Japanese Chicken Curry Rice

If you’ve ever made Japanese curry rice from one of those store-bought curry blocks, you know how delicious and easy it is, but did you know it’s almost as easy to make it from scratch?  And considering the palm oil, MSG, and preservatives used in the blocks, it’s probably a lot healthier to make your own.

I pretty much followed the chicken curry rice recipe from Just One Cookbook except I caramelized the onions as recommended by Marc from No Recipes and Serious Eats.  I also used chicken breast instead of chicken thighs because I really, really hate dark meat.  Another great thing about making your own curry roux is that it’s easily customizable.  If you prefer it spicier, add cayenne pepper; if you prefer it sweeter add honey, etc.  This recipe makes a slightly sweet, medium-mild spicy curry.

Japanese curry is usually served with steamed rice, but if you want to have a little more fun, I’d highly suggest waffling some day-old cooked rice.  The rice gets crispy-crunchy-toasty-chewy and adds a really interesting texture. 

Japanese Chicken Curry Rice (adapted from Just One Cookbook)
serves 4-6

1 lb. boneless chicken, skinless thighs or breast
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 qt. chicken broth
1 apple
2 large Yukon gold potatoes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
Cooked rice

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Add the onions to a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook with a large pinch of salt until dry and just starting to color.  Add a tablespoon of oil, mix, and continue to cook until the onions start sticking to the bottom again.  Add the rest of the oil and continue to cook until caramelized.  Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, and chicken.  Cook until the chicken turns white.  Add the chopped carrot and chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Peel the apple, coarsely grate, and add to the pot.  Peel the potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks, and add to the pot.  Simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

In the meantime, make the curry roux by melting the butter in a small pan over medium-low heat.  Add the flour and stir until the roux starts to get darker, about 5-10 minutes.  Mix in the garam masala and curry powder and take off the heat once combined.

When the potatoes are done, add some of the hot liquid to the roux and whisk until the roux is loose, adding more liquid as necessary.  Add back to the pot and bring back to a boil.  Stir in the soy sauce and ketchup.  Taste, and add the honey if you'd prefer it sweeter.  Simmer until the curry has thickened.  Serve with cooked rice.

Next:  Rainbow Crepe Cake
Previously:  Quintessential Apple Pie with Bacon Fat Crust
Last Year:  Tropical Pulled Pork on Griddled Banana Bread Sandwiches
Two Years Ago:  A Better Homemade Pasta Recipe
Three Years Ago:  Mushroom Marsala Pizza
Four Years Ago:  Peking Duck Pizza
Seven Years Ago:  Bacon Fat Caramels
Eight Years Ago:  Potato Leek Soup with Bacon

Macau-Style Portuguese Chicken Rice

I only needed one bite of the Portuguese Chicken Rice from Double Chin to know that I needed to figure out how to make it at home.  I hadn't even ordered it myself; my friend Alvin was nice enough to let a bunch of us try his, and I'm so grateful he did.  Sadly, it's not a very photogenic dish, but once you try it, you won't care.

It starts with a layer of chicken fried rice topped with a mild coconut curry sauce and finished with a sprinkling of shredded cheese.  Then everything goes under the broiler until it gets all bubbly and gooey.  I know it's kind of strange to have cheese on an otherwise Asian dish, but it works so well in this case.  I think the key is to use a mild, melty cheese so that it doesn't overpower the rest of the dish.  I ended up using a mix of mozzarella and provolone.  I thought it was interesting that when I was looking for recipes on-line to use, a lot of them just listed "shredded cheese" as the ingredient without any reference to what kind of cheese.  Perhaps in Asia there is just one kind of shredded cheese available!

I ended up referring to Lady and Pups' version because I love everything else she does, and it seemed the most similar to what I had at Double Chin.  The modifications I made were that instead of fish I used chicken and marinated it beforehand.  I used chicken breast because I prefer white meat, but feel free to use chicken thigh meat if you prefer dark meat.  I also made a couple of other modifications to her recipe based on what I had on hand (less scallions and water instead of milk) and taste preferences (half the amount of shallots).

Please note that this makes quite a bit of food.  Mandy's original recipe said that it serves 2, but it would probably be more like 6 Joy-sized servings.  And if you're wondering why it's called Portuguese chicken rice, I think it has to do with the fact that Macau was a Portuguese colony up until the end of the last century.  Apparently this dish is very popular in Hong Kong cafes, and I remember seeing something similar at one of my favorite eateries in Taiwan.

Macau-Style Portuguese Chicken Rice (heavily adapted from Lady and Pups)
serves 4-6

For the chicken:
1 lb. boneless chicken, cut into 1" pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients except for the oil and marinate for 20 minutes.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the chicken until lightly brown.  Save 2/3 of it for the fried rice and finely chop the rest for the sauce.

For the fried rice:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2-3 eggs, beaten
3 cups day-old cooked rice, refrigerated
1/2 cup chopped scallions
Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pan and add the eggs.  Immediately add the rice and mix to coat.  Once the rice is heated through, add the scallions, salt, and white pepper to taste.  Add the reserved chicken and mix until even.  Remove from heat and set aside.

For the coconut curry sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons finely shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
13.5 oz. can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups mix of shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese, divided

Use a small blender to puree the oil, shallot, and garlic cloves.  Mix with the grated ginger and butter and cook over medium heat in a saucepan for a few minutes until very fragrant.  Add the curry powder, onion powder, coconut, and flour continue to cook for a few more minutes to toast the spices.  Whisk in the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5-7 minutes until thickened.  Stir in the chopped chicken and 1 cup of the cheese.

Preheat the broiler.  Transfer the fried rice to a buttered casserole dish or oven safe pan.  You can also use multiple smaller dishes.  Pour the curry sauce over the rice and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.  Broil for a few minutes until browned in spots and bubbly.  Serve immediately.

Next:  Caramelized Honeycomb Ice Cream
Previously:  Extra-Crispy Tortilla Pizza
Two Years Ago:  Taiwanese Taro Swirl Mooncakes
Three Years Ago:  Brown Butter Vinaigrette Lobster Buns
Four Years Ago:  Caramelized Onion and Swiss Chard Quiche

Burmese Coconut Noodles with Tofu

I'm going to admit right off that I've never been to Burma, and I don't think I've even had these noodles at a restaurant before so I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to taste like, but when I saw this recipe for Burmese Noodle Bowl on Food52, I knew I had to try it.  From my one experience with Burmese noodles (made by my friend Alvin), the