Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Japanese Chicken Curry Rice
日式雞肉咖喱飯
Recipe overview
Japanese Chicken Curry Rice, or Kare Raisu, is a yoshoku family main of chicken thighs, onions, potatoes, carrots and Japanese curry roux, served over hot rice. The curry is deep golden-brown, glossy, thick and still slowly flowing. It is not Thai coconut curry, Indian curry with naan, Hong Kong curry chicken, curry udon or curry Tonkatsu. Brown the chicken first, soften the onions, and lower the heat before dissolving roux in batches when the vegetables are nearly tender; do not use a large amount of starch to make paste.
01
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 600 grams: thaw fully in the refrigerator if frozen; reject off odour, slime, grey-green colour, unusual liquid or icy centre. Never rinse raw chicken boneless chicken thighs
- about 400 grams: cut into 1 cm strips or half-moons onions
- 4 cm pieces; do not use extensively green or badly sprouted potatoes rams potatoes: peel and cut into
- 3 cm rolling chunks rams carrots: cut into
- about 200 grams per serving; keep hot rams hot cooked white rice:
- 60 grams, optional: serving pickle only; check sodium and allergen labels fukujinzuke
Japanese curry base
- about 180–200 grams: adjust for brand saltiness and heat; check wheat, soy, dairy and other allergens; as listed Japanese curry roux blocks
- 900 ml: for the initial simmer, adjusted to the roux instructions unsalted chicken stock or drinking water
Oil for searing chicken and vegetables
- 1.5 tablespoons: divided between searing chicken and cooking onions and vegetables Cooking oil
Final flavour adjustment
- up to 1 teaspoon, optional: use only if flavour is lacking and the curry is not salty Japanese soy sauce
- up to 1 teaspoon, optional: adjust only a harsh or bitter roux sugar
- 30–50 ml at a time as needed: add only if too thick drinking water
02
Tools
- 24–26 cm dark heavy-bottomed pot with lid, wooden spoon, spatula, tongs, ladle, large and small bowls, measuring cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, scale, knife, raw-chicken board, vegetable board, paper towels, instant-read thermometer, oven mitts, four white curry-rice plates and rice bowls.
- wooden spoon
- spatula
- tongs
- ladle
- mixing bowl
- small bowl
- measuring cup
- tablespoon
- teaspoon
- digital scale
- knife
- cutting board
- kitchen paper
- food thermometer
- oven mitts
- bowl
- serving plate
03
Steps
Step 1
Thaw and inspect chicken
Fully thaw frozen thighs in the refrigerator. Check for off odour, slime, grey-green colour, unusual liquid or an icy centre; never rinse raw chicken.
Step 2
Cut chicken
On the raw-chicken board, cut thighs into even 3 cm pieces and trim loose excess fat; cover and refrigerate.
Step 3
Prepare vegetables
Cut onions to 1 cm, potatoes to 4 cm and carrots to 3 cm rolling chunks; reject extensively green or badly sprouted potatoes.
Step 4
Sear chicken
Heat the heavy pot over medium heat, add half the oil and spread in chicken. Sear 3–4 minutes until most surfaces are white or pale golden; it need not be cooked through yet.
Step 5
Cook onions
Move chicken to a clean plate or the pot edge. Add remaining oil and onions; cook 5–7 minutes over medium heat until soft, translucent and lightly golden.
Step 6
Add root vegetables
Add potatoes and carrots; sauté with onions for about 2 minutes so they are coated with oil and flavour but remain intact.
Step 7
Return chicken and add stock
Return chicken and juices, add 900 ml unsalted stock or water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; liquid should cover most, not drown, the ingredients.
Step 8
Skim and simmer
Skim surface scum and excess fat, cover partly and simmer about 15 minutes over medium-low heat; keep only gentle bubbles.
Step 9
Check doneness
Confirm the thickest chicken centre is at least 75°C with no pink meat. Test potatoes and carrots; they should be nearly tender but intact.
Step 10
Lower heat and add roux
Turn to the lowest heat or off. Break roux into small pieces and add in 2–3 batches; fully dissolve each batch with a wooden spoon before the next, leaving no pieces on the base.
Step 11
Gently thicken
After all roux dissolves, simmer on low 8–10 minutes, gently scraping the base every 1–2 minutes. Curry becomes deep golden-brown, glossy, thick yet slowly flowing; do not boil hard or add lots of starch.
Step 12
Serve with rice
Taste and check thickness; only then add 30–50 ml hot water at a time if needed. Plate about 200 g hot rice each with chicken curry beside it and optional fukujinzuke; serve immediately.
Common mistakes
- Using chicken that is not fully thawed.；Using foul-smelling or slimy chicken.；Rinsing raw chicken with water.；Cutting chicken pieces very unevenly.；Leaving raw chicken at room temperature too long.；Using extensively green or badly sprouted potatoes.；Cutting potatoes too small.；Cutting carrots too large to cook evenly.；Not softening the onions.；Adding water without searing chicken at all.；Adding too much oil.；Using so much stock that curry becomes soup.；Keeping a violent boil after boiling.；Never skimming surface scum.；Finishing before chicken reaches 75°C.；Adding roux before potatoes are nearly tender.；Dropping whole roux blocks into a hard boil.；Leaving roux partly undissolved.；Never stirring the pot base after roux.；Thickening curry over high heat until scorched.；Using lots of starch to make gluey paste.；Cooking potatoes until they collapse into mash.；Reducing curry until it cannot flow.；Leaving cooked curry and rice at room temperature too long.
Tips
Thaw chicken fully in the refrigerator.；Discard chicken with off odour, slime or unusual colour.；Do not rinse raw chicken.；Cut thighs into 3 cm pieces.；Keep chicken pieces similar in size.；Cut onions about 1 cm.；Cut potatoes about 4 cm.；Cut carrots about 3 cm.；Reject green or badly sprouted potatoes.；Sear chicken until its surface changes colour.；Cook onions soft and lightly golden.；Briefly sauté root vegetables after adding.；Skim scum once stock comes to a boil.；Simmer over medium-low heat.；Cook chicken centre to at least 75°C.；Add roux only when vegetables are nearly tender.；Lower heat before adding roux.；Break roux small and add in batches.；Dissolve each batch completely first.；Use only low heat after roux dissolves.；Scrape the pot base regularly.；No large amount of starch is needed.；Curry should be thick but slowly flowing.；Keep the rice hot.；Cool leftovers promptly, refrigerate curry and rice separately, and reheat thoroughly.
