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<channel>
 <title>curry</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/curry</link>
 <description>The taxonomy view with a depth of 0.</description>
 <language>en</language>
<item>
 <title>Japanese Curry Bread (Kare-pan)</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-curry-bread-kare-pan</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread1.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Curry bread&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread1.sidebar.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;242&quot; alt=&quot;currybread1.sidebar.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There&amp;#8217;s a whole category of breads in Japan called &lt;em&gt;okazu pan&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;em&gt;Okazu&lt;/em&gt; are the savory dishes that you eat with your bowl of rice at a typical meal, and &lt;em&gt;okazu pan&lt;/em&gt; are  little breads with savory fillings. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Since curry flavored anything is a hit in Japan, curry bread or &lt;em&gt;kare- pan&lt;/em&gt; is one of the most popular okazu pan varieties. It&amp;#8217;s a bun made of slightly sweet dough, filled with a spoonful of curry, breaded and deep fried. I am not sure how curry bread originated, but I am guessing it was inspired by Russian piroshki (&lt;em&gt;piroshiki&lt;/em&gt; is also a popular okazu pan, though in the Japanese version it often contains very non-Russian fillings like &lt;em&gt;harusame&lt;/em&gt;, thin bean noodles).  Curry bread is sold at bakeries and convenience stores throughout Japan.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Making curry bread is a bit tricky since it&amp;#8217;s deep-fried. It&amp;#8217;s easy to make an oily, soggy lump if you fry it too long or at too low a temperature, but if you don&amp;#8217;t fry it long enough the center part where the dough meets the filling may be raw. My solution for this is to fry it until it&amp;#8217;s puffed and crisped, then to finish it in the oven. The other trick is to roll out the dough as thinly as you can manage without making it so thin that the curry is going to burst through. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You also have to be careful about the consistency of the curry filling. It&amp;#8217;s most convenient to start out with some leftover curry, but it has to be reduced down to a very thick, paste-like consistency, otherwise it will run over the dough and make the dough hard to seal. If the dough is not sealed properly, the bun will burst in the oil, which ends up to be quite a mess (oil seeps in, filling seeps out). &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;All in all, I am not sure I would bother to make curry bread at all if I lived near a Japanese bakery, but I do on occasion get a craving for this very down to earth snack. Try it if you&amp;#8217;re up for a bit of a challenge. This recipe is adapted from one in an out-of-print Japanese bread book.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Japanese curry bread or kareh pan (karee pan)&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Makes 8 to 10 buns&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The dough: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;370g / 13 oz all-purpose white flour (see notes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 packet, about 7g, regular dry yeast&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 Tbs. sugar&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 1/2 tsp. salt&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 large eggs, beaten, with 1 Tbs. taken out and reserved for the eggwash (see below)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;160cc / about 5.4 fluid oz.or 5/8th cup milk &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;40g / 1.4 oz (about 2 1/2 Tbs.) butter, at room temperature&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The filling: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;About 4 cups of leftover &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry&quot;&gt;curry&lt;/a&gt; or readymade foil-pack curry (though if you&amp;#8217;re going to all the trouble you might as well start with your own curry)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The coating:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Bread crumbs - dry panko crumbs preferred&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The reserved 1 Tbs. egg from the dough (see above)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Milk&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;To fry: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Oil (I used peanut oil)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Epuipment and supplies:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Parchment paper, cut into 10 pieces about 20cm / 8 in cm square (big enough to hold the buns)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Food processor (useful but not required)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pastry brush&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Deep fat fryer or wok or a deep enough pan for frying&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A spatula big enough to put a bun on&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Oven&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;(Hint: click on each small image to get a larger view.) &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Make the dough. If you&amp;#8217;re using a food processor, put all the dry ingredients into the bowl and whiz to mix. Add the egg (don&amp;#8217;t forget to reserve 1 tablespoon for the coating/wash), and while the machine is running, slowly add the milk until the dough forms a ball around the blade. Stop and add the butter in pieces, process for about a minute. Take it out and knead it briefly to form a ball. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;#8217;re mixing by hand, mix together the dry ingredients with a whisk (or sift). Make a well in the middle of the mixed dry stuff. Add the egg (don&amp;#8217;t forget to reserve 1 Tbs. for the coating/wash) and milk into the well, and mix rapidly with your fingertips until you get a rough dough. Continue mixing until you have a ball. Add the butter, cut into small pieces, and knead on a lightly floured surface. The dough will be very sticky at first but &lt;strong&gt;resist&lt;/strong&gt; the temptation to flour your board too much, or the dough will become very stiff. If you keep scraping off the stuck on dough with a scraper and kneading and stretching, eventually the dough will become smooth, coherent and pliable. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Once you have a nice smooth dough ball, put into a clean ball, cover with plastic film and let rise for about 1 to 1/2 hours until doubled in size. Punch down the dough, re-cover and let rise an additional 45 minutes. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;While the dough is rising, deal with the curry.  