Source: The Sushi Times
Kare raisu (カレーライス), or Japanese curry (with rice), is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. In fact, it is eaten so much that it is now seen as a national dish. And is it on par with, for example, sushi and ramen. Especially as an everyday meal, kare raisu is very popular.
On average, 45% of the Japanese eat curry 2-3 times a month and over 14% even eat it once or twice a week! This is mainly because it is quick to prepare, easy to combine with, and above all tastes great with rice, bread and noodles.
Japanese Curry
Originally, however, it is not a Japanese dish. Around the Meiji period (1868 – 1912) it was introduced to Japan by the English. Which had largely taken over from India. The dish, however, remained somewhat under the radar.
Until the curry sauce came to the supermarkets in the 1960s as ready-made cubes. Soon it became an indispensable part of Japanese cuisine and you can find 1001 variations.
What’s in curry?
Some very popular ingredients are the ready-made curry roux cubes from Kokumaru Curry, Vermont Curry, or Golden Curry. Numerous vegetables are then added. Consider potato, carrot, and onion. But peppers, spinach and seafood are also popular. But even chocolate is sometimes added.
This last ingredient, in particular, seems to be an odd man out, but according to many enthusiasts, (bitter) chocolate is just that one ingredient that can make a curry really good.
It is hard to determine which curry is really the tastiest. Certainly because there are also many local specialties that are only made in a certain region. In Hokkaido, for example, the “Sika Deer curry” is famous for its venison meat. And they have oysters in the curry around Hiroshima.
Special Curry restaurant
There are even entire curry restaurants dedicated to this treat. You can go there all day for a (very affordable) large plate of curry. Whether you like mild or spicy curry, like to eat vegetarian or as much meat as possible, there is something for everyone.
And were you fed up with the rice? No problem because curry udon (noodles with curry) and curry pan (bread filled with curry) are very popular in many places.
Source: The Sushi Times