Japanese Curry

A vegan-friendly sweet japanese curry you can easily store for later

After having been on a vacation to Vietnam and Singapore for three weeks (hence the gap in posts, haha), this is one cuisine I have fallen in love with. I simply had to get a recipe to make this myself, and in my opinion, I am quite close to mimicking the taste of the curries I’ve had in Singapore. Be warned, this recipe can take up to 2 hours. I suggest serving this dish with (white) rice.

Ingredients

  • White onion
  • Carrots
  • Potatoes
  • A banana or an apple (secret ingredient for sweetness)
  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Soy sauce
  • Vegetable stock
  • Curry powder
  • Salt
  • Vegetable oil
  • (Optional) cocoa powder

Cooking plan

  • To start your preparations, grate ginger, garlic, and about one carrot. Also, mince your onions (I use about 2 large onions, but feel free to use more).
  • To half a glass of water, add some baking soda and salt. We will add this to our onion to caramelize it faster. I learned this from this website. By adding salt to water, the onion is ground a little while stirring, and the vapor from the water helps the heat of the pan reach more of the surface of the onion.
  • To a large pan on medium heat, add some vegetable oil and your grated ginger, garlic, and carrot. Stir until fragrant.
  • Once fragrant, add in your onions and your salted water. Quickly close the lid and let it steam for about 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, start cutting your carrot and potato into bite-sized chunks.
  • If you are making your curry powder from scratch, do so now.
  • Once the 10 minutes are up, take off the lid and start stirring the onions on medium-high heat, making sure not to burn them. You are finished when the onions have turned completely brown and soft.
  • Next, add your carrots and potatoes to the pan, and add stock until they are covered completely. To this stew, add your curry powder and some soy sauce.
  • For added sweetness, add a blended banana or grated apple to your stew. If you don’t like the taste of these ingredients, add only half the fruit or substitute with honey. (But please do try it, it’s really good.)
  • Let your curry simmer for about 50 minutes to an hour. Once it gets thick, stir it occasionally so as to not burn it. If your curry is not getting thick enough after this time, consider adding a little flour to help it along.
  • Finally, you may want to add some (very optional but strangely yummy) cocoa powder to your stew. Believe me, you won’t notice this, and it actually helps to accentuate the earthy flavors very nicely.

ENJOY!