Curry Rice

Tadaaki's Curry Rice Vegetables:  Late Summer 2009 

Mention curry rice to any Japanese and they’re likely to swoon.  For some reason that escapes my understanding, this gloopy concoction is one of the most beloved dishes of all ages here in Japan. 

My 12-year-old son Matthew takes loving curry to a whole other dimension.   Matthew starts the campaign, lobbying for my husband, Tadaaki, to whip up a batch.  Tadaaki, a busy farmer, makes the kids do the prep work.  Tadaaki, a busy farmer is rail thin.  For him, deep fat fried means “gorgeous.”  For me, deep fat fried often means greasy.  We don’t see eye to eye on this point.  Tadaaki has several methods of making his curry, often with fatty pork, but sometimes with marbled beef slices or breaded pork cutlets (tonkatsu).  I think you can see where I’m going.  This doesn’t sound appealing to me, but I’m the distinct minority in this family.  Tadaaki also thinks that deep fat frying the curry vegetables adds a je ne sais pas quoi touch to his creation.  We don’t see eye to eye on that either.  But what really puts me off this dish is the sheer volume they make.  Using three boxes of curry roux, they fill my 9-quart Le Creuset.  Tadaaki and Matthew eat it morning, noon and night over the course of several days.  The pot stays on the stove and gets heated up a few times a day.  It never travels to the refrigerator, though in winter it might get stuck out the back door.  Matthew says that the curry gets better with each successive day, reaching its peak of perfection right before it spoils.  At the end of this daily reheat ritual, I’m left with a crusty burn of curry roux at the bottom of my Le Creuset.

Now do you see why I hate Curry Rice?

To the untutored, Curry Rice may not seem like a traditional Japanese meal.  But it’s as Japanese as tempura.  Just as tempura was borrowed from the Portuguese, so Curry Rice was borrowed from the British (via India).  Curry Rice has been around since Meiji Period, more than 100 years ago. The British Navy most likely brought this dish ashore as they were fond of adding curry powder to thickened stews at the time.  Originally, Japanese made the curry roux by frying curry powder with flour and oil.  In 1926, House Foods came out with an instant powdered roux.  Thirty years later, S&B Foods revolutionized the Curry Roux market by introducing the block form we know today.  Nowadays, you can buy premade packets that you heat up in boiling water.  Sounds gross, but I guess it works if you don’t want to cook.

You know how in the U.S. there are shelves and shelves of breakfast cereals that stretch down the length of one aisle in the supermarket?  Or have you ever noticed how many flavors of Coca-Cola are available?  It’s mindboggling.  Well, in Japan we have shelves and shelves of curry roux all touting different delectable not-so-secret ingredients.  Most of the boxes look pretty cheesy and frankly, unappealing.  No surprise that the most enticing looking one is the best tasting.  Frieden’s Spicy Curry Roux is sold in three levels of heat, roughly translated: “big, medium and small” (hot, medium-hot and not-so hot).  Around here you can only find the medium hot, so that’s what we buy.  The box is chocolate brown with big gold letters.  There’s a steaming pot of curry in the background, surrounded by jute bags overflowing with spices.  An antique scroll reminiscent of pirates and seafaring days lists the impressive array of spices in the roux:  caraway, cardamom, red pepper, ginger, pepper, basil, onion, cinnamon, fenugreek, nutmeg, bay leaves and chili powder.  Some of the other brands boast apple or milk as ingredients.  MSG is also a given.  The selling point of other brands is that they are cheaper, sweeter and more palatable for children in their blandness.  Spices are an acquired taste, but children can learn.  So we buy the Spicy Curry.

One of my good friends used to work at Chez Panisse and now has a Japanese catering business in Berkeley (www.eatpekopeko.com ).  I didn’t bother asking him why he likes Curry Rice—he’s ½ Japanese, so that’s reason enough.  It’s his soul food.  But I did ask him how he made his Curry Rice, hoping to gain some insight into the process.  I had made it one day at the school.  Matthew’s lukewarm assessment:  “Well, Mommy…you don’t like curry rice…so you really shouldn’t make it.”  Determined to make a Curry Rice that would pass muster in Matthew’s eyes, I tried again using my caterer friend Sylvan’s methods.   I added some hints of my own.  I have to confess, it was pretty tasty.  And last week Matthew asked me when I was making Curry Rice at the school again.  I guess my Curry Rice did pass muster.

The whole thing about Curry Rice is that it warms your tummy in an inexplicably satisfying way.  Maybe that’s why it’s soul food for Japanese and maybe that’s why I really don’t hate it as much as I thought.