Mash down or smoosh/cut up any big bits of carrot, potato, meat etc. Over a low heat, slowly cook down the curry until it&amp;#8217;s reduce to 2 cups or so, and thick and paste-like. Let cool, then refrigerate until stiff. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Take out the dough, punch down, knead and divide into 8 to 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and let rest for about 15 minutes under a piece of plastic or a damp kitchen towel. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Put about 1 tablespoon of milk in the reserved egg, and mix well. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-dough.jpg&quot; title=&quot;the dough circle&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-dough.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-dough.thumbnail.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Start forming the buns. With a rolling pin or with your hands, flatten out each piece into a thin round, with the center thicker than the edges. If you&amp;#8217;re making 10 buns the circle should be about 18cm / 7 inches in diameter. 
&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-egg.jpg&quot; title=&quot;painting the edges with eggwash&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-egg.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-egg.thumbnail.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Paint the edges of the circle with the egg wash. Don&amp;#8217;t make it too wet - the purpose of the eggwash it to act as a glue to form a seal. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-forming1.jpg&quot; title=&quot;gathering the dough around the filling&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-forming1.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-forming1.thumbnail.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Put a tablespoon or so of curry in the center of the circle. Gather up the opposing edges of the circle above the filling. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-forming2.jpg&quot; title=&quot;pinched dough around the filling&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-forming2.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-forming2.thumbnail.jpg&quot;class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Pinch the dough all around to seal well, like making a dumpling. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-forming3.jpg&quot; title=&quot;the pinched edge pushed down&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-forming3.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-forming3.thumbnail.jpg&quot;class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;When the edges are all crimped, push the crimped edge down to one side. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-breaded.jpg&quot; title=&quot;coating the bun in panko&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-breaded.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-breaded.thumbnail.jpg&quot;class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Add a bit more milk to the egg wash and put into a bowl or dish big enough to contain a bun. Dip the bun into the egg wash, coating it on all sides, then roll in bread crumbs. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-rising.jpg&quot; title=&quot;breaded buns resting on pieces of parchment paper&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-rising.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-rising.thumbnail.jpg&quot;class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Put each bun on a piece of parchment paper. Leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes - the buns should rise to about 1.5 times their original size. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In the meantime, preheat the oven to 150&amp;deg;C / 300&amp;deg;F. Heat the frying oil to 175&amp;deg;C / 350&amp;deg;F (this is pretty hot, be careful).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If the buns have developed any gaps, pinch them closed. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-intofryer.jpg&quot; title=&quot;sliding a bun into the oil&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-intofryer.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-intofryer.thumbnail.jpg&quot;class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Pick up a bun with the paper, with a spatula. Slide the bun, paper and all, into the hot oil. Don&amp;#8217;t worry the paper won&amp;#8217;t burn - just scoop it out with the spatula. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-frying.jpg&quot; title=&quot;frying the buns&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-frying.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-frying.thumbnail.jpg&quot;class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Fry the buns until golden brown - this shouldn&amp;#8217;t take more than 5 minutes per bun. If they won&amp;#8217;t stay down just hold them down a bit. Do about 2 or 3 at a time at most - don&amp;#8217;t overcrowd the pan. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;clear&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-baking.jpg&quot; title=&quot;finishing the buns in the oven&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/currybread-baking.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currybread-baking.thumbnail.jpg&quot;class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Drain well on a rack or several layers of paper towels, and put the buns on a baking sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Serve hot or at room temperature.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4&gt;Notes&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;If you&amp;#8217;re in Japan use 300g &amp;#8216;strong flour&amp;#8217; (kyou-ryokuko) and 70g &amp;#8216;weak flour&amp;#8217; (hakuriki-ko) &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;You can make curry just for the bread, but making a small amount of curry is a bother, so just plan for a curry meal and reserve some for a later curry bread. (You can freeze the reserved curry as long as you take out the potatoes.)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Panko or Japanese crunchy breadcrumbs are the best to use for this. They absorb a lot less oil than soft breadcrumbs.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;You can use other fillings, like cooked-down bolognese sauce, leftover stew, or even a stiff custard sauce. As long as the filling is stable enough that it doesn&amp;#8217;t run over the sides when placed in the center of the dough circle, it should work fine. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;If deep frying doesn&amp;#8217;t appeal to you, just omit the breadcrumb coating, brush with eggwash, and bake in a 180&amp;deg;C / 360&amp;deg;F oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. It won&amp;#8217;t be the same as the fried version but will still be pretty good. