Japanese Curry with Beef (From Scratch) 日式牛肉咖喱

*in collaboration with Tramontina

I used to buy instant Japanese curry paste in-a-box to cook whenever I wanted to cook Japanese Curry with Beef 日式牛肉咖喱 in the past. If I didn't remember wrongly, each box of instant paste costs between S$4+ to S$7. I came to realisation that it's not difficult to cook this curry roux on my own. If you go through my list of ingredients below, you'll understand the very substantial cost savings to cook on your own. I like it that we can choose to avoid MSG and preservatives when it's home-cooked! More importantly, husband said it tasted great and identical to the real stuff! Yes, you'll need to buy a few types of spices at about S$1+ each. However, each packet of spice would at least last you to cook few times more on the same dish or other dishes!

I cooked the curry roux, shallow fried the potatoes and browned the beef in my new Tramontina 24cm Stainless Steel Frying Pan with internal Starflon Plus Coating. The light weight frying pan really make cooking enjoyable as it's easy for me to toss the ingredients. I was also impressed by the even distribution of heat that resulted in faster and uniform cooking. My beef cheek cubes were browning very nicely in the pan. After cooking, the stainless steel exterior made the pan so presentable to be served on my dining table too!

About Tramontina Stainless Steel Frying Pan with Internal Starflon Plus Coating

• 24cm Stainless Steel Frying Pan with internal Starflon Plus Coating
• Product Code: 62376247
• Product Dimensions: 44.2(length) x 26.7(width) x 6(height)cm
• Diameter: 24cm
• Capacity: 2.1L
• Material: Premium 18/10 Stainless Steel
• Internal Starflon Non-stick Coating prevents food from sticking to the pan and maintains food moisture. (Coating does not release any residues on food with proper care).
• Promotes Healthy Cooking with less use of oil.
• 3-ply Base (Stainless Steel + Aluminum + Stainless Steel) distributes heat evenly, resulting in Faster and Uniform Cooking.
• Compatible with Induction/Gas/Electric Stoves/Vitroceramic Glass Stoves & Oven. (up to 260 degrees)
• Made and Quality-controlled in Brazil.

• Care Instructions:
• Do not cook with sharp pointed utensils.
• Do not wash with scratchy sponges.
• First Use: - When using the frying pan for the first time, wash, dry and grease the interior with cooking oil. Next, heat it up on a low temperature for two to three minutes, depending on the frying pan size. Leave it to cool, then wash it with a soft sponge and mild detergent in lukewarm water. Rinse and dry as usual. Repeat the first use procedure whenever the dishwasher is used. Repeat this procedure periodically to better conserve the lining.

*Product Information provided by Tramontina.

Main Ingredients (enough for 4 pax) :

• 500 to 600 gm beef cheeks (cut to cubes)(you may use chicken if you prefer)
• 2 to 3 carrots (chopped to about 1-inch thickness)
• 3 potatoes (cut to cubes)
• 1 medium sized onion (julienned)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• parsley flakes (for garnishing)(optional)
• cooking oil (for shallow fry)
• steamed rice

Curry Roux :

• 60 gm unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp curry powder (I used Madras curry powder from Mustafa @ S$1.10/100 gm packet). (Use SB brand curry powder if you prefer Japanese authentic.)
• 1 tbsp garam masala (I used garam masala from Mustafa @ S$1.50/100 gm packet)
• 1 tsp cayenne powder (optional)(omit this if you do not want your curry spicy, I prefer to add this)

Other Curry Gravy Seasonings (exclude curry roux) :

• 1 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)
• 2 tbsp honey (or to taste)
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 250 ml home-made or store bought chicken broth (if really no choice, dissolve 1-2 tsp ikan bills stock powder with 250 ml water)
• 2 to 3 cups water (subject to your preferred thickness for the curry)

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon)    

Method : 

1. Heat pan and melt butter at low-medium heat.  
2. Add plain flour when butter's melted. Stir to blend butter and flour for few minutes till even.
3. Fold in curry powder, garam masala and cayenne powder. Stir and mix the roux evenly. If the roux get too dry, add water 1 tsp at a time and continue stirring. After about a minute, the curry roux is ready. Scoop and set aside.
4. Heat a little cooking oil in frying pan again. Fold in potato cubes and fry till all sides are slightly golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Fold in beef/chicken cubes and pan sear on all sides till browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
6. In a deeper pot, heat a little cooking and stir fry onions till they turn translucent. 
7. Toss in minced garlic and ginger and sauté till aromatic.  
8. Add all curry gravy seasonings into pot and lightly stir.
9. Fold in curry roux. Stir till curry roux is dissolved and blended into mixture.
10. When curry starts bubbling, fold in beef/chicken cubes again.
11. Cover lid and allow to simmer at low heat for min. 1 hour or till beef cubes turn tender. Towards last 20 minutes, fold in potatoes and carrots, continue to simmer till all's cooked and to your desired texture. Add more water if curry turns too thick. If necessary, add salt/honey in accordance to your taste preference.
12. Turn off heat, leave the lid covered for another 10 minutes before dish out, garnish and serve hot immediately with steamed rice.

Note : 

*Do note that if you're cooking with chicken instead of beef, much shorter simmering time is required. Do adjust cooking time accordingly.

* Simmering time required for beef is subject to cut and sizes. Adjust duration accordingly.

* Check curry occasionally while simmering. Add more water if curry turns too thick. Otherwise, curry may burn at the bottom.

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