
Japanese Beef Curry
By Leslie Blythe Asian, Beef, Japanese, Stew Sautéing, Simmering
July 27, 2015
I love Japanese Beef Curry. To me it's like Japanese comfort food. There's something so deeply satisfying and soul-warming about it. Japanese curry sauce mix, often called "curry roux," typically comes in the form of solid blocks or powder. It's a blend of curry powder, flour, oil, sugar, salt, and various seasonings and spices. Vermont Curry and S&B Golden Curry are ready made and the two most most popular brands. These mixes usually have MSG. I prefer to make my curry from scratch. Though making the roux does take about 20 minutes to reach "color of a fox," as the say in Japan, a deep tan color. It’s well worth the wait!
- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 2 hrs 15 mins
- Yields: 4 - 6 Servings

Ingredients
1 pound beef, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 onion, sliced as thin as possible
1 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into wedges, rangiri style
1 large apple, peeled and coarsely grated
1 russet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
For the roux:
2 tablespoons curry powder - Japanese S&B curry powder or Madras curry powder
Directions
1Season the beef with salt and pepper.
2Melt the butter in a stockpot large enough to hold 5 quarts of liquid, over medium heat. Add the onions, ginger, garlic, carrots and beef. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent and the beef browned. Add the apple, beef stock and salt, and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3Meanwhile make the roux. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour. Stir until the butter and flour are mixed. Don't stop stirring, or the roux will burn! After about 20 minutes or so, the roux will become the "color of a fox," as the say in Japan, a deep tan color. At this point, add the curry and garam masala, and cook and stir for 30 seconds, until the spices release their aroma. Turn off the heat. Add a ladleful or two of cooking liquid from the stock and mix into a paste.
4Add the roux paste into the stockpot, and stir to combine. Add the potatoes. Simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 1 hour, or until the beef becomes tender and the curry thick. Serve the curry with Japanese short grained rice on the side.
Note
Ran-giri is cutting an ingredient into irregular-shaped pieces. Carrots are first quartered lengthwise and then cut into same-sized pieces while rotating the carrot.
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