Curry Rice is a typical Japanese food which
is probably one of the most popular meals to be consumed in Japan. I assume that
it came from India originally to Japan and it has evolved and thrived by
changing its form to be more suitable to Japanese tastes.
Majority of Japanese uses the mix like
this.
(It's an examle here, since there are so many types of curry mixes.)
It’s convenient and easy to make with curry
mix like this. In Japan, one can find wide varieties of curry mixes at any
super market.
This time, since I didn’t have a potato, I
used a piece of jack fruit instead. I cut a jack fruit like this. And then, in
a big pan, pour a tablespoon of oil, sauté 1 clove of garlic, sliced onions, big
chunks of carrot, cut jack fruit, pork slices and red chili chunks all
together.
( I cut smaller from here.)
Then add enough water to cover with grinded
pepper. Skim as necessary and cook until everything is soft.
After that, stop cooking and add a proper
amount of Japanese curry mix. In my case, I added some meat curry powder and coriander
powder from Malaysia to spice it up. I usually sprinkle turmeric powder but I
forgot this time. (In general, most of the Japanese may not add these spices.)
Not only that, depending on what one likes
in Japan, we tend to make our own curry using some extra sauces. Like my mom,
she likes to put a little soy sauce, ketchup and Ton katsu sauce (please see
below photo) to enhance the flavor.
For me, I did put the same sauces as my mom
who makes one of the most outstanding Japanese curry rice (at least I believe
so. ☺). Besides that, after tasting my curry, I thought it was a bit
sharp with spices, so I add some coconut milk.
Voila! It’s done. Usually the accompanied
rice would be normal white rice. But I like to eat white rice with equal amount
of red and black rice together.
For the side dish, I quickly cut up some
cabbage, okra and Shiso leaves (Japanese green oregano-like herb) and rub with
a scant amount of rock salt and rice vinegar and also Shio-koji (fermented
rice paste with salt) for enhancing flavor.
(Here in Malaysia, I got this from "Ise-tan", the Japanese department store at Suria KLCC in KL.)
Shio-koji is all natural derived from rice
and koji (malted rice). Its closer family is Sake which is made of rice, water
and koji. The Japanese likes malt-fermented food like Natto (fermented beans),
Miso (soy bean paste), soy sauce and Koji (malted rice) to name a few.
I love Indian curries, Thai curries and
Rendang here in Malaysia. However once in a while, I desperately want to eat Japanese
curry rice which can be a soul food for many Japanese people.
