The katsu kare at Kitchen Nankai Jimbocho was one of my favorite meals that I had in Japan. It was deep, savory, fragrant, slightly spicy, and the jarred pickles went perfectly with it. It was the perfect meal for a late lunch on a colder, rainy day.
How can I come close to making this at home? Is there a name for this style of curry? I’ve only made Japanese curry at home using some variation of the S&B curry blocks. This was much deeper in color and flavor. I believe it had bits of beef in the sauce, and it had a shinier, more gelatinous texture than other Japanese curries I’ve had.
by VanillaFlavoredCoke
27 Comments
Might be a demi-glace made with beef stock.
Almost looks like they take a roux to the extreme?
This is probably something kuro curry, like what the chain GoGo Curry sells. You can buy their ready-made curry in packets from Amazon, I think.
I tried recreating it during covid without success , gave up, and bought it instead.
You probably can’t replicate it at home, which is why people wait in line for this curry! It takes over 10 hours to make the roux, so it’s not something you can easily recreate.
This is from [an article ](https://www.asahi.com/and/article/20230615/423857830/)about their curry:
“Making the roux takes over 10 hours. About 10 different spices and flour are carefully sautéed until browned, then simmered with pork and onions in a large stockpot, cooled, and the process is repeated three times until the meat and onions completely dissolve. Without this process, the unique roux can’t be created.”
You might be able to cut down the prep time with a pressure cooker, but it’ll still be a process.
Cannot replicate Jimbocho kare. It’s the kare mecca.
The gelatinous texture makes me think the meat had a high content of collagen
Kitchen Nankai is great. Nice find
Closest I’ve come to making this stuff at home has been by browning chopped pork and onions until nearly all the moisture has cooked out of them and they’re super brown. Then deglaze with homemade pork stock and add in roux blocks from Java Curry.
I wouldn’t be able to tell you everything you need to replicate it. However, if it’s gelatinous and has small beef bits, that’s a good sign that it was made with a homemade beef stock. I’ve seen at least one restaurant use boneless shank, which is a tough and inexpensive beef cut that contains plenty of collagen that will deposit into the stock if you cook it a long time.
Look up gumbo techniques for making super dark roux. The microwave is actually pretty handy for this. Then you’re basically combining that with Indian style toasting of spices. It’s not a set it and forget it project but it’s not too crazy if you’re a somewhat competent cook, and the roux base lasts a really long time if you want to make a bunch and save it to cut down on labor later
Try looking for House brand Java Curry.
One of the better roux for Japanese curry.
Instead of cooking with water, try using bone broth or other types of soup stocks for a deeper, richer flavour.
Hi! My Japanese grandma shocked me when she told me that “everyone” uses Java curry now… check that brand out- it is Jamaican and has the deeper profile I think you may be looking for. Apparently (according to my obachan) it’s what some of the general public in Japan prefers 🤷♀️
Easiest way to create a deeper flavor with boxed roux without complicated cooking techniques, in a single pot:
Use high heat and brown your meat. Whatever meat you use, throw it in the pot, spread it around and don’t move it around much. Don’t worry about cooking it all the way through, let the meat get brown and crusty and let the fat render out.
Lower the temp to a medium heat, take the meat out temporarily and brown your veggies (onions, carrots are pretty standard) in the rendered fat. When the veggies get some color, pour in your water, potatoes and reintroduce the meat. Boil 15-20min or until the potatoes are cooked through.
Throw in the boxed curry roux and add some dark chocolate or a spoonful of baking chocolate. Don’t worry, your curry won’t end up tasting like a candy bar. Some other additions I like are a small spoon of Worcestershire (for umami), dark soy(for umami and color), and ketchup(for a little tang that also adds sweetness).
I’ve been making boxed curry roux like this for years and don’t really bother going out for curry anymore. It probably won’t be like the one pictured, since they probably cook everything down for long periods of time but it’s still a cut above everything else (even some restaurant curry).
Side note: Java Curry is my favorite boxed roux to start with but any will do.
haha i was just there the other day when it was super rainy. you’re right, that curry was incredible. probably also the best i’ve ever had in japan.
Probably not this but sometimes I put the tiniest bit of dark chocolate or instant coffee to deepen the flavor of curry
Get the auto stirring machine and have it stir for 10 hours
I’m not sure if that one is the same but there is a curry style called Black Curry (Kuro Kare). There are curry blocks from House Foods and boxed ready made ones (look for retort curry) from different brands, but probably not nearly as good as a restaurant one. And there are recipes (in Japanese and English) to make it from scratch. The dark color comes from browning the roux quite long until you get to an almost burnt, darker color, some recipes use coffee or dark chocolate for deeper color and flavour.
Search for ブラックカレー and 黒カレー on Google.
Edit: [This restaurant](https://touyouken.co.jp/sp/index.html) is specialized in black curry and they claim they have invented it.
Here you can read the history and you can also purchase some products such as retort curry and kits:
[History of Black Curry](https://touyouken.co.jp/sp/blackcurry.html)
I saw the pic and thought this might be Kitchen Nankai… used to love that place back 15 years… Is the wee blond still directing traffic?
I’ve been able to replicate it pretty well at home after nearly a year of trial and error and research.
The biggest game changers for me was heavily caramelized onions, like 12 hours in the slow cooker
And vegetable juice with s and b curry powder
Edit: oh yes and a decent amount of Dutch process coco power
It won’t be fully the same, but you might want to try out ‘Vlaams stoofvlees’ !
It’s a beef stew based on brown beer (of course!) similar to the French boeuf Bourguignon but without the veggies and red wine which gives it a rich umami flavor
Here’s a link to a classic recipe (it’s in Dutch but page translate should work)
https://dagelijksekost.vrt.be/gerechten/stoofvlees-met-friet
Won’t be as refined as mentioned in the comments, take this as the hearty peasant version of it which I believe could come close!
youll be craving it now once you go home
Try buying S&B Tasty Stew.
Kind of looks like Mexican mole.
Use a demi glaze and add jap curry cubes. Perhaps add/sprinkle some added msg for savouriness.
It won’t be an exact copy but it will be quite similar.
You can try 1:1 flour and oil/melted butter along with like a few big tablespoons of Japanese curry power in a pan and make the roux in the oven like gumbo. Have another pan filled with diced onions and a bit of oil too. Stick both pans in the oven @325f for like 3 hours, stirring every 30 mins, stir it more frequently 1.5 hours in.
The caramelized onion and the roux combined is your base, you can blend it smooth or use it as is.
From there you add your stock/water salt, meat and veggies. for Japanese curry, you need some apple juice, a couple tablespoons of good soy sauce, a couple squares dark chocolate. If it isn’t thick or flavorful enough, you can always cheat with a couple store bought curry cubes😂
You probably couldn’t recreate it with the cubed curry. You’d have to start with browning the flour, then add the curry spices.