Vegan Japanese Curry Rice - Karē Raisu (カレーライス)

Japanese curry rice is one of my favourite foods because of its homey feel and nostalgic taste. Curry rice is an extremely popular dish in Japan, and often appears in anime, manga and video games.

This particular recipe is based off of those delicious, convenient, pre-made curry roux which a lot of people use when making curry. I know that I for one used to swear by these (especially as a lazy teenager)! Their cheap and easy, what's not to like?

But today we're going to be making it from scratch for several reasons; 1. Because there's nothing quite like the authentic taste of a home cooked meal that is, well, completely home cooked! ^^ and 2. most of these brands of instant curry roux contain all, or some, of the following: milk, cream, honey and cheese/s,  and since this is an all vegan blog... well, that's not going to work... but never fear! I have designed this recipe myself to replicate those siren song curry roux so that you can enjoy them vegan-style (this particular recipe is supposed to be an exact vegan dupe of "House Vermont Curry" the most popular brand of curry roux in Japan ;) )  

I will admit that this recipe has a lot of ingredients... and can be a little time consuming, but trust me it's all worth it! :3

So, let's get started, shall we?

Karē Raisu (カレーライス)

Serves: 2, generously ;)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook time: 1 hr, 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 large potato
• 1 large carrot
• 1/2 brown onion
• 1/2 Tbs. of rice bran oil (or other vegetable oil)
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 2 Tbs. flour
• 3 tsp. curry powder
• 2  tsp. garam masala
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. cacao or cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. cornflour
• 1 Tbs. soy milk powder
• 2 Tbs. milk
• 2 tsp. yeast flakes
• 1 tsp. agave
• 1 Tbs. apple sauce
• 1 Tbs. peanut butter
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups of filtered water

Directions

• Bring a saucepan full of water to the boil and add salt. Meanwhile, chop the potato and carrot into medium-large bite sized pieces. (It's okay if they're not all exactly the same size, as long as they're near the same size so they cook properly. And besides, it will give the meal a more comforting, homey feel if they're a little different :3).

• Put the chopped potato and carrots into the boiling water. Bring the heat down to a medium heat (so it won't boil over) and cook for 20-30 minutes (until you can poke a fork in them and they're not hard). 

• Once they have been cooked, drain and set aside for later.

• Next, heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Chop the onion into half moons and then add to the frying pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions have softened and have started getting a little colour.

• While I'm doing this I start cooking my rice because it takes so long (I use brown rice). If you're using regular white rice you don't need to do this until later. :)

• Take the onions out of pan and set them aside with the potatoes and carrots.

• Now, it's time to make the curry roux :). Melt two tablespoons of butter in the pan, then add two tablespoons of flour and mix until it forms a paste.

• Next, add all the dry ingredients, and mix together until they combine. Now you just add the wet ingredients (excluding the water), and let it all cook on a medium-low heat for a few minutes. It should start smelling nice and aromatic :).

• Turn the heat up and add 1 cup of water to this, stirring until the lumps begin to dissolve. Add the onion to the sauce and stir in. 

• Next, add in the potatoes and carrots and stir until they are mixed in as well. At this point you may want to add the other 1/2 cup of water. It depends on how you want your curry sauce. I like lots of sauce with things (to the point where they look like they're drowning) so I add the extra 1/2 cup of water ;P.

• Let everything heat through for 10 minutes on a medium heat. 

Serve with rice and enjoy!

Yep, that's a lot of curry! :3

Itadakimasu! (いただきます) Let's eat!

<3

Usagi

aka

Moonlight