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-curry-bread-kare-pan#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/recipe">recipe</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/bread">bread</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/curry">curry</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/japanese">japanese</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/snack">snack</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:01:38 +0100</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>maki</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">625 at http://www.justhungry.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Quinoa kedgeree</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/quinoa-kedgeree</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/quinoa_kedgeree1.jpg&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot; title=&quot;Quinoa kedgeree&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/quinoa_kedgeree1.teaser.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; height=&quot;520&quot; alt=&quot;quinoa_kedgeree1.teaser.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here&amp;#8217;s another very easy &amp;#8216;dry&amp;#8217; type curry dish that&amp;#8217;s a favorite in our house, though it&amp;#8217;s not Japanese. &lt;a href=&quot;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedgeree&quot;&gt;Kedgeree&lt;/a&gt; is a very British dish, that doesn&amp;#8217;t seem to be well known outside of the U.K. It was originally created by the British colonists in India, who took the spices and grain of the land they were in with the smoked haddock from their homeland. It used to be served for breakfast, but nowadays it&amp;#8217;s a supper dish. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This version of kedgeree uses quinoa as the grain (technically it&amp;#8217;s a seed but it&amp;#8217;s used as a grain in cooking, so that&amp;#8217;s what I&amp;#8217;ll call it). Quinoa has a unique bubbly texture and a  neutral flavor that takes on any flavors added to it. It&amp;#8217;s also very filling, which makes it rather ideal when you&amp;#8217;re trying to watch the intake. It&amp;#8217;s very easy to cook, and never seems to go too watery and so on. I&amp;#8217;m just a recent convert to quinoa, but I love it already and have it at least a couple of times a month. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve used cod as the fish here but you can use any fish you like, even canned tuna or salmon. It doesn&amp;#8217;t taste &amp;#8216;fishy&amp;#8217; in any way - the lemon and the curry take care of that. The key to making this kedgeree taste fresh and bright is to add tons of parsley (instead of the traditional coriander) and lemon juice. It turns into something that&amp;#8217;s like a warm, spicy dinner salad. To keep the whole healthy thing going I&amp;#8217;ve used olive oil instead of butter. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Any leftovers store nicely in the fridge, and like the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-dry-curry&quot;&gt;previous dry curry&lt;/a&gt; makes a great obento lunch too. It tastes fine cooled or at room temperature. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--break--&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Quinoa Kedgeree&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/files/images/quinoa_kedgeree2.teaser.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; height=&quot;300&quot; alt=&quot;quinoa_kedgeree2.teaser.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Note: this makes quite a lot, since I like to plan on purpose for leftovers to eat during the week. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The fish: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;200-300g / 8 - 10 oz  fresh or canned fish (see notes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/2 lemon&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 bay leaf&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Water to cover&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The quinoa:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;250g / about 9 oz quinoa (note for American measurement fans: 1 cup of quinoa contains about 170g)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1.2 l / 5 cups water, OR the fish poaching liquid plus added water to come up to that amount&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 vegetable stock cube (I prefer Knorr)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 medium onion&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 small piece fresh ginger&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 garlic clove&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 Tbs. olive oil&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 Tbs. garam masala&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Putting it together:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 Tbs curry powder&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Salt and pepper&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Juice of 2 lemons&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3 cups chopped fresh parsley&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Garnish: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2-4 hard-boiled eggs&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;First poach the fish. Put the piece of fish into water to cover, add the half lemon and bay leaf, and bring up to a boil. Simmer very gently until cooked, about 10 minutes. Take the fish out, and debone, deskin and flake it. If you&amp;#8217;re using canned fish, skip this step. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Finely chop the onion, ginger and garlic. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until limp. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté a bit more. Add the garam masala and stir. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Add the the water and stock cube (alternatively, use the strained fish poaching liquid plus water and stock cube, OR the drained liquid from the canned fish plus water and stock cube. The total liquid amount should come up to1.2 liters or 5 cups). Bring up to a boil, then add the quinoa. Lower the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is gone. If there&amp;#8217;s any excess liquid, drain it off, but the grains should be a bit moist. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Cook the eggs in the meantime if you&amp;#8217;re using them. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In a small frying pan, dry-roast the curry until it&amp;#8217;s fragrant. Stir into the quinoa. Add the flaked fish, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped parsley, reserving a little bit for the top. (The parsley will soften just a bit due to the heat of the quinoa.)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Serve either hot or at room temperature with wedges of egg and the reserved parsley on top. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4&gt;Notes&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The traditional fish used is smoked haddock. Any firm fresh fish works here - I&amp;#8217;ve used cod, salmon, even salt cod. And for a quick and easy everyday dinner, canned tuna or salmon is fine. