Japanese curry

This curry is one of my favorite meals, but it might not be like any curry you've ever had before. It's a Japanese curry and more equivalent to something like a hearty beef stew than an Indian or Thai curry. It's also sweeter than other curries. 

The first time I ever had a Japanese curry while I was living in Taiwan, I thought it was just a badly made curry, an evil plan hatched by the same people who put corn on pizza and sprinkles on salad. I had an Indian curry in mind, and what I got was totally disappointing in comparison. Thankfully, I had much worldlier friend who told me it was just a different style. Once I stopped comparing it to a dish it wasn't even trying to be, I learned to enjoy it.

And then I started teaching at a school where they served it once a month, on Thursdays. The other English teachers and I became ravenous on curry days. I refused to give the students seconds to make sure that my co-teacher and I would have more to eat. One of my peers brought Tupperware so he could take some home for dinner. We were absolutely mad for the stuff.

Finally, I prostrated myself at the feet of my adorable co-teacher and begged her to teach me the magical curry spell. I couldn't believe it when she told me it was made from a kind of paste that was easily found at any grocery store (in Taiwan) and that she made it all the time for her two boys. I expected to spend long hours with a mortar and pestle, slaving over a hot stove, but in reality, it's no harder than macaroni and cheese and just as awesome. 

You can get the curry stuff at any Asian store. I've even seen it in conventional groceries stores in big cities. I don't really have a favorite brand; I just buy whatever is available. It's usually about $5.00 a box, and you can make at least two big batches (or one giant batch) per box. Here are some boxes to look for: 

Noob Cook has an awesome version of this recipe with lots of beautiful pictures, as always. She does it just a little bit differently than I learned how to do it, but I basically did it her way tonight and it turned out as delicious as ever. I froze it in quart-sized Ziploc freezer bags and I'll thaw them out over the next couple of weeks for dinner or lunch as needed. It's even more awesome with a squirt of Sriracha!

Ingredients:

• Some oil. I used peanut oil I got from the Asian grocery.
• Some butter. This is a pro-tip from my co-teacher; not everyone adds butter. 
• Chopped onions; a large one or two smaller ones
• Four small carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces. I left the peel on.
• Two large potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces. I used Russet potatoes and I left the peel on.
• A pound of meat, chopped into bite-sized pieces. I've used beef and chicken before, and today I used pork. But beef is my favorite in this dish. You can use tofu if you like, but I've made this before without meat and just didn't enjoy it as much. 
• Curry paste? cubes? stuff? from the Asian store. It comes in a plastic tray inside a box. It looks like big pieces of chocolate, actually. You'll understand what I mean once you get it.
• Water
• Cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium/medium-low heat.
2. Add the butter, and once it's melted, add the onions. Cook until softened. 
3. Add the meat and brown it. 
4. Add the curry cubes. One box usually has two trays; each tray should have 4-6 cubes. Break up the cubes and add them to the pot. Stir them as they melt, making sure that the meat gets all covered with curry paste.
5. Add 700-1000 ml of water. I added 1000 ml because I knew I would be freezing it, and whatever you freeze tends to lose some liquid after it's been frozen and reheated.
6. Add the carrots and potatoes. Turn up the heat until the whole pot starts boiling, then turn it down to medium-low and cover. Cook until the potatoes and carrots are softened. 
7. Serve over rice. 

I'm not sure what wine I would drink with this because it still makes me think of those kindergarten lunches. In general, a nice off-dry/semi-sweet Riesling or Gewurtraminer goes well with Indian or Chinese food. Otherwise, try a cider or a sour ale. 

Extension recipe: I sometimes use the leftovers to make a fried rice. Just fry up the rice however you like (here's my recipe) and then at the end, add a couple spoonfuls of the curry sauce/soup. I often use the meat and vegetables from the curry as well, but I cut them up into smaller pieces before I put them in the rice. Anyway, then you have curry fried rice. Add a little Sriracha and you'll be in heaven.