Homemade Japanese Curry Part I - Curry Roux

My kids love japanese curry rice therefore this is the most common food I prepare for them. It is fuss free to cook by using premix curry cube. Anytime I can just chop up all the necessary ingredients and throw in a couple cubes of the premix curry cube, a pot of easy meal is ready in no time! Call me ignorant as it never occurs to me that Japanese curry roux can be easily made from the home kitchen! Yes it is actually really really simple to make a batch of this roux with simple ingredients minus the MSG, flavorings, other unknown ingredients which you can find in the premixed cubes. 

On my first attempt the curry roux turned out slightly spicy for my kids palate, though they polish up the curry with couple glasses of water hahaha...Therefore I fine tuned the recipe slightly and it turns out perfectly (for them), not too spicy but still a tinge of spicy aftertaste :D 

Simple ingredients! plain flour, butter, ketchup, paprika, meat curry powder & garam marsala...oops  Worcestershire sauce missing in the picture :D As you can see the ingredients are not even a hint of Japanese flavour! Extracted from Wikipedia : "Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) by the British, at a time when India was under their administration. The dish became popular and available for purchase in supermarkets and restaurants in the late 1960s. It has been adapted since its introduction to Japan, and is so widely consumed that it can be called a national dish." Read up here to find out more! 

Premixed (left) versus homemade (right)

Recipe reference from Just One Cookbook & No Recipes
Ingredient

• 45gm unsalted butter
• 5 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tbsp garam masala (use 1 tbsp for spicier curry)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce

Method

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Add flour and stir to combine. Continue to stir the mixture over medium low heat till it turns golden brown, for about 5-8 mins.
3. Add in curry powder, garam masala & paprika powder. Stir to mix evenly.
4. Add in Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce and mix evenly. Remove from heat. Set aside for use or chill in fridge till use.

Look out for the upcoming post on how to use this homemade curry roux  to cook a pot of hearty pot of Japanese curry! ^.* (yes you can't just throw in the cubes into the pot just like the premixed one, need a couple of magic ingredients! hehehe)

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest #1 Oct 2013 : Japan, hosted by Alan from travelling-foodie