Japanese curry, while very different than the Indian version, is really delicious. It is spicy and creamy and much thicker than the original. It is typically served with rice, topped with bright red pickled ginger and was one of my staples for lunch when I was in high school.
It is made with a spiced roux base, which you can buy ready made at any grocery store or "combini" AKA convenience store (of which there is really one on every corner). I am sure that those are delicious but laden with chemicals so decided to make my own and did some Internet research and spoke to a couple of friends from Japan. One of them mentioned that she mixes her roux with apple juice for a sweet and spicy curry, but I used chicken stock instead because I had some to hand.
This recipe makes 16 curry roux cubes. I used three of them to make Kamo Curry Nanban (Curried Duck Udon) and basically will use one for each cup and a half of stock in any curry based recipe that calls for it.
1 stick butter (8 Tbsps)
6 Tbsps flour
3 Tbsps curry powder (best blend you can find, not a generic supermarket brand if at all possible)
3 Tbsps Garam Masala
1/4 cup room temperature chicken stock, apple juice or even water
Melt the butter over low heat in a small pan. As soon as it has melted, tip in the flour and whisk well to combine without any lumps.
Let cook for 15 to 20 minutes, whisking often so that it doesn't burn, until the mixture is a rich golden brown and smells deliciously nutty.
Remove from the heat. Whisk in the spices. The mixture will form a big unwieldy blob and you will feel slight twinges of panic.
Bang the whisk against the edge of the pan to remove all pieces of the curry mixture from its center.
Using a spoon or spatula rather than the whisk, stir in the liquid and mix to combine until a cohesive mixture forms.
This makes enough for a whole mess of curry roux so scrape the end result into a plastic wrap lined rectangular dish and cut the end result into cubes as soon as it sets. Wrap each cube in plastic wrap and freeze until needed.
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