Kare Raisu

Kare Raisu, or Japanese Curry Rice, is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) by the British, at a time when India was under their administration. The dish became so popular and widely consumed that it has been called a national dish.

The basic vegetables are onions, carrots, and potatoes. For the meat, beef, pork, and chicken are the most popular. Katsu-karē is a breaded deep-fried cutlet (usually pork or chicken) with curry sauce.

Kare Raisu is served in anything from a flat plate to a soup bowl. The curry is poured over rice in any manner and amount. Japanese short grain rice, which is sticky and round, is preferred, rather than the medium grain variety used in Indian and Chinese dishes. It is usually eaten with a spoon, as opposed to chopsticks, because of the liquid nature of the curry, and is usually served garnished with vegetables pickled in vinegar such as fukujinzuke or rakkyo.

How to Make Kare Raisu

Ingredients:
1 lb (0.5 kg) chicken fillet, cut into cubes
2 medium size potatoes, diced into bite size
½ cup carrots, diced into bite size
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced finely
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
4 cups water
4 bowl of cooked Japanese rice (short grain rice)

Curry Sauce:
For Making the Curry Paste (can be replace with instant Japanese curry mix or sauce)
2 tablespoon cooking oil
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 teaspoon garlic, grated
4 tablespoon curry powder (more or less according to your preference)
1 tablespoon ketchup (or tomato paste)
1 tablespoon tonkatsu sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)
2 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)

Instructions:

1. Heat up 2 tablespoon of oil in a large pan or pot and sauté the onion and garlic until soft or fragrant.
2. Add in the chicken cubes and sauté until all side are slightly brown (half cooked).
3. Add in the potatoes and carrots and sauté for about 1 minute, then add in 4 cups of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. If using ready made curry sauce or mix, add in the cube and let it melt and blend well with the ingredients.
5. If you decided to make your own curry mix or sauce follow this steps. In a separate pan or wok, add in 2 tablespoon of cooking oil and sauté the garlic and ginger paste until fragrant on low to medium heat. Blend in the flour and stir until it is slight golden in color. Add in the curry powder and stir well to blend. Take some liquid from steps 3 and add in little by little into the curry mixture and stir well to form a smooth paste. Add in sugar, ketchup and tonkatsu sauce and stir to mix well. You can now transfer this curry paste into the simmering mixture in steps 2 and let it dissolve and mix well.
6. Add salt to taste and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until chicken is soft and tender and the gravy is thick. Add in a little water if gravy gets too dry.
7. To serve, put rice in a shallow bowl and pour in the curry mixtures generously into it ensuring that there is lots of gravy in the bowl.