Taste this delightful Japanese Chicken Curry recipe, a classic traditional dish beloved in many Japanese households. In less than 20 minutes, you can create a hearty and comforting meal, perfect for any occasion, big or small. Not only is it a delicious choice for a satisfying meal, but it’s also a healthy option that doesn’t compromise on flavor.
Enjoy a taste of Japan in the comfort of your home with this easy-to-make, flavorful dish.
How to make Japanese Chicken Curry?
Directions
- Start by sautéing bite-sized chicken pieces in a skillet with oil until they achieve a golden brown hue.
- Place the browned chicken and any residual oils into a pot with boiling water. Add curry blocks, carrots, onions, and optional potatoes. Simmer the mixture on medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes until the curry blocks dissolve and the sauce thickens.
- Once everything is well-mixed, add in your secret ingredient, mix and serve your curry over a bed of rice.
What ingredients do I need to make Japanese chicken curry?
Ingredients
- Neutral Oil – no taste or flavor with high cooking temperature. Some choices are sunflower oil, peanut oil, sallower oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil.
- Chicken – boneless and skinless chicken thigh. Can substitute with chicken breast if preferred.
- Salt – sea salt preferred.
- Curry Mix – block of Curry Mix.
- Carrot – fresh carrots.
- Onion – yellow or brown onion.
- Potato – optional, use Japanese kabocha pumpkin for low carb.
- Rice – rice of choice, use cauliflower rice for a low carb recipe.
What Curry Roux to Use
You can choose from two popular curry roux brands: S&B and House Food. Each brand offers a unique taste, catering to personal preferences. Additionally, they provide a variety of spiciness levels, ranging from mild to hot, allowing you to tailor the heat to your liking.
Select the one that suits your taste buds and preferred spice level to create a delicious dish.
Ingredient Swaps
Swap out the chicken with beef for Beef Curry, ground pork for Keema Curry, or tofu for a Vegetables Curry.
What are secret ingredients you can add into curry?
Enhance your Japanese curry with some secret ingredients for an exceptional flavors. Only add in 1 sweetener from the list.
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup (sweetener)
- 1 tbsp Honey (sweetener)
- 1/4 Cup Grated Apple (sweetener)
- 1/4 tsp Chili Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Grated Ginger
How to store leftovers?
Store leftovers in an airtight container and placing them in the refrigerator, ensuring freshness for 7-10 days. For a speedy reheat, use the microwave.
Alternatively, embrace batch cooking and freeze single servings in ziplock bag, they’ll remain good for 3-4 months. Thaw them in hot water and reheat using a microwave or stovetop pot for a convenient and delicious meal.
Looking for other classic Japanese recipes?
- Japanese Hamburg Steak
- Japanese Beef Udon
- Japanese Beef Bowl Gyudon
- Japanese Fried Chicken Kaarage
- Japanese Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet
Japanese Chicken Curry
Ingredients
Curry
- 1 1/2 Cups Water
- 1 tbsp Cooking Oil neutral, no flavor or taste
- 3/4 lbs Chicken Thigh
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 2 Blocks Curry Mix
- 1 Whole Carrot chopped
- 1/4 Cup Onion sliced
- 1 Whole Potato optional, use Japanese kabocha for low carb
- 2 Cups Rice use cauliflower rice for low carb
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a stove top pot or dutch oven pot, boil water.
- Meanwhile, cut chicken into bite-size cube pieces.
- Heat cooking oil in a fry pan.
- Once the oil is heated and starts to lightly smoke, reduce heat medium and place chicken in fry pan. Sprinkle some salt in and cook for 3-5 minutes stirring frequently until chicken turns golden brown.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add into the boiling water from step 2) along with 2 blocks of Curry Mix and carrots, onions and optional potatoes. Stir blocks until they are fully dissolved, bring to a soft boil (medium-low heat) and reduce for 10-15 minutes until thickened. Add in optional secret ingredient after curry is thickened. Note - occasionally give the curry a stir to prevent burning at the bottom of the stove top pot.
- Pour curry on top of rice of choice.
Video
Nutrition
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I would like to pair this with your Tonkatsu recipe for “Katsu Kare”. Have you tried it yet? Do you have any advice on using fukujinzuke pickles (a match made in heaven!)? I think they are high in carbs? Thank you guys!
Hey Tony! We haven’t tried it yet, but I am sure it will be very good! Can’t go wrong with Katsu Curry! Yes, we agree that fukijinzuke and curry pair very well together, but given it’s daikon (root vegetable) marinated in sugar/mirin, the carb count are pretty high on them (7g per 1oz). You could try takuan instead (0-2 net carbs depending on the brand), but they aren’t as sweet as fukijinzuke.
Oh I hadn’t even thought of takuan, I am a huge fan and I have some in the fridge already! Great idea, even more excuse to try out the recipe.
No problem!! Hope it turns out well for you!
I am so happy I came across your blog! As a recovering carb bing eater, I have been seeking out the flavors of the glory days. Specifically Japanese curry with the dark, luscious sauce. Mmmhmmm. I thought it was a high carb meal and turned away. I got a box of S&B 🙁
Thanks to the panicked shoppers here in AK, there is not much of a selection. Thanks for your post. You saved my sanity.
Hey Rosie! Glad you found us and welcome to LCA! As for the empty stocks on the shelves, it’ll get better in time. You always also can order on Amazon too. Hope you stay safe and well during these crazy times!
Do you know what your 2 blocks of curry mix were in grams or approximate serving of the Java? I’m using S&B and the blocks are quite large depending on the size of the package so I’d rather go by weight. Thanks!
Hi Nancy! Sure, it’s about 40g. Let us know if you have any other questions!
To reduce the carb count even further, I made my own roux with 3 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tbsp coconut flour, 2 tbsp curry powder and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Came out delicious. I used to make my own Japanese curry roux, until I discovered the Vermont curry cubes (thanks to Chef Morimoto). But once I started doing keto, I’m always looking for ways to reduce carbs.
We definitely have to try that! Sounds easy enough!
Just make sure to use a Japanese curry powder, like S&B.
Definitely! We’ll try it out when we make curry next time!
Hi, just to be clear. You add the roux to the water? Sorry but this will be my first attempt at making curry anything. I hope someone can answer me quickly as my mouth is watering for curry! Thanks. 🙂
If you’re trying to make Art’s recipe he listed there, I’m not sure. I would assume you add it to water (he didn’t provide the measurement of water), but you also would need some kind of thickener. Otherwise, your curry would come out very watery.