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I like this with quite a lot of lemon, so I serve it with lemon wedges. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;If you want the flavor of coriander in there, substitute some of the parsley for coriander. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;You can of course make it spicier by adding more curry powder. &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Here is how to make perfect hard-boiled eggs: Put the eggs in cold water to cover in a pan. Bring up to the boil, rolling the egg around if you want the yolk to be in the center. As soon as it reaches boil, put a lid on and set the timer for 12 minutes. Dunk the eggs in cold water, crack all over and peel. With this way you will never get those nasty blue rims on the yolks. (Via a tip in Julia Child&amp;#8217;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://astore.amazon.com/wwwmakikoitoc-20/detail/0394532643/104-0012991-3202311&quot;&gt;The Way To Cook&lt;/a&gt;, my favorite all time cookbook.) &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.justhungry.com/quinoa-kedgeree#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/recipe">recipe</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/curry">curry</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/grains">grains</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/lighter">lighter</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/quinoa">quinoa</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2007 12:27:11 +0100</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>maki</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">592 at http://www.justhungry.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Quinoa kedgeree - closeup</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/image/quinoa-kedgeree-closeup</link>
 <description></description>
 <comments>http://www.justhungry.com/image/quinoa-kedgeree-closeup#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/taxonomy/term/753">images-food still lifes</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/curry">curry</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/grains">grains</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/quinoa">quinoa</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:27:46 +0100</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>maki</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">591 at http://www.justhungry.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Quinoa kedgeree</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/image/quinoa-kedgeree</link>
 <description></description>
 <comments>http://www.justhungry.com/image/quinoa-kedgeree#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/taxonomy/term/753">images-food still lifes</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/curry">curry</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/grains">grains</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/quinoa">quinoa</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:26:45 +0100</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>maki</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">590 at http://www.justhungry.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Japanese Dry Curry</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-dry-curry</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/dry_curry1.jpg&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot; title=&quot;Japanese style dry curry&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/dry_curry1.sidebar.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;dry_curry1.sidebar.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;While the standard curry dish in Japan is a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry&quot;&gt;kind of curry stew served on plain rice&lt;/a&gt;, dry curry, which is a sort of fried rice with curry flavor, is almost as popular. And unlike the stew-type of Curry Rice it&amp;#8217;s very fast and easy to put together. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What makes it Japanese really is the use of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/2007/01/looking_at_rice.html&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;japonica&lt;/em&gt; (medium-grain) rice&lt;/a&gt;. Dry curry made with Japanese rice makes a great obento lunch, tasty at room temperature or warmed up in the microwave. The stick-together moist quality of the rice keeps it edible where a dryer stay-apart rice like basmati might taste too dry. Dry curry also has the mixture of sweet and savory, which appears quite a lot in Japanese food, especially the kind that comes from the Kanto (Tokyo-area) region where my family is from. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--break--&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Japanese style dry curry&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;225g / 8 oz ground beef or other ground meat, or vegetarian substitute&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 medium onion, finely chopped&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 cloves garlic, finely chopped&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 small piece fresh ginger, finely chopped&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 Tbs. tomato paste&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 Tbs. raisins&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Olive or vegetable oil&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1-2 Tbs (or more, depending on how hot you want it) &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/formula-making-japanese-curry-powder&quot;&gt;curry powder&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Salt and pepper&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;4-5 cups &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/2003/11/japanese_basics_1.html&quot;&gt;cooked Japanese rice&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Optional garnishes: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 boiled egg, finely chopped&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh coriander or parsley &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Heat a little oil in a sauté pan or wok. Sauté the onions, garlic and ginger until the onion is translucent and a bit browned. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Add the meat, and brown. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/drycurry_inpan1.jpg&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot; title=&quot;roasting the curry powder&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/drycurry_inpan1_0.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;drycurry_inpan1_0.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Push the meat and vegetables to one side of the pan. Put the curry powder in the empty part of the pan and stir-roast until darkened and fragrant. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Add 1/2 cup of water, raisins, and tomato paste. Simmer rapidly over high heat until the moisture is almost gone. