Japanese Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can also use beef, pork, seafood, tofu, mushrooms, or more vegetables—see Notes)
• ¼ tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt) (lightly season or skip if you’re using store-bought curry roux)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 carrots (6.7 oz, 190 g)
• 2 onions (large; 1.5 lb, 670 g)
• 3 Yukon gold potatoes (15 oz, 432 g; you can use 2 russet potatoes, but they tend to disintegrate into the broth during cooking; use Yukon gold potatoes to hold their shape)
• 1 knob ginger (you will need 1 tsp grated ginger)
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ apple (6 oz, 170 g; I use one whole lunchbox Fuji apple)
• 1½ Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc.) (for cooking)

For the Curry

• 4 cups Chicken Stock/Broth (homemade or store bought) (if you’re using store-bought curry roux and worry about too much salt, use water only or half stock and half water)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 package Japanese curry roux (7-8 oz or 200-230 g; in this recipe, I used 6-7 cubes of my homemade curry roux, or about 80% of the curry roux mixture if it hasn’t solidified yet)
• 2-4 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt) (for homemade curry roux only; taste and add salt to your liking as each brand of chicken stock varies in saltiness; skip if you’re using store-bought curry roux)

For Serving

• 8 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice
• fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables)

Instructions:

1. Gather all the ingredients. Please read my blog post on the “secret ingredient” we add to the curry. For this recipe, I add ginger, garlic, apple, honey, soy sauce, and ketchup.

To Prepare the Ingredients

1. Cut the onions into wedges. I like to have the texture of the onions in my curry, so I cut them into thick wedges. If you prefer, you can mince or thinly slice the onions so they disintegrate into the sauce.
2. Peel the carrots and cut them into rolling wedges (it’s called rangiri in Japanese). This type of cut creates more surface area, which helps the carrots absorb more flavor and cook faster.
3. Peel the potatoes. Cut each potato into quarters (6 pieces for russet potatoes). Soak them in water for 15 minutes to remove excess starch.
4. Grate the ginger. You will need 1 tsp of grated ginger, including the juice. Mince the garlic and set aside (I use a garlic press later when adding to the pot).
5. Cut the apple into quarters, remove the core, and peel the skin.
6. Grate the apple. My apple today is a lunchbox apple (smaller than regular), so I used the entire apple (yielded ½ cup or 120 ml grated apple). If your apple is regular size, use ½-¾ apple.
7. Cut off the extra fat from the chicken and discard it. Then cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. I recommend cutting it diagonally (it’s called sogigiri in Japanese) to create more surface area and flatten each piece so it cooks faster. Season with salt and pepper.

To Cook the Curry

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the onion.
2. Sauté the onions, stirring occasionally, until they become translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Don’t stir the onions too often because they won’t develop a golden color. Cooked onions add amazing flavor, so we do not want to skip this step. If you have an extra 5 minutes, definitely caramelize the onions!
3. Add the minced garlic (I pass it through a garlic press for a finer texture) and grated ginger and mix well together.
4. Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until it’s no longer pink on the outside. If the onions are getting too brown, reduce the heat to medium low temporarily.
5. Add the chicken stock. Alternatively, you can use water only or use half stock and half water if you’re using store-bought curry roux, as it can be too salty. If you’re using my homemade curry roux, you don’t need to worry as it does not contain salt.
6. Add the grated apple, honey, soy sauce, and ketchup (or any condiment you choose to add). Please read my blog post for details.
7. Add the carrots and potatoes. The broth should barely cover the ingredients. Don’t worry; we don’t want too much liquid here, and additional liquid will be released from the meat and vegetables.
8. Simmer, covered*, on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. *Simmer uncovered if the ingredients are completely submerged in the broth.
9. Once boiling, use a fine-mesh strainer to skim the scum and foam from the surface of the broth.
10. Continue to cook covered until a wooden skewer goes through the carrots and potatoes.

To Add the Curry Roux

1. Turn off the heat. Put 1-2 cubes of roux in a ladleful of cooking liquid, slowly let it dissolve with a spoon or chopsticks, and stir into the pot to incorporate. Repeat with the rest of the blocks, 2 cubes at a time. With my homemade curry roux, I typically use 6-7 cubes while with store-bought curry roux, use 1 full-sized box, which is typically for 8-12 servings (be careful, as some brands offer a smaller box, which is 4 servings).
2. Simmer, uncovered, on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the curry becomes thick, about 5-10 minutes. If your curry is too thick, you can add water to thin the sauce. When you stir, make sure that no roux or food is stuck to the bottom of the pot; otherwise, it may burn.
3. If you used homemade curry roux (that doesn’t include any salt), taste the curry and add salt to your taste. Tip: The amount of salt will vary based on the brand of the chicken broth and condiments you added, so you must taste the curry yourself and decide how much salt is needed.

To Serve

1. Serve the curry with steamed Japanese short-grain rice on the side. If you like, garnish with fukujinzuke.

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in a glass airtight container (so no stains!) and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month. The texture of the potatoes will change in the freezer, so you should take them out before freezing. When you reheat, add ¼-½ cup (60-120 ml) water to dilute the curry sauce.