Ok, so they’re really my little brothers if you want to get technical, but they’re taller than me, and bearded, so there you go. And they are experts at making a delicious Japanese curry.
I posted about our love for Japanese curry back HERE when we used to do our “International Nights.”
It has been a family favorite through the years, helped by the fact that my brother and a good friend of ours served their missions in Japan and came home serving up this deliciousness any chance they could get.
We have made it for years using this curry paste you can get at the grocery store:
And we really like it.
So, fast forward to when that brother who served in Japan (Eli) as well as Jonah (who lives here now) happened to get to live together in Hawaii during the pandemic.
And they both love to cook.
So they came up with a whiz-bang recipe for making the curry a little more organically (without the preservatives, msg and sugar that come in those boxed cubes we’ve been using).
You make a roux to add rather than adding the cubes from the box.
And I want to remember how to make it (and the curry) this way because it’s delish.
So, Jo and I made it the other night (I’m putting “I” in there liberally because really, he did it while I snapped some pictures, ha!)
It turns out so very flavorful and delicious!!
And I want to share. So here you go!
First the roux, then the actual Japanese curry recipe follows.
Eli & Jonah’s amazing Japanese Curry Roux
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the butter completely on a low temperature.
- Turn to medium/low and add flour.
- The mixture will start to swell as you stir constantly for 20 minutes.
- This takes a lot of patience, so just go with it until it turns brown and smooth. It will change instantaneously near the end of the 20 minutes and will look like this photo below.
- Add the remaining spices as you continue to stir.
- Within 30 seconds to a minute it will thicken up and look like this:
- Set that roux aside (it will be added later).
The Actual Japanese Curry Recipe
After you’re done making the roux, you’re ready to whip up the actual Japanese Curry. Makes my mouth water to type this, I’ll be honest.
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the butter, olive oil and onions in a saucepan on medium/low for 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop up the chicken breasts, carrots and potatoes.
- Add the ginger, garlic, tomato paste and curry to the butter, olive oil and onions in saucepan.
- Cook for five minutes. Then add the red wine (or milk), chicken stock and the roux. We love Better than Bullion for making the chicken stock:
- Let everything dissolve.
- About 15 minutes before eating, add the chicken, carrots and potatoes.
- Dish up on a bed of rice, and add the sharp cheddar cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
- Enjoy all that deliciousness!
When you first blogged about “international nights”, I thought that the idea was so neat. This year I remembered and we did one lunch (English breakfast for England) which was a hit. Good reminder to do another one this weekend.
❤️❤️❤️
I was a bit surprised by the cheese! I bookmark all of your brother’s recipes. They have all been winners.
Me too! We don’t usually put cheese in when we do the box version, and I didn’t realize Jonah even put it in, didn’t taste cheesy, but it sure was good!
xoxo
This sounds so good – can’t wait to make it, and thanks for sharing! Totally silly question – is it awkward, as a member of your faith, to buy alcohol for cooking? Like do you worry about people at the grocery store being judgmental? Have always wondered how that one works!
Oh man, my mouth is watering! We were the recipients of Eli’s Japanese Curry from scratch for 16 in New York a couple of weeks ago. It takes just as good in NY as it does in AZ!