Recipe: Dry curry

The other curry

Ask any Japanese for a list of their favorite dishes, you can be sure ‘curry rice’ will be one of them. Introduced to the country by the British during the Meiji era (1869–1913), this mix of curry roux, meat and vegetables is typically served alongside Japanese rice, and has since become something of a national obsession.

There is, however, another type of curry which has gained popularity as a regular addition to Japanese cafe menus. So-called ‘Dry curry’ is made from minced meat and vegetables which are squeezed to remove any excess liquid. It is easy to prepare and makes an excellent (read ‘less messy’) addition to an obento.

Ingredients (serves 3 – 4 people)
200 g cucumber
300 g tomato (2 tomatoes)
50 g celery
70 g onion
40 g radish

200 g minced pork
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
20 g of ginger
10 g garlic
2 tablespoons of curry powder
1 tablespoon of soy sauce

Method

First, prepare the dry curry itself. Warm a pan with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and cook the finely chopped ginger and garlic over a low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until you sense the smell rising from the pan.

Add the minced pork and cook over a medium heat until the color has changed. Next, add curry powder and mix well, then turn off the heat. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce as soon as you turn off the heat. Stir.

Cut off both ends of the cucumber and thinly slice like an accordion. Cut again into bite-sized pieces (3-4 cm in length). Slice the celery diagonally into 5 cm pieces, and the onion into bite-sized wedges.

Places each of these vegetables into individual mixing bowls. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of salt over them (preliminary seasoning which removes some of their harshness). Let the vegetables stand for 5 minutes until they become a little soft.

Slice the radish thinly and cut the tomato into quarters or smaller-sized wedges. Now, squeeze the cucumber, celery and onion to extract any excess liquid.

Place the cucumber, sliced onion and sliced radish into the dry curry and mix the ingredients together. Add tomato to the curry and mix one last time before serving.