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.

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!)

And I want to share. So here you go!

Eli & Jonah’s amazing Japanese Curry Roux

(yields 2/3 c. of roux to use for making the paste for the curry)

6 T. butter
1/2 c. all purpose flour
pinch of fenugreek
2 T. curry powder (S&B curry powder highly recommended by Jonah, or make your own)
2 T. garam masala
4 tsp. celery salt

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (which makes it medium spicy, if you want more heat, add a little more)

Melt the butter completely on a low temperature.

Turn to medium/low and add flour.

It 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 below:

Add the remaining spices as you continue to stir.

Within 30 seconds to a minute it will thicken up and look like this:

Ok, set that roux aside (it will be added later).

Don’t forget to set it aside before you do this next part!

Japanese Curry

Mix in saucepan on med/low for 5-10 minutes (until soft, translucent and aromatic):
2T Butter
2T Olive oil
2 Onions cut middle then latitude (n-s) until cooked (cook down like crazy)


Meanwhile, chop up:

3 big chicken breasts coated in flour (the flour is optional)
6 big carrots
2 big potatoes

Add to the mixture in the saucepan:

Knob of ginger, grated
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2T tomato paste or ketchup
1T curry powder (S&B recommended)

Cook for five minutes, then add:
1C red wine or any kind of milk (I know, weird, but either works)
6C chicken stock (we use “Better than Bullion”)
2/3C roux (the one we made up at the top)

Let everything dissolve and mix the flavors in.

About 15 mins before eating, add the chicken, carrots and potatoes.


Add 1C Sharp Cheese (or any other mix of cheddar)

Add salt to taste.

Serve up that deliciousness and enjoy (with a little cheese sprinkled on top).

Similar Posts

6 Comments

  1. 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.

    1. 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

  2. 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!

  3. 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!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *