Japanese Beef Salty

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