There are people out there who think they don’t like curry.

I know this for a fact because one of them gave birth to me. And another donated a whole bunch of genes and chromosomes to the one who gave birth to me.

(I use the term donated loosely because I have a feeling it wasn’t an entirely selfless act. If you know what I’m saying. Hubba hubba.)

Well, fear no more.

Stop the presses and drop whatever you’re doing because I have found it.

The gateway drug of curries. The marijuana of the narcotics world.

(Although, I should clarify for my mother who may or may not be reading this and who has a tendency to manipulate just about everything anyone says to suit her own purposes (selective hearing at its finest). Curry is NOT a controlled substance. There are NO government regulations regarding it’s sale and/or production. And yes, President Obama is STILL a US citizen. No matter what FOX news or Rush Limbaugh has to say about it.)

The thing about Japanese curry, you see, is that it is not really curry.

Really. Deep down. Beneath all of that misguided youth clothing. The pierced eyebrows. The studded belts. The Silly Bandz shaped like the chemical structures of hallucinogenic drugs.

It is really just a stew. A hearty, thick, utterly delicious stew. Perfect for your average meat-and-potatoes American, except of course, if you are my brother who is possibly the only meat-and-potatoes American who doesn’t actually like meat-and-potatoes. At least not in stew form.

It tastes surprisingly like the stew that your momma used to make, but with a little hint of something…extra. Something unexpected. Something utterly hypnotic that, try as though you might, you just can’t place.

That would be the garam masala, people. And I know I said it wasn’t a narcotic.

But damn. Is it ever addictive.

If you like what you see here at Eats Well With Others, please head on over to Foodbuzz and vote for me to be the next Project Food Blog Star! You can find my entry to challenge #2 here. Remember, you have 200 votes for this round, so I would really appreciate it if you would make Eats Well With Others one of them!

Japanese Chicken Curry

serves 4, adapted from [No Recipes]

For the Roux

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

2 tbsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (or tonkatsu sauce if you can find it!)

For the Curry

2 tsp oil

2 large onions, sliced thin

1 1/2 lb chicken thighs, cut into large chunks (beef, shrimp, or tofu can also be used!)

2 carrots, chunked

4 cups water

about 1 1/2 lb blue potatoes, chunked (although Yukon gold are recommended. I found these at the Farmer’s Market and couldn’t restrain myself)

1 small apple, peeled, cored, and pureed or grated

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 cup peas (I used frozen)

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook on medium heat until brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes. Turn up the heat to high and add the chicken to brown it.

2. Add in the carrots and water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the potato chunks, apple, salt, and garam masala and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3. While that is simmering, make your roux. In a small nonreactive saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add in the flour and garam masala, stirring until you have a thick paste. Add in the cayenne and black pepper and incorporate it into the roux. Add the tomato paste and worcestershire sauce and mix. Cook until the paste starts to crumble and it seems like most of the liquid is dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside until the meat and veggies are ready.

4. When there are 2-3 minutes left for the meat to simmer, remove two cups of water from the pot and pour it into the pan with the roux, whisking until all (or most) of the roux has dissolved. Pour this back into the pot with the meat and stir until the sauce thickens. Add in the peas and stir until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This is my entry to Regional Recipes: JAPAN which you should submit an entry to! Email it to me by September 30th! It is also going to Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays and to Hearth ‘n Soul!

You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.