Vegan Japanese Curry - From Scratch
I love Japanese-style curry because it's sweeter and less intense than your traditional Indian curries. I don't mean this in a negative way, but it's a bit like curry for kids. You can have a lot of this curry and it is super-addictive.
The good thing about any type is curry is that it is so flavor rich, you can substitute out the meat and add a ton of vegetables, beans or tofu and it tastes just as good.
A lot of people are going to get scared by this recipe because it's made from scratch. But honestly, even though there are going to be more steps than if you used instant curry cubes, each of the steps are pretty easy. Basically the steps include:
- Caramelizing the onions.
- Chopping the vegetables.
- Making the roux (which is just mixing flour, vegan butter and curry powder together. That's it!)
- Then you put everything together.
Easy Vegan Japanese Curry - From Scratch
(Serves 4)
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 apple, pureed (or 3 tablespoons apple sauce)
- 2 tablespoons tonkatsu sauce or sweet BBQ sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1 teaspoon sugar, to taste (optional)
For roux
- 2 tablespoon Earth Balance Butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
-
2 tablespoons curry powder
Directions
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook onions with 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 30 minutes, until it is soft and caramelized, almost forming a paste. While cooking, cover with lid and stir often to keep from burning. If necessary, add in 1/4 cup of water towards the last 10 minutes of cooking to soften the onions some more.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables by cutting the potatoes and carrots into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.
- For the rue, in a pot, melt Earth Balance Butter over medium high heat. Add in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add in the flour and cook for an additional minute until the mixture forms a paste. Turn off heat and set aside.
- In a pot over medium to medium high heat, cook minced garlic and ginger with 1 tablespoon of oil for about 30 seconds. Add in the apple sauce, tonkatsu sauce, tomato paste, cocoa powder, salt, garam masala and vegetable stock. Stir until combined.
- Add in the softened onions and the carrots. Bring mixture back to a boil and lower to simmer for about 10 minutes until the carrots soften.
- Add in the potatoes and 2 bay leaves. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.
- Add in the frozen peas and the roux. Turn heat back to high and bring to a boil. When the mixture thickens, turn the heat off. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Serve warm with rice.