Japanese curry is a very popular dish ranking high in the comfort food realm. It’s typically served with rice (curry rice), udon noodles (curry udon), or as a filling (curry bread). There is also katsu curry which is curry sauce served with breaded pork cutlet and rice. Tonight I served it over a bowlful of ramen. Curry ramen?
Japanese curry sauce is velvety in texture, smoky in flavor with a touch of sweetness and heat. Carrots, onions, and potatoes are the more typical vegetables found in curry, and chunks of either chicken or beef complete the curry. Pork can also be used, but it’s usually in the form of katsu (see above). When I was a kid, my mom made curry rice quite often. Admittedly it wasn’t a favorite. It was one of the few dishes that I rarely craved, yet when my mom made it, I dutifully ate it. As an adult, my disinterest in curry had not changed…until now.
A couple of months ago, during one of of the kids’ piano lessons at Beurrista’s house, I got a chance to chat with Mr. Beurrista. The conversation turned to food. We touched on SPAM, Chinese sausage, chasu pork, and Sun Noodle ramen. Then he started describing his slow cooker recipe for beef curry using short ribs for meat. Slow cooker? Short ribs? Definitely a game changer and this could give my not-so-favorite childhood dish a second chance. So with his permission, I’m sharing a slightly adapted version of his recipe.
Notes: Curry sauce can be made from scratch, but for the sake of convenience, I’ve purchased the pre-packaged curry sauce mix at my local Asian market. The sauce mix comes as a solid block that is segmented for easy breakage.
Beef Curry Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless short rib beef
- 3 large carrots peeled
- 1 medium onion peeled
- 2 medium red potatoes
- 1 4- oz package of curry sauce mix
- Cooked rice
Instructions
- Chop the carrots, onion, and potatoes into 1-1/2-inch cubes.
- Place the beef in the slow cooker insert and add the vegetables. Break the curry sauce mix block into pieces and place into the pot. Add 3 to 3-1/2 cups of water.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
- Give the curry a stir at the halfway point.
- When the curry is done cooking and the beef is tender, skim off as much excess fat from the top. Give it another stir.
- In a shallow bowl, ladle the curry over the rice. Serve hot!
