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You are here: Home / All Recipes / Japanese Chicken Curry

Japanese Chicken Curry

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
Unlike Indian and Southeast Asian curries, Japanese chicken curry is thickened with roux into which the ground spices are stirred in.
Ready-to-use curry roux seems to be the more popular choice but our recipe includes intructions for homemade curry roux.
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Total Time 1 hr 30 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 people
Japanese Chicken Curry with Rice in Bowl
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

Curry roux

  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon chili flakes
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon honey

For the stew

  • 800 grams chicken thighs bone-in and skin-on
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 2 onions peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 carrot peeled and cut into two-inch cubes
  • 2 potatoes peeled and cut into two-inch cubes
  • 3 to 4 cups chicken bone broth (see notes after the recipe)
  • 1 apple peeled and cored

Instructions
 

Make the curry roux (for full illustration, see how to made a roux)

  • In a sauce pan, melt the butter.
  • Stir in the flour, all at once, until the mixture is smooth.
  • Cook the roux over medium-low heat, with occasionally stirring, until lightly browned.
  • Off the heat, stir in the curry powder, chili flakes, soy sauce and ketchup. Set aside.

Cook the stew

  • Wipe the chicken thighs with paper towels.
  • Using a heavy knife, chop each thigh through the bone into two portions.
  • Toss the chicken thighs with a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper.
  • Heat the cooking oil in a wok or casserole.
  • Over high heat, spread the chicken in hot oil and allow the undersides to sear for a few minutes. Flip and sear the opposite sides. Stir and continue cooking until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides.
    Browning chicken for Japanese chicken curry
  • Scoop out the chicken and transfer to a plate.
  • In the remaining oil (which now includes rendered fat from the chicken skin), soften the onion slices with a little salt and pepper over medium heat.
    Sauteeing spices for Japanese chicken curry
  • Add the garlic and ginger. Sprinkle in a bit more salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring often, for a minute or two.
  • Throw in the carrot cubes and cook with occasional stirring for a minute.
  • Stir in the chicken.
    Pouring broth over browned chicken in wok
  • Pour in the broth. Bring to the boill, lower the heat and cover the pan. Cook for 10 minutes.
  • Stir in the potato cubes. Cover the pan again and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until both the carrot and potato cubes are cooked through.
    Adding potatoes and grated apple to Japanese chicken curry
  • Grate the apple dirctly into the pan and stir.
  • Add the roux, a heaping tablespoonful at a time and stirring after each addition. When all of the roux has been added, simmer the chicken curry for another 10 minutes.
    Stirring roux into Japanese chicken curry
  • Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings, as needed.
  • Scoop rice into shallow bowls and ladle the chicken curry around the rice.

Notes

If using bone-in chicken, it is quite alright to opt for water instead of bone broth. The bones in the chicken will expel flavor during simmering which translates to an equivalent of pre-made bone broth.
If, however, you opt to use chicken fillets, then bone broth is a must.
If using water or unseasoned / underseasoned bone broth, you will need to add more salt and pepper after pouring the liquid into the pan.
Japanese Chicken Curry
Based on a recipe from Just One Cookbook
Keyword Chicken, Curry, Stew
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