My boyfriend was stationed in Japan with the Navy for three years. Do I even need to tell you he LOVES good Asian cuisine? In an attempt to please his palate I have been adding Asian dishes to my list of recipes that I can make for the past several months. Pinterest has helped me quite a bit with this, as there are many recipes pinned for Asian cuisine. I could (and have been known to) spend hours on Pinterest repinning recipes.
One of my favorite recipes to cook at home is Japanese Curry. It's different from Indian curry, much sweeter and less spicy. I'm not a fan of spicy curry, but this? This stuff holds a special place near my heart.
I could talk for several more minutes about my love for this dish, and Asian cuisine in general, but then we'd never get to the recipe and pictures. Are you ready? Let's get cooking. (FYI - I modified someone else's recipe to my liking, since my child will NOT EAT ONIONS. He did not get that from me, I swear. Anyway, the original recipe can be found here, if you're interested. Just wanna give credit where credit is due.)
For this you'll need some cooked, cubed chicken breast, carrots, potatoes, curry powder mix, and water. I buy Golden Curry at Publix, on the aisle with the other Asian foods. And while we're at it, go ahead and start enough rice cooking to make four or six servings. (I use a rice steamer. The ratio for it is one and a half cups of white rice to three cups of water. This equals out to be a cup of water for every half cup of rice, which is about the same as you use when cooking rice in a pot on the stove.)
Peel and dice your carrots.
And potatoes.
Place them in a large pot with enough water to cover (about 3 or 4 cups). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until vegetables start softening (10-15 minutes).
Add the chicken. Break the curry mix into pieces (it comes in a brick) and add to the pot.
Stir everything up well, until the curry mix dissolves.
The curry mix will thicken everything up in a few minutes, and your dish will turn brown. (It usually gets browner than my pictures show. I didn't use the entire package of curry mix, because I had already used part of my pack making curry previously, and I forgot to buy more when I went shopping. You should use the whole pack. It tastes better that way.)
Serve over rice.
A lot of times I serve Egg Rolls with this. (You'll have to visit the link to get the recipe. It's not mine, so I'm not gonna post it here.) In the recipe I linked to, chicken is used. Sometimes I omit that to save money and hassle. If you do, just use a little more cabbage and carrots to make up for the volume of chicken. They're really easy to make, and everyone I've ever served them to says they taste better than restaurant egg rolls.
You can also serve homemade Sweet and Sour sauce (recipe below) to go along with the egg rolls. I was desperate one night for some to dip my egg rolls in, but I was out of the store-bought variety. I searched the internet for a recipe that I already had all the ingredients to and came up with this one. It has a good flavor, but doesn't taste anything like store bought sweet and sour sauce, or the sauce served at most Asian restaurants.
OK, now on to the recap.
Ingredients
1 pound chicken, cooked and chopped
3 medium baking potatoes
5 medium carrots
1 (3.5 ounce) package golden curry mix
3-4 cups water
4-5 cups cooked short-grain white rice
Directions
1. Peel and chop carrots and potatoes. Place in pot and add water. Bring to a boil, then reduce hear and simmer 10-15 minutes.
2. Add chicken and curry mix. Stir until mix is dissolved and curry begins to thicken. Remove from heat once chicken is heated through.
3. Serve over cooked white rice.
Makes about 4 servings.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons water
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions
Mix all ingredients in a small sauce pan, stirring until there are no lumps. Bring to a boil. Stir until thickened.
Makes 1/2 cup (4 servings).
Once again, these leftovers are delicious the next day. I store the rice and curry in separate bowls in my fridge.
Do you have a different way to make Japanese Curry? Or a different sweet and sour sauce or egg roll recipe?
**Disclaimer - I am not affiliated with the companies that own the products pictured in any way. That's just the brands I happened to have in my kitchen when I cooked these. If another brand had been on sale cheaper the day I bought these ingredients, then that's what I would have bought.
One of my favorite recipes to cook at home is Japanese Curry. It's different from Indian curry, much sweeter and less spicy. I'm not a fan of spicy curry, but this? This stuff holds a special place near my heart.
I could talk for several more minutes about my love for this dish, and Asian cuisine in general, but then we'd never get to the recipe and pictures. Are you ready? Let's get cooking. (FYI - I modified someone else's recipe to my liking, since my child will NOT EAT ONIONS. He did not get that from me, I swear. Anyway, the original recipe can be found here, if you're interested. Just wanna give credit where credit is due.)
For this you'll need some cooked, cubed chicken breast, carrots, potatoes, curry powder mix, and water. I buy Golden Curry at Publix, on the aisle with the other Asian foods. And while we're at it, go ahead and start enough rice cooking to make four or six servings. (I use a rice steamer. The ratio for it is one and a half cups of white rice to three cups of water. This equals out to be a cup of water for every half cup of rice, which is about the same as you use when cooking rice in a pot on the stove.)
Peel and dice your carrots.
And potatoes.
Place them in a large pot with enough water to cover (about 3 or 4 cups). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until vegetables start softening (10-15 minutes).
Add the chicken. Break the curry mix into pieces (it comes in a brick) and add to the pot.
Stir everything up well, until the curry mix dissolves.
The curry mix will thicken everything up in a few minutes, and your dish will turn brown. (It usually gets browner than my pictures show. I didn't use the entire package of curry mix, because I had already used part of my pack making curry previously, and I forgot to buy more when I went shopping. You should use the whole pack. It tastes better that way.)
Serve over rice.
A lot of times I serve Egg Rolls with this. (You'll have to visit the link to get the recipe. It's not mine, so I'm not gonna post it here.) In the recipe I linked to, chicken is used. Sometimes I omit that to save money and hassle. If you do, just use a little more cabbage and carrots to make up for the volume of chicken. They're really easy to make, and everyone I've ever served them to says they taste better than restaurant egg rolls.
You can also serve homemade Sweet and Sour sauce (recipe below) to go along with the egg rolls. I was desperate one night for some to dip my egg rolls in, but I was out of the store-bought variety. I searched the internet for a recipe that I already had all the ingredients to and came up with this one. It has a good flavor, but doesn't taste anything like store bought sweet and sour sauce, or the sauce served at most Asian restaurants.
OK, now on to the recap.
Ingredients
1 pound chicken, cooked and chopped
3 medium baking potatoes
5 medium carrots
1 (3.5 ounce) package golden curry mix
3-4 cups water
4-5 cups cooked short-grain white rice
Directions
1. Peel and chop carrots and potatoes. Place in pot and add water. Bring to a boil, then reduce hear and simmer 10-15 minutes.
2. Add chicken and curry mix. Stir until mix is dissolved and curry begins to thicken. Remove from heat once chicken is heated through.
3. Serve over cooked white rice.
Makes about 4 servings.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons water
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions
Mix all ingredients in a small sauce pan, stirring until there are no lumps. Bring to a boil. Stir until thickened.
Makes 1/2 cup (4 servings).
Once again, these leftovers are delicious the next day. I store the rice and curry in separate bowls in my fridge.
Do you have a different way to make Japanese Curry? Or a different sweet and sour sauce or egg roll recipe?
**Disclaimer - I am not affiliated with the companies that own the products pictured in any way. That's just the brands I happened to have in my kitchen when I cooked these. If another brand had been on sale cheaper the day I bought these ingredients, then that's what I would have bought.
