Japanese Beef Curry Recipe Using Roux Cubes (Secret Tips Included)

Hey guys, it's Yuto here from stachyrecipes.com. Today I'm going to show you how to make the ultimate Japanese curry. Whether you're starting from scratch or you're looking for a few ways to improve your curry, you're in the right place. I've got lots of tips and secret ingredients to help you make your Japanese curry the best So before I get started, I want to talk a bit about Japanese curry roux. So first, choosing a brand. I have four different brands here. There are more than this, but these are probably the most popular. Let's start with Golden Curry. This is a well-loved brand. Many Japanese people say it has the nicest aroma and combination of spices. It's also richer than other brands. It's a little spicy, but still not too hot. I recommend Golden Curry for first-timers who can handle some mild spice. You can't really go wrong with it. Next I have Vermont. You'll recognize that the packaging always has this picture of the apple with honey on the front. As you probably guessed, this roux creates a sweet curry with a slight fruity kind of taste. If you want to make Japanese curry for your kids or you don't like spicy food, this brand is really great. Very mild, but still lots of flavor. Next we have my personal favorite, Jawa. I have to warn you, Jawa is a lot spicier than the other brands, but it's also rich and has a bit of sourness. It tastes great. I'd recommend this brand for people who love spicy food. Lastly, I have Zeppin. This brand is known for being premium curry. It's a bit more expensive than the others. The flavor is very rich and has great depth of flavor. I'd say it's a bit spicier than other curries, but not as spicy as Jawa. I'd recommend this brand for people who want to make curry with a rich and complex flavor. Next let's take a look at spice level. There are three main levels, and all of the brands show the level on the front of the box. There's Amakuchi. This level is sweet and mild. It's not really spicy at all. Next is Chukara. This is in the mildly spicy, but not too much. And lastly, we have Karakuchi, and this is actually hot. These are even different levels of Karakuchi, usually from level 4 to 6. 6 is the spiciest, so be careful. There are a couple more things to look out for. Here, this kanji is Sarabun, and the number tells you how many servings you get in one box. And if you take a look at the back, you find this character Mizu, which means water. It's the only ingredient that shows milliliters if you forget. This is how much water you should add to your curry to get the best consistency. And they're all different, so always check the box. So now, let's actually start making curry. My first tip is to caramelize the onions. It takes 40 minutes, but it makes a huge difference to the curry's flavor and color. So we're going to start with one and a half onions, and cut them into slices. Heat the pan and add one tablespoon of olive oil. Go in with the onions and fry for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don't burn. Caramelized onions take time and patience, but it's all worth it if you're trying to make a rich curry with great depth of flavor. And if you want to make the most of your time, you can make a big batch and then store them in a jar in the fridge. They can be used for hot dogs or in soups and gravies. So after 10 minutes, lower the heat and add a pinch of salt. We're gonna keep these on the low heat for another 30 minutes. I know it's long, but just stir it from time to time and add a little bit of water if it's starting to stick. While they're cooking, we can prepare the other ingredients anyway. But if you don't want to do it, that's fine. You can still use the normal onions. I'm keeping it simple and using typical ingredients found in Japanese curry. This is for six servings. 250 grams or half a pound of beef. One carrot and two to three medium potatoes. I'll start by cutting the meat. We want it to be kind of bite-sized pieces, but not too small. I'm using beef shank today. You can also make this curry with chicken, pork or seafood. It's totally up to you. Next, we've got the carrot. Just cut it into rough chunks like this. And finally, the potatoes. This should be cut into quite big pieces. If they're too small, they cook too quickly and fall apart in the curry. So the veg is prepared and 30 minutes have passed. I'm just gonna check my caramelised onions. Look at the colour and I've gotta say, they smell amazing. We can take them off the heat and start making the curry now. Take a large pot and heat it up on the medium setting. Once heated, add a tablespoon of unsalted butter. It's just a small amount, but it adds to the richness of the curry and creates a nice flavour on the meat. Once it's melted, add two cloves of crushed garlic and fry for a few minutes until it's fragrant. Add the meat to the pan and sprinkle it with salt. We're just gonna seal it to keep the flavours locked in. If you're not using caramelised onions, I'd add sliced onion now just to soften them up. Once the meat is browned on the outside, add the carrot and potatoes. Mix it up and heat for a few minutes before adding the caramelised onions. My next secret ingredient is red wine. It adds a beautiful depth of flavour and I've seen it often used in gravy recipes. It pairs very nicely with beef and pork in particular. It also adds a touch of sourness. If you're using wine in your curry, I recommend substituting 10% of the water for wine. Otherwise, it's gonna be too much liquid and too sour. So I'm adding the water. How much water you add depends on the roux you're using and you should always check the box. I'm gonna use a mixture of different roux so I'm adding 720ml to the 80ml of wine. That's 800ml of liquid in total. Let's bring it to the boil. As you can see, the colour is already great because of the caramelised onions. Once it's boiling, bring the heat down to a simmer and leave it to cook for 20 minutes with the lid on. Slightly ajar. Check it from time to time and if there's any foam on top, scoop it out. After 20 minutes, we're going to add the curry roux. I'm mixing up and using a few cubes from different brands to create a more complex taste. I've gotta say, most families in Japan do this. In fact, even restaurants do this. It's a way to make your curry a bit unique and you can make it especially for your own tastes. For this recipe, I mix two cubes of medium golden curry, two cubes of level 6 spicy jawa and two cubes of sweet vermont. It's fun to play with different ratios. You can make the perfect curry for you. Mix it up until it's dissolved and simmer without the lid for 5 to 10 minutes. My final and my favourite secret ingredient is instant coffee powder. I add about two teaspoons every time. It just makes the flavour even deeper, richer and there's a tiny bit of bitterness. It's just great. Even if you don't like coffee, I recommend it. Your curry won't taste like coffee, I promise. After 5 to 10 minutes is up, it should be done. If it gets too thick, you can add a bit more water, just a little at a time. If it's not thick enough, then cook it for a bit longer without the lid. This will help the excess liquid evaporate. So anyway, the curry is complete. All that's left is to dish up and enjoy. You can also freeze this curry for up to one month. Just make sure you take the potatoes out before freezing and try to use a glass container because plastic ones will get stained. Thank you very much for watching. I hope you have fun using these secret tips to make the ultimate Japanese curry. I'd love to hear your favourite curry ingredients. Leave a comment below. And for more secret ingredients, check out the blog. The link is in the description. Thanks again. Happy cooking.