Homemade Japanese Curry (from Sanji's One Piece Recipe Book)

How to make delicious Japanese curry from scratch without using the shop bought Japanese curry mix!  ↓

Serves: 4  | Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 45-60 min

[Ingredients] 

• Boneless Chicken Thigh (500g) or any meat of choice*, chopped and seasoned with salt and pepper
• 700ml Chicken Stock (I used 1 x Oxo Stock Cube)
• 1 Large Onion (or 2 Smaller Onions), diced
• 1 Celery Stalk, finely diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Knob of Ginger (10g), minced
• 2 Potatoes, chopped 
• 2 Carrots, chopped 
• 2 Tomatoes, diced
• Cornstarch
• Curry Powder (Gregg’s)
• Garam Masala (Gregg’s)
• Bay Leaves
• Butter
• Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Honey
• Rice (about 3 cups) - please remember to prepare the rice separately as it’s not included in the method below

*To make a vegetarian version just skip the meat or substitute it with a meat alternative and use vegetable stock instead. 

[Method]

1. In a frying pan on medium-high heat, cook the chopped meat with some butter until lightly seared then put aside.
2. In the same pan cook the potatoes and carrots with some butter until slightly golden on the outside then also put aside.
3. In a large pot on medium heat, cook the garlic and ginger in about a tablespoon of oil until fragrant, then add the onions and celery to the pot.
4. Once the onions and celery are soft, add about ½ tablespoon of honey and cook until slightly golden in colour. 
5. Turn down the heat to low. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, 3 tablespoons of curry powder, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, and ½ tablespoon of garam masala. Stir and cook for about 5 min. It should turn into a thick paste.
6. To the curry paste you just made, add the diced tomatoes, stir and cook for another 2-3 mins.
7. Add the stock to the pot slowly and mix well. 
8. Add the pre-cooked meat and vegetables, generous amount of salt, and 2 bay leaves to the pot. The stock should be just covering all the goodies (if not add boiling water). Simmer on low heat for 30-40mins. Make sure to check on it and stir every now and then so the curry doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot as it thickens. 
9. Once the vegetables and meat are tender cooked through, add salt to taste and take off the heat. You can also add more garam masala or chilli to taste if you like.
10. Pour the curry over a plate of rice and voilà! You’ve just made a tasty Japanese curry from scratch! 

[Tips]

• Make sure the curry powder you use is good quality! I once made it with cheap curry powder and it wasn’t the same!
• To reduce cooking time, you can microwave the chopped potatoes and carrots before browning it in the pan.
• You can also add some finely grated apple to the recipe which is a popular ingredient for Japanese Curry. 

This recipe is from「サンジの満腹ごはん」Sanji's One Piece Pirate Recipes with some alterations made by Tanuki & Co to honour the copyright of the original content. If you didn't know already One Piece is a super popular Japanese manga/anime! I'm a big fan myself and our cat is even named after the main character Luffy 😆  🏴‍☠️

Let me know if you want me to make and translate more dishes from this book!