Curry and Rice Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101 (2024)

Curry and Rice (カレーライス) is Japanese-style thick curry sauce with chunky meat and vegetables over Steamed Rice. It is one of the most eaten dishes in Japan today whether at curry restaurants or at home. Curry and Rice is not traditional Japanese food at all, but it is an essential food in modern Japanese cuisine.

Typical Japanese curry is very different from Indian curries. It has a much thicker sauce and a milder flavor than its Indian counterparts. There are many many curry restaurants in cities and towns throughout Japan. Some are big chain restaurants and others are smaller local shops. There are a lot of curry specialty stores, but also there are diner-type places that serve curry along with other Japanese dishes like Beef Bowls and Tonkatsu. You can find “traditional” Japanese curry at many of those restaurants, and there are other shops that serve more unusual or arranged versions. Restaurant curry is delicious, of course, and nice to have from time to time, but it is so easy and cheap to make at home too.

When Japanese people make curry at home, most of them don’t make it from scratch with all the spices and everything. They usually use instant curry roux from a box. You can also choose how hot your curry should be by which box you buy. There are usually 3 kinds of spiciness: mild, medium, and hot, and stores sometimes carry extra hot. Japanese people like to make a lot of dishes from scratch, but when it comes to curry, there are not too many people that take the time or even have the right spices at home. Don’t underestimate homemade curry, however, just because we use instant roux! There is still plenty of room to make it your own curry by choosing ingredients and adding secret seasonings.

We used cubed beef here, but thinly sliced beef or ground beef can give a different mouthfeel, or you can change to totally different meat like chicken, pork, or even seafood. Typical vegetables for curry are potatoes, carrots, and onions, though certainly not limited to them. If you like spinach, broccoli, asparagus, or anything else, go for it. Japanese vegetables like Daikon radish and Renkon lotus root work very well too. Secret seasonings are additional flavorings to change the existing curry taste, so there is no need to add those if you prefer… however, the additional seasonings do make your curry more special and distinctively your own homemade curry. We used ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, apricot jam, and soy sauce to deepen the flavor, but you can use your own seasonings different from ours. Some people opt to add flavors like chocolate, coffee, or different kinds of chutney. Mix and match, and find your own favorite combinations. We have a different flavoring suggestion in the recipe box below.

Another good thing about curry is that you can make a pot-full of curry and feed a bunch of people. Curry and Rice doesn’t involve complicated steps to make, and it is a perfect dish for an occasion of many people getting together. If you’re cooking for a small number of people, you may still want to make a good amount of curry so that it can be enjoyed later. Curry can be kept in the freezer for a month or two easily. Then when you don’t have time to cook, it can be simply reheated in the microwave oven or stovetop.

If you’ve never had Japanese Curry and Rice, you have to try this once. If you have had it before but never made it at home, try making this at home. If you have tried and like Japanese Curry and Rice, you still have to try our version and compare with yours. Then experiment to create your own secret recipes. Hope you enjoy it!

This video and article is newly updated from February 2012.