Japanese Chicken Curry


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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (beef, pork, seafood, tofu, mushrooms, or more vegetables; you can increase up to 2 lbs/907 g)
  • kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 onions
  • 1-2 russet potatoes (2-3 yukon gold potatoes if you want to preserve the potato shape)
  • 1/2 Tbsp ginger (grated)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc)
  • 4 cups chicken stock/broth (if you’re careful with sodium intake, you can use water only, or use half stock + half water)
  • 1 apple (I used fuji apple; use as much as you like to add sweetness)
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
  • 1 package Japanese curry roux (7-8 oz or 200-230 g; or use all of my homemade curry roux)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp ketchup

Instructions

Prep

Discard the extra fat from the chicken and cut it into bite size pieces. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.

  • Peel and cut the carrot in rolling wedges (Rangiri) and cut the onions in wedges. Cut the potatoes into 1 ½ inch (4 cm) pieces and soak in water for 15 minutes to remove excess starch.
  • Cut the potatoes into 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) pieces and soak in water for 15 minutes to remove excess starch.
  • Grate the ginger and crush the garlic.

Start cooking

  • Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions until they become translucent and tender.
  • Add the ginger and garlic.
  • Add the chicken and cook until it’s no longer pink.
  • Add the carrot and mix well to coat with oil.
  • Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Chicken broth contains a different amount of salt. If you’re careful with sodium intake or not sure if your chicken stock is too salty, you can use water only, or use half stock + half water. You can always add salt at the end of cooking.
  • Once boiling, using a fine-mesh strainerskim the scrum and fat from the surface of the broth.
  • Peel the apple and grate it (use as much as you like to add sweetness). I’ve been using this grater and love it.
  • Add the honey and salt and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat. If you use the store-bought curry roux, put 1-2 blocks of roux in a ladle and slowly let it dissolve with a spoon or chopsticks. Continue with the rest of the blocks.
  • If you’re using homemade curry roux, scoop a ladleful or two of cooking liquid from the curry broth and add it into the curry paste in a saucepan. Add more cooking liquid if necessary and mix well until it’s smooth.
  • Add the roux mixture back into the soup and stir to combine.

To Season the Curry

  • Add soy sauce and ketchup (and any other condiments you’re adding - see the blog post). Simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the curry becomes thick.

Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2022

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