Japan's National Dish

Japanese curry but make it vegetarian

I made some Japanese curry tonight using the packaged roux.

However, unlike the usual combination of beef, potatoes and carrots, I made mine vegetarian, chopping up potatoes, eggplant and kabocha.

First heat up oil in a big pot and saute the onions, stirring occasionally to get them caramelised a bit. Then add garlic, and in my case the vegetables. 

Let that cook for a minute or two before adding water that almost covers the ingredients and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Now it's time to add the roux. Turn off the heat and a new tip I learned on YouTube was to melt each roux cube in a ladle to ensure the flavour permeated the sauce.

Then turn on the heat again and let it simmer for about five more minutes. When it's done, serve it with some white rice.

The end result was a comforting dish that will get better with time.

Interesting to note Japanese curry is practically a national dish, with its origins from Indian cuisine introduced by the British during the Meiji era (1868-1912).

In 1945, a powdered instant curry roux was developed, making it easier for households to make this popular dish. 

By 1968 the pouches of curry roux came out, much like the ones we have today.

Itadakimasu!