Homemade Japanese Chicken Curry
Try this Homemade Japanese Chicken Curry recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Homemade Japanese Chicken Curry recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 600 grams chicken thigh meat diced roughly (i used thighs on the bone, which i cut into pieces and left one piece on the bone. i quite like cooking stews and curries with bones for extra flavour and gelatin)
- 2 teaspoons ghee or coconut oil
- 1 medium brown onion diced finely
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (powdered could be used about 1 teaspoon)
- 2 medium carrots diced into cubes or sliced
- 2 medium white potatoes peeled and diced into cubes
- 2 1/2 teaspoons mild curry powder
- 2 large cloves garlic diced
- 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (thicker more aged variety is best)
- 2 tablespoons tamari (gf soy sauce) or coconut aminos
- 2/3 up frozen peas
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder (or tapioca)
- Carbohydrate 20.5633183428824 g
- Cholesterol 9.60000000811536 mg
- Fat 4.22019333657948 g
- Fiber 2.11825000747045 g
- Protein 9.85175834015024 g
- Saturated Fat 1.10372000086834 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -4 (384g)
- Sodium 636.077333720166 mg
- Sugar 18.445068335412 g
- Trans Fat 0.371121666893896 g
- Calories 157 calories
Step-by-step
- Cut up chicken thighs into pieces and set aside. Skin on or off is completely up to you.
- Heat ghee in a medium saucepan or a casserole pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until slightly softened.
- Add the ginger and chicken, turn the heat to medium-high, and stir for a minute or two.
- Then add the carrots, potatoes, curry, garlic, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, tamari, fish sauce and salt and stir for a minute, until everything is nice and brown.
- Then pour in the chicken stock, stir and bring to boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.
- After 15 minutes, uncover, add the peas and stir. Cooke for a further 10 minutes without the lid. This will evaporate some of the liquid and thicken the sauce.
- Finally, to thicken the sauce further, add 4-5 tablespoons of the sauce from the pot to a small bowl and mix in the arrowroot flour. Whisk it with a fork until it's more or less combined, although you will probably have a few lumps and that's ok. Add this mixture back to the pot and stir everything through. Turn off the heat and let it all come together in peace and harmony.
- Serve with cauliflower rice or regular rice and some extra vegetables on the side.
Glossy, deeply savory sauce clings to tender chunks of chicken thigh, potatoes, and carrots, carrying the warmth of mild curry powder balanced by the sharp tang of balsamic vinegar. Cooking this dish efficiently requires understanding how fresh aromatics behave differently than preserved pantry items. Fresh ginger and garlic demand careful management over medium heat; introduce them too early or let the pan run too hot, and the volatile compounds scorch into bitterness rather than mellowing into the base.
Dry spices mixed directly into the warm fat and vegetables bloom faster than they would in a liquid, unlocking deeper flavor compounds before the stock goes into the pot. Staggering the addition of ingredients prevents overcooking. Frozen peas go in halfway through the simmering process to preserve their bright green color and structural integrity, avoiding the dull gray mush that happens when they boil for the full duration.
Bone-in chicken cuts provide natural gelatin as they simmer, acting as an economical thickener that reduces reliance on commercial roux blocks. Arrowroot powder slurry finishes the texture, locking in a glossy sheen without clouding the spices. Whisking the thickener into a warm sample of pot liquid first prevents unsightly clumps before the final incorporation.
