Japanese curry is a very popular dish of Japan. It is a staple food and a common school lunch in Japan. It is served mainly in three forms i.e. curry rice known as kare-raisu, thick noodles known as kare-udon and bread known as kare-pan. It is a smooth textured, thick gravy. It is less spicy and sweeter as compared to regular curries of the world.
History
The credit of the introduction of curry in Japan goes to the British and dates back to the Meji era (1868-1912).
Ingredients and Preparation
A variety of meat and vegetables are used for making Japanese curry. The base ingredients include onions, carrots and potatoes. Meats used may be beef, pork, chicken. Other ingredients include wheat flour, vegetable oil, spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric. Seasonings like onion powder, honey or milk powder may also be added.
First, the onions are chopped and stir-fried for a while in a pan. Then garlic, carrot, potato and meat are added. The above mixture is cooked till the meat attains a brownish texture. Then water is added and cooked till it boils. After it cools down, premade curry roux is added and stired well. It is served on rice.
Popular varieties
- Katsu kare in which the curry rice is served with a cutlet of breaded pork on it.
- Dorai kare curry rice is served with meat curry sauce
- Maze kare in which curry rice is served with rice and sauce already mixed.
Health and Nutritional Facts
Japanese curry with rice
Serving size - 1 bowl (150 g curry + 100 g cooked rice)
Calories - 220, Fat - 8 g, Saturated fat - 5 g, Sodium - 820 mg, Total carbohydrate - 16 g, Protein - 10 g
- Japanese curry with rice makes a complete meal. It is low in calories, slightly high in fat and sodium. It contains good amount of protein but not sufficient for one meal.
- The calorific value of the dish can be further reduced for the consumption of weight watchers and cardiovascular patients by using lean cuts of meat. This will also enhance the protein content of the dish.
- Low sodium salt should be used to reduce the sodium content. High sodium variant should be avoided by people suffering from hypertension.
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