Curry Rice

This is the first dish I ever learned to make. Really. While studying abroad in Japan, I made an effort to set the kitchen on fire while making potatoes. Seeing that I needed help, the Japanese RA's, M and N, decided to show me how to do some stuff. The rest, is history!

Curry Rice is probably the most popular Japanese comfort food. Nikujaga is up there, too. And Omurice. YUM. I love them all. Japanese food has got to be the most delicious food in the world! Most Americans think that Japanese food is all sushi, but this just isn't true. (The Japanese DO eat a lot of sushi, however.)

Making Curry Rice is very easy. You need 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into pieces, 2 potatoes, PACIP (peeled and cut into pieces), half a yellow onion roughly chopped, and a meat of your choice. Chicken is the most traditionally used meat. The sauce is readily available in most major grocery chains, including Wal-mart. Just look for it in the Asian foods section. Comes in a shiny little cardboard box with 'Golden Curry' written on the side. English instructions! The curry comes in little blocks, and looks decidedly like chocolate. Funny smelling chocolate...

I've Americanized my Curry Rice. (The horror, the horror!) Instead of chicken or beef, I prefer Jimmy Dean's hot sausage. It is SOOOOO good. Adds even more flavor to a dish that is extremely flavorful to begin with. I'm lazy and simply break up the sausage while browning it, but a more ambitious person could form them into meatballs.

After browning your meat, set it aside and brown the potatoes and carrots, adding the onions when the potatoes start to turn translucent. I keep a glass full of water on the side, and have never actually measured out the quantity, but this recipe will call for around 3 cups total. After the vegetables have browned enough, I add a little water to continue cooking, then pour the rest in later.

Once the potatoes and carrots are soft, add the remainder of the water, until the vegetables are covered. Add the meat. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat back down to a simmer. Take the sauce mix, and break up the curry cubes. Place the curry cubes into different areas of the pot, tucking them under vegetables. Slowly begin to stir, mixing the curry mix in with the rest of the ingredients. When it turns thick and stew like, the curry is done.

Serve with rice on the side. I know its odd, rice and potatoes (starch and starch), but you just can't have curry without rice.

print recipe

Curry Rice

March-3-2013

Ingredients

• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage (or preferred meat)
• 1/2 Yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium sized box, or 1/2 large sized box (I've got a large size in the picture, most Wal-mart sold boxes are smaller) Golden Curry Sauce Mix
• 3 cups + water
• 2 or 3 cups, depends on how much you like rice! cooked rice

Instructions

1. In a large pan, brown sausage (or other meat). Set aside. Add potatoes and carrots to still hot pan, brown until potatoes begin to turn translucent. Add onions. Cook until all are semi-soft, then add a small amount of water. Cook until all vegetables are tender.2. Add water until vegetables are covered. Add meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat until simmering.3. Break up the curry sauce into smaller blocks. Place in hot water, and stir slowly to mix sauce completely in with all ingredients. The curry is done when it becomes thick and stew like.4. Serve with rice on the side. Try not to eat too much!

Yield: 8 servies