Japanese Chicken Curry

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

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.

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 strainer, skim 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.

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.