Well this is it. I have reached my goal of creating a Japanese Curry that was homey, enjyoable, that is reasonably healthy, and that can be made and frozen without too much trouble.
I actually considered it done when a visitor gave it their stamp of approval. You kinda want that outside opinion.
So I’m “locking” this recipe as officially done. Now I am still experimenting with trying to make it a bit healthier (namely cutting the spread and possibly replacing the tomato paste), and am working on a super-fast, super-healthy version. But this, as far as I concern is not just a milestone, but a complete, legitimate recipe that meets my goals
Makes 3 servings. It scales up rather well – you can cook two or three batches at once without taking too much time.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons butter or spread.
- 1/4 cup flour (don’t use white – I use oat)
- 2 tablespoons curry powder.
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste (about 3 oz)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (If you use store-bought not-quite sodium free vegetable broth, use 1 Tbsp)
- 2Tbsp garlic
- 2 2/3 cups vegetable broth (Home made, sodium free)
- 1/3 cup red wine (shiraz and zinfandel are good)
- 2 1/4 tsp cocoa powder (about 3/4 a tablespoon)
Directions:
- Melt the butter/spread over low heat in a pot of your choice.
- When the butter is melted, add the flour, curry powder, tomato sauce, soy sauce, maple syrup, cocoa powder, red pepper and black pepper. Mix thoroughly; I mash, fold, and mix until the color is consistent.
- Turn the heat to medium-low.
- Now, you want to brown the roux, and there’s a bit of an art to it. What I do is let it cook like a pancake, about 20-45 second until one side browns, then mix it up, fold it into a “pancake” and let it cool again. You may have to play with the heat, but the goal is to basically brown it/fry it slowly. This is needed to develop the flavors – but do not burn it. It’s better to take awhile to cook than burn it.
- Eventually it will get crumbly and crack – and you’ll see it visibly brown when it’s let to sit. At that point, it’s time to add the vegetable broth.
- Add the vegetable broth and wine to the roux. Turn the heat up so the mixture boils mildly. Do this incrementally so you don’t overdo it or underdo it.
- While waiting for it to boil, and when it boils, with a whisk, mix the broth and roux. It also helps to use a spatula to crush chunks of roux against the side of the pan. This can take a bit of effort. In general while mixing, I moderate the heat to get the mild boil.
- Stir regularly so it doesn’t adhere/burn.
- I wait until the sauce thickens.. The key I use is when it’s not “boiling” but has the bubbly “bloops” of a thicker sauce. This can take awhile – I find it needs a minimum of 15 minutes, though between heat, time, size of pan, etc. it can vary. Taking time is good as it also boils away the alcohol.
- Serve or put in freezer containers.
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.