One of my obsessions is
Japanese Chicken Curry. It’s thick, creamy and magical. In the Asian section of
grocery stores you can buy it in block form. You cook the chicken, potatoes and
carrots in water and then melt the bricks in near the end. Buying the bricks is easy and
delicious, but there is a downside.
I looked at the
nutrition values… Box curry is not that good for you and has an insane amount of sodium and MSG. Therefore, my latest endeavor has been to make curry
that tastes just as good without the blocks.
Through experimentation, it is abundantly clear that the best curry powder is S&B curry
powder. It is specially made for Japanese
curry. I got mine at the Nijiya market in San Francisco. I’m sure you
could find it at most Asian markets though, just look in the spices.
Today I tried making it in the crock pot. It turned out wonderful :)
Here is what I did - The full
recipe is posted at the bottom
1 lb Chicken Tenderloins, 3
Russet Potatoes, 1 White Onion, 1 C Baby Carrots (I prefer regular carrots but
this is what I had on hand), 3 ½ Tb of S&B Curry Powder, 1 Tsp Salt, Pinch
of Pepper, Pinch of Cayenne, Pinch of Instant Coffee, Pinch of Cinnamon, 2 Tb
Flour, 3 ½ Tb Melted Butter, 1 Tb Katsu Sauce, 2 Tb Cooking Wine, 1 Tb Ketchup, ½
C Unsweetened Apple Sauce, 4 C Chicken Broth -- (Ignore the Worcestershire in the picture, I decided not to add it in the end)
First - Chop up your veggies!
I don't cut up my chicken breasts when crock potting but you can chop it if you like. Lay the chicken and veggies in the crock pot, they can wait for a sec
while you prepare the sauce. Cover it if you have nosy cats.
Mix your dry sauce
ingredients. Curry powder, flour, cayenne, salt, pepper, cinnamon, instant coffee.
Start the broth boiling. Put
the dry ingredients in a separate pan and heat on medium till aromatic. Do not overcook!
Add the melted butter,
ketchup and katsu sauce. Stir until it
gets kind of crumbly.
Add about 1 Cup of broth to
the spice mixture to liquefy it. Once smooth add the rest of the broth. Add in
apple sauce and cooking wine. Bring to a boil then simmer until it thickens a
bit. Pour over other crock pot
ingredients.
Close, cook on high for 4 1/2 hours.
Voila! Serve with white rice.
(I use Jasmine because it’s my favorite) You know you want a bite.
Hubby and I enjoyed our dinner while we watched Return of the King in preparation for The Hobbit coming out in December :)
Homemade
Crockpot Japanese Chicken Curry
Ingedients:
1 lb Chicken Tenderloins
3 Russet Potatoes
1 White Onion
1 C Baby Carrots (I prefer
regular carrots but this is what I had on hand)
For
the Sauce:
3 ½ Tb of S&B Curry
Powder
1 Tsp Salt
Pinch of Pepper
Pinch of Cayenne
Pinch of Instant Coffee
Pinch of Cinnamon
2 Tb Flour
3 ½ Tb Butter
1 Tb Katsu Sauce (Can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores)
2 Tb Cooking Wine
1 Tb Ketchup
½ C Unsweetened Apple Sauce
4 C Chicken Broth
Chop potatoes, carrots and onions
and place in crock pot. Put chicken on top. For the sauce, boil the broth. In a
separate pan combine dry ingredients – Curry Powder, cayenne, coffee, cinnamon,
and flour. Heat until aromatic. Add melted butter, ketchup and katsu sauce.
Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture becomes slightly
crumbly. Add in about a cup of the boiling broth and mix until smooth. Now add
the rest of the broth and mix. Put in the apple sauce and white wine. Bring
back to a boil, then simmer until the sauce thickens up a bit. Pour sauce over
the ingredients in the crock pot. You can add in more broth if you want it more
saucy (I added about a half cup more broth) just keep in mind that the chicken
will release some of its juices as well while it cooks. Put crock pot on high
for about 4 ½ hours. Serve over rice!
And just for fun, I'm 28 weeks pregnant! December 19 is coming up fast!