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Add the hot rice to the pan and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Serve with the garnishes on top. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4&gt;Notes&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;#8217;re bringing this as an bento lunch, be sure to let it cool to room temperature before putting it in your bento box or plastic container. Pack the boiled egg, if you&amp;#8217;re adding it, separately, and crumble it on top of the curry rice just before eating. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Here I have used ground beef, but you can use any kind of ground meat - or, if going vegetarian, use your favorite vegetarian imitation-ground-meat. Crumbled firm tofu that&amp;#8217;s been slowly dried out over low heat in a pan should work well too. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;See also&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A vegan variation: &lt;a href=&quot;http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/japanese-dry-curry-with-soybeans-or-tempeh&quot;&gt;Dry curry made with soybeans or tempeh&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-dry-curry#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/recipe">recipe</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/curry">curry</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/ground-meat">ground meat</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/japanese">japanese</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/meat">meat</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/rice">rice</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/yohshoku">yohshoku</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2007 11:22:03 +0100</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>maki</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">585 at http://www.justhungry.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Dry curry</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/image/dry-curry</link>
 <description></description>
 <comments>http://www.justhungry.com/image/dry-curry#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/taxonomy/term/753">images-food still lifes</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/curry">curry</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/japanese">japanese</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/rice">rice</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:31:50 +0100</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>maki</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">584 at http://www.justhungry.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>The formula for making Japanese curry powder</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/formula-making-japanese-curry-powder</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;As I wrote in the  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry&quot;&gt;Beef Curry&lt;/a&gt; recipe, I don&amp;#8217;t make my own curry powder. Lomo asked in the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry#comment&quot;&gt;comments&lt;/a&gt; about the &amp;#8220;secret&amp;#8221; 15 to 20 spices that make up curry powder. After poking around a bit on Japanese web sites, I came up with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.rakuten.co.jp/e-sbfoods/154598/157156/&quot;&gt;this page&lt;/a&gt; that describes what goes into S &amp;amp; B curry powders, the most popular brand by far in Japan. It&amp;#8217;s an official S &amp;amp; B page, so should be accurate, though as you can see the percentages given have a pretty wide range. I guess it&amp;#8217;s because the actual formulas are &amp;#8216;secret&amp;#8217;. In any case it gives a starting point for any experimentation I think. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve also included a recipe for making garam masala. Note that I make no claims whatsoever that these are authentic mixes for Indian or other curries, but I&amp;#8217;m talking here about Japanese curry. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The following is a rough summary/translation of the Japanese article.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Japanese curry powder&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;These basic four spices make up 80 to 90% of the mix: &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Turmeric (20-50%) &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Coriander (20-30%)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cumin (5-25%)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cardamon (5-15%)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Then the following &amp;#8216;hot&amp;#8217; spices make up about 5% of the blend. If you want to increase the amount of hot spices, decrease the turmeric accordingly.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Black pepper (2-8%)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Chili (cayenne) pepper (0.5 - 2%)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The remaining 5-15% is taken up with aromatic spices. Adjusting these spices makes the powder distinctive.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Clove (3-5%)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Fennel (1-2%&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;All of the above are the &lt;strong&gt;basic spices&lt;/strong&gt; (that go into all the powders, I assume). &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Other spices, herbs and so on are added to give distinction to each blend, such as:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cinnamon&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Star anise&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Allspice&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Nutmeg&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Fenugreek&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Bay leaf&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Sage&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Oregano (&amp;#8220;and other herbs&amp;#8221;, not specified)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cocoa powder&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Coffee powder&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;They say to limit the amount of &amp;#8216;other&amp;#8217; ingredients to about 1-2% of the total.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;To make up the curry powder, roast the spices (I think they assume you are starting out with ground spices) in a dry frying pan for about 2-3 minutes. Cool the spices, and if possible let them mature in a cool, dark place for about a month before using. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Note that a good garam masala mix will contain the aromatic spices like cloves and fennel too. Here&amp;#8217;s a standard garam masala mixture from an old Japanese curry cookbook I have, if you&amp;#8217;d like to make up your own, starting from whole spices:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Garam Masala (a la Japonaise?)