Japanese Chicken Curry with Rice (Kare Raisu, カレーライス)
A comforting Japanese golden curry, easy enough to make for a weeknight meal or make a big batch to freeze and have across a few meals and months. Japanese curries have a unique sweetness to them and that comes from traditionally adding grated apple into the curry at the end. I’ve also decided to add in apple chunks in addition to the carrots and potatoes. Whilst not a traditional process, the apple absorbs all the flavour and spice of the curry and adds extra texture and flavour amongst the vegetables that I think you’ll love.
Makes/Serves- 7L, 14 serves. I’ve written this recipe as a big batch recipe as this is how I currently cook, freezing half and then eating the rest in the week across a few meals. If you are wanting to cook a lot less, simply half/quarter the recipe. You can scale it down as you wish.
Ingredients- 9
Skill Level- Easy
Cooking Time- 45 minutes (30 minutes cooking time, 15 minutes prep)
Ingredients
4 onions, peeled and cut into segments
1kg of chicken thigh fillets, cut into 8 cm chunks
4 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 (10cm) piece of ginger, peeled and microplaned
1 kg of washed white potatoes, quartered or cut into large chunks
1kg carrots, peeled and cut into angled/rotational ‘rangiri’ chunks
2 packets (184g) of Japanese golden curry roux. I’ve used this one which you can find at your local supermarket
2 red apples (I’ve used Montague envy™ apples), both peeled, one cut into bite sized chunks and the other microplaned/grated
Fresh cooked jasmine rice, for serving
Method
- Heat a large pot with oil, then add the onions and allow to saute for a few minutes.
- Add in the chicken and cook on medium for a few minutes until the chicken starts to brown.
- Add in garlic and ginger and saute cook for another minute or two.
- Add in potatoes and carrots and fill the pot with water* (or chicken stock) until everything is submerged.
- Dissolve in the curry roux. It’s easiest if you dissolved it in a ladle submerged in the water before mixing into the rest of the pot.
- Bring to the boil and then add in the apple chunks, before placing the lid on the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened coating the chicken and vegetables.
- Mix in the grated apple and taste the sauce, seasoning to your liking. I added in some fish sauce for extra saltiness, but you could use any salt or more grated apple if you want it to be sweeter.
- Serve hot with fresh cooked jasmine rice.
To freeze portions
Allow the curry to cool down before transferring to some freezer containers (1 use these 1 litre capacity containers that will serve two people ). Label and date the containers and place into the freezer and consume within 3 months. When you want to eat this, fully defrost before heating in a pan or microwave until hot.
Notes & Suggestions
- *I opted for water instead of chicken stock to reduce the sodium levels in this curry as I also fed this to my baby. I have also recommended seasoning with salt at the very end if you are also trying to reduce sodium levels for baby friendly meals. You can reserve a portion of the curry before seasoning or gently season with salt.
- You could also add in some frozen peas to add more veggies to this dish.
- Instead of rice, you can serve this curry with bread or udon noodles.