Japanese Katsu Curry

[JMN2]

Anyone else a fan of the Japanese curry roux blocks?

Fried some thin slices of pork fillet with onions and garlic. Chicken stock, pieces of carrots and potatoes. Curry roux block to thicken the stock and to become a sauce. Cook on low heat until pork is falling apart tender and carrots are soft.

Apparently this kind of curry (kare) is the most popular dish in Japan, I first ate it in Wagamama. One could be fancy and bread a chicken or pork cutlet and fry it separately but I just usually make a stew.

[DiamondEcho]

Anyone else a fan of the Japanese curry roux blocks?

I used to buy them when I lived there. I thought the packet (due to it's package photo of a delish' curry) was a pre-made pack of chicken curry. 'Imagine my surprise' getting home finding simple blocks of wax like gravy...
So, I haven't bought any for a long time. But I can see now how I might use them and pimp some fresh ingredients with them. Can you buy them in the UK?

[JMN2]

...Can you buy them in the UK?

Yes, at Sainsbury's at least, in larger shops they have a small Japanese section.

[DiamondEcho]

Oh interesting, thanks. IME Japanese curry is extremely mild and fruity, BUT there is a time and place where it just works, where you want hints of spice without laying it on hard.
Re: the katsu element, if that's the usual hammered/breaded fillet of chicken, deep fried and served over rice then I'd tend to go for a more pungent curry sauce, since the fried chicken and rice are rich enough already IMO.

But if we're talking about JPnese chicken, then IMO a real treat is freshly made chicken karaage. [inserts suitably eccentric how-to video from Japan]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEX_rCVTPKE
Chicken marinated in soy/garlic/ginger. Rice flour makes an ultra light and crispy batter, then it's double fried. You'll never look at drab old KFC the same way again. Oishi-desu! [it's delicious!]

[JMN2]

I think this japanese katsu curry is just a thick stock based gravy with curry powder. In fact, few years ago I found a website where this Japanese chap abroad couldn't get the proper commercial stuff and created a very accurate recipe himself. I tried it too, basically flour, oil and butter cooked on a pan without burning it and adding spices, mostly curry powder, also garam masala, coriander powder, chili powder, pepper, dark chocolate. When it cools it becomes a hard block.

[saechunu]

For an authentic Japanese curry roux block effect, don't forget the MSG!

I think every brand contains it, which is a shame, as it stops me using them...

[carrie80]

Last year I was served the most delicious "lasagne" made by a Japanese guy. I remember very little about it now other than that it didn't use white sauce, the meat was in some sort of curry sauce and it tasted absolutely amazing. I really regret not asking for details at the time.

Inspired by this thread I picked up a jar of katsu sauce from the supermarket this weekend (couldn't find the blocks). I used this to make up a curry with beef mince, carrots, onions and chopped tomatoes, layered the curry with lasagne sheets and baked it. While not reaching the mythical heights of my memory, it worked pretty well and is definitely something I would do again.