&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;4 sticks of cinnamon&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/2 cup cardamon pods&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/3 cup cloves&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/3 cumin &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/4 cup coriander&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/3 cup black pepper&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1/3 cup white pepper&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Put all of the above onto a baking sheet, and roast in a 90&amp;deg;C / 195&amp;deg;F oven. Roast for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Take the cardamon out of the pods. Grind it all up in a mixer, dividing up if necessary, until ground to a fine powder. (Note: nowadays I would use an electric coffee mill reserved for spices.) Store in an airtight jar.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <comments>http://www.justhungry.com/formula-making-japanese-curry-powder#comments</comments>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/recipe">recipe</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/curry">curry</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/ingredients">ingredients</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/japanese">japanese</category>
 <category domain="http://www.justhungry.com/spices">spices</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:08:25 +0100</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>maki</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">564 at http://www.justhungry.com</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Japanese beef curry (Curry Rice)</title>
 <link>http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/beefcurry_plated1.jpg&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot; title=&quot;A plate of beef curry, with brown rice and rakkyou&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/files/images/beefcurry_plated1.sidebar.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;beefcurry_plated1.sidebar.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Japanese curry belongs to the group of typically Japanese foods that have origins in European cuisine, called &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/2004/01/yohshoku_japane.html&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;yohshoku&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. Curry is tremendously popular in Japan - it&#039;s on the menu at just about every &#039;family&#039; restaurant and department store restaurants, and there are curry-only restaurants as well as  ones that specialize in high class yohshoku in general. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Japanese curry, called curry rice (or &lt;em&gt;kareh raisu&lt;/em&gt;) since it&#039;s always served with rice, is not much like the curries from India, Thai or other places with better known curries around the world. The best way to describe it is probably to say it&#039;s like a English style stew with curry. (It&#039;s not at all like the curries you get in modern Britain, which are firmly in the Indian or Pakistani curry families.)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/beefcurry_closeup1.jpg&quot; title=&quot;a pot full of beef curry&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/files/images/beefcurry_closeup1.sidebar.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;beefcurry_closeup1.sidebar.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot;/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;If you&#039;ve ever been to a Japanese grocery store, you&#039;ve probably seen the blocks or bags of curry base taking up an inordinate amount of shelf space. Competition amongst curry base makers in Japan is fierce. The bases are pretty convenient to use, but these days I use them less and less, since I discovered that making curry properly from scratch is not that much more effort than making curry with a readymade curry base. Commercial curry bases contain things like sugar or corn syrup as ingredients, plus some of them use mystery fats (always check the ingredient lists). I add sweetness just via the vegetables, especially a huge mound of slowly sautéed onions. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Either way, to get the most flavorful curry takes a long time. This is definitely a slow-cook meal. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This recipe for beef curry can be adapted to other kinds of meat, or to vegetarian options too. I&#039;ve included instructions for using a store bought curry base as well as making your own curry roux base. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3 id=&quot;japanese_style_beef_curry&quot;&gt;Japanese style beef curry&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Makes about 6 to 8 servings.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;450-500g / about 1 lb stewing beef cubes (chuck works well; it should be a cut with a bit of fat in it and not too sinewy)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;6 large onions, or about 6 cups sliced&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3 cloves garlic&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;An adult thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2 cups of crushed tomatoes (1 small can, or 400g)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 beef or vegetable stock cube (I prefer Knorr)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 bay leaf&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 star anise&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2-3 Tbs. garam masala (see notes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3-4 large carrots&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 medium eating-type apple&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3-4 medium potatoes&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Oil or butter&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Optional: 1 cup frozen green peas&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Salt and pepper&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For the curry roux:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3 Tbs. butter, ghee, clarified butter or oil, or a mixture&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;4 Tbs. white flour&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1 1/2 to 2 Tbs. curry powder, or more to taste (see notes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;To serve with:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/2003/11/japanese_basics_1.html&quot;&gt;Plain white steamed Japanese rice&lt;/a&gt;, or &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/2007/01/basics_cooking_japanese_style.html&quot;&gt;plain brown rice&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Garnishes: &lt;em&gt;fukijin zuke&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;rakkyou&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Special equipment recommended: a heavy-bottomed enamelled cast iron pot (Le Creuset etc.)