Curry Rice Recipe:  A Collaboration (Sylvan + Nancy + Tadaaki)

Slice a couple large onions into thin ½ rounds.  Peel 4 large potatoes and cut into large chunks.  Peel a few carrots and cut into medium-sized segments.  Though not traditional, cauliflower is also a nice addition.  Any green vegetables (like broccoli or green beans) should be parboiled separately and added at the end to keep their color.  Make vegetable stock from ends of vegetables and onion skins (don’t use the potato peels, but do use the carrot)—throw in some herb stems if you have them.  Sauté onions longer than you think reasonable in canola oil, until caramelized.  Towards the end of cooking, add a few large tablespoons finely chopped ginger and a dash or so of dark sesame oil.  Add potatoes and carrots, then vegetable stock to cover.  Simmer uncovered until vegetables are cooked.  Meanwhile, put curry roux in small pan and separate squares.  Spoon hot stock over roux to soften, then cover pan and let sit.  When the vegetables are done, whisk softened roux in the small pan until smooth.  Add more stock gradually, until you have a creamy sauce.  Stir curry sauce into simmered vegetables.  Slosh in some soy sauce and the small packet of garam masala included with the roux.  At this point you have vegetarian curry.  For traditional curry:  sauté 1 ½ lbs thin sliced pork meat (should have fat on it as well) in a non-stick pan until liquid has cooked out and the fat sizzles and browns.  Deglaze with a little herb stock.   Stir meat into curry and serve on top of rice.  (I prefer my curry on the side of the rice, topped with plenty of plain yogurt and shiso chiffonade or chopped cilantro.)  Eat with a large soup spoon.

Matthew & Andrew: Winter 2009

Comments

[Rodney Fong]

Oh, Nance! You don't know what you're missing. OK, so you do. Curry rice is a favorite with my family, and they love it when I make it, usually with chicken or short ribs. My favorite mix is Vermont Curry, medium hot, that has a slight apple taste to it. Maybe that would be a little more like the Indian curries that your taste gravitates toward. I'm not as partial to Japanese curry, as I favor the more local style curry, usually beef, that is a little less sweet and a little more green in appearance, in most cases not as thick. As always, curry tastes better on subsequent days, as your children apparently will attest to. I guess curry is what you are used to, as my wife did not eat the local style curry much growing up and has only recently begun frequenting a place here called Curry House, which has various things you can order with your curry rice. In addition to things already mentioned, the favorites there are tonkatsu, croquette and fried ika. That's where my son picked up his love for the food. And like true Japanese, they also just like it plain, just curry gravy and rice. It took me a while to get used to it, having grown up on a slightly different curry. Your story makes me remember the time Phil made curry at Los Arcos with apples and raisins in it. I was eagerly anticipating having curry, until I found out he had desecrated it, according to my tastes. But then, I had never had Indian style or Thai style curry before, which has more of these types of flavors in it. Not even the dreaded shredded coconut or mango chutney. Hang in there, Nance. You will be a curry rice person yet. Love the story.

[Rodney Fong]

BTW, I love reading your stories so much, because I love seeing how you are experiencing and learning to love many things that are more familiar to me in Hawaii than things ever were when I knew you in California. We weren't close in that way back at Stanford, where we would talk about those kinds of things, but I love now how I can appreciate your assimilation into this "new" culture. I say "new" as far as reading about this now, as you have been doing this for many years now and are relating these feelings and thoughts to a larger audience. I eagerly anticipate each posting you make.

[david]

Hi. Sounds tasty.

Check out some of mine sometime: www.12fishcurries.blogspot.com

DDHA

[Nancy Singleton Hachisu]

David Andrews (see above comment) is a Scot traveling around (the U.S. for now) stopping in at people's houses and making fish curry. There's more alcohol, medicinal marijuana and swearing in his posts, but also a great perspective. He's a good writer. Check out the blog: www.12fishcurries.blogspot.com.

Malena Watrous sent me a link for homemade curry roux (http://www.norecipes.com/2008/07/18/karei-raisu-japanese-curry-rice/) . I checked it out, but wasn't impressed by the method. You could improvise from there and put in more spices. Though intuitively, I'd start from a velouté base, using canola oil instead of butter and add curry friendly spices.

She also pointed me to the Curry Katsu featured in the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26food-recipes.html). This was better and has great potential, but I take exception to using S&B curry powder. Mass produced, no thanks. I'd get the spices from Penzeys (www.penzeys.com). Also, tonkatsu sauce is foul stuff. (Picky anyone?).

Nancy