(but any decently heavy pot will do. A thin walled pot leads to burned curry. Burned curry ranks near the top of things that are Not Nice.)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If the meat is in one big chunk, cut into cubes about 2 cm / 1 inch square. Pat dry with paper towels, and brown in a little oil on all sides in a frying pan. Set aside.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Slice the onions thinly. Grate the ginger and either grate or finely chop the garlic. (A microplane is great for this task, if you have one.) Peel and cut the carrots into chunks. Don&#039;t peel the potatoes yet: this will come later.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/onionsaute2.jpg&quot; title=&quot;properly sauteed onions&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/files/images/onionsaute2.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;74&quot; alt=&quot;onionsaute2.thumbnail.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Heat your heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, and heat up some butter, ghee or oil. (Butter or ghee will add some richness but oil is fine - you will barely notice the subtle difference since the curry will overwhelm it.) Add the onions and a pinch of 
salt, and lower the heat to medium-low. Now comes a period of long, slow cooking of the onions that can take up to an hour or so (the salt helps it along as it extracts the moisture in the onions). At the end you want to end up with a much reduced mass of onion that is a light caramel brown in color, as in the photo. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com//files/images/currystewing1.jpg&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot; title=&quot;the curry ingredients stewing in a pot&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/files/images/currystewing1.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;currystewing1.thumbnail.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Once the onions have reached this stage, add the ginger and garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the canned tomato and 6 cups of water, the browned beef, the stock cube, the bay leaf and the star anise. (If you are particular you can put these in a bit of cheese cloth or a tea ball for easy extraction later.) &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Peel and grate the apple and stir in. (This is optional, but adds to the depth of flavor.) &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Bring up to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour, or more if your meat is a bit tough. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;About 30 minutes into the cooking process, dry-roast about a tablespoon of garam masala powder in a small frying pan until it starts to get very fragant, and ad to the stew pot. Add the carrots around then too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/curryroux1.jpg&quot; title=&quot;adding the curry powder to the roux&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/files/images/curryroux1.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;75&quot; alt=&quot;curryroux1.thumbnail.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;In the meantime, make the curry roux. In a small frying pan, melt the butter or ghee or clarified butter (note that ghee is basically clarified butter) and heat until any foaming subsides. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;span class=&quot;clear&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/curryroux2.jpg&quot; title=&quot;the completed curry roux&quot; class=&quot;thickbox&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/files/images/curryroux2.thumbnail.jpg&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; height=&quot;77&quot; alt=&quot;curryroux2.thumbnail.jpg&quot; class=&quot;floatimgleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Add the flour, and cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes a light brown in color. (See these &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/2006/01/perfect_roux_an.html&quot;&gt;very detailed instructions for roux&lt;/a&gt; if you aren&#039;t sure.) &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Take the pan off the heat, and add the curry powder (the more the hotter.) Stir until the whole kitchen and beyond 
&lt;/a&gt;smells like curry. Set aside. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When the meat is about as tender as you want, peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and add to the curry. Continue simmering until the potatoes are tender. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Take the pot off the heat and fish out the bay leaf and star anise. Stir in the roux carefully until it&#039;s completely melted into the stew and the liquid is thick and very brown. Return to the heat and simmer a few more minutes. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At this stage you can dry roast another tablespoonful or so of garam masala and add it to the curry. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;At the last minute, add the optional frozen green peas, and stir - they should cook almost instantaneously. Serve immediately.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;There are two ways of serving curry in the &quot;yohshoku restaurant&quot; way. One is to put the curry in a sauce boat, and serve the rice separately. The other is to put the rice on the plate, and cover just one half with curry, You can of course just pour the curry right on the mound of rice. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Usual garnishes are &lt;em&gt;fukijin zuke&lt;/em&gt;, a sweet mixture of mystery pickled vegetables, and &lt;em&gt;rakkyou&lt;/em&gt;, small pickled shallots. Other garnishes include chutney and  grated cheese.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3 id=&quot;notes&quot;&gt;Notes&lt;/h3&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I don&#039;t go to the trouble of grinding my own curry and garam masala, much as I&#039;d like to in theory. I use pre-ground powders bought at a store that caters to Indian and Sri Lankan expats. The most common Japanese brand of curry powder is S &amp;amp; B, but the Indian kind is quite a bit cheaper and just as good quality. Garam masala is not commonly sold in Japanese groceries anyway, but it is of course in Indian groceries.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Update:&lt;/strong&gt; I have written up the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/formula-making-japanese-curry-powder&quot;&gt;Japanese curry powder formula&lt;/a&gt; for people who would like to experiment with mixing  their own. (Includes a recipe for garam masala too.)&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;p&gt;If you want it to be yellower, add some turmeric. If you want it hotter, add some chili pepper powder, or more curry powder. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Instead of, or in addition to, the grated apple, you can add some &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.justhungry.com/2003/12/chutney_and_old.html&quot;&gt;chutney&lt;/a&gt;, a tablespoon or so of honey, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and even a bit of soy sauce or miso. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 id=&quot;using_a_readymade_curry_base&quot;&gt;Using a readymade curry base&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you are using a curry base instead of making your own curry roux, just add it in exactly the same way near the end of the cooking process, making sure to take the pot off the heat first. If you have the block that looks like a chocolate bar type, break it up into smaller chunks and stir in to the stew mix until all is melted. The bagged powder type melts in faster. The curry should not be stewed for a very lengthy time after adding the base or spices or the flavors will dissipate somewhat. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Many Japanese housewives individualize their curries by combining two or more commercial bases.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 id=&quot;using_other_meats&quot;&gt;Using other meats&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Pork curry is made in the same way as beef curry, but you may want to try making the curry a bit hotter (by adding more curry powder or chili pepper powder). &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Chicken curry is best made with the dark meat parts (thigh works great). I also prefer to take the skin off first - curry-stewed chicken skin is not that nice. The stewing time for chicken curry is shorter since you don&#039;t want the chicken to get dried out. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 id=&quot;quick_and_easy_ground_beef_curry&quot;&gt;Quick and easy ground beef curry&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If this all sounds like too much work, you can still make a quick and easy curry using ground beef or other ground meat, and a commercial curry base. (Commercial curry base blocks are so big because they have a ton of flavor enhancing ingredients in them already.) Adam Kuban has posted &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/01/curried_away.html&quot;&gt;a quick and fairly easy&lt;/a&gt; method for making a curry this way, though I would recommend sautéeing the onions a bit longer than he does, and adding the potatoes somewhat later in the process.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If you are in a huge curry..I mean hurry, you can buy readymade curry in a pouch. They vary quite a lot in quality so try some until you find a brand you like.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 id=&quot;making_it_vegetarian&quot;&gt;Making it vegetarian&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;You can omit the meat and use oil instead of butter or ghee, and have a vegetarian curry. If you want some protein, try a can of chickpeas. Cooked soy beans also fit very well. You can go the TVP - quorn route if you like too. Or go for an all-vegetable curry and add more carrots, or some sliced eggplant (aubergine), cubed turnip, etc. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h4 id=&quot;freezing_curry&quot;&gt;Freezing curry&lt;/h4&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Curry freezes and reheats very well, &lt;strong&gt;as long as you leave out the potatoes&lt;/strong&gt;. Frozen potato turns into a mealy, watery, inedible mush. Just add some boiled potatoes to the reheated curry. Since it does take a long time to cook it does make sense to make a big batch at a time and freeze extra for quick meals in the future.&lt;/p&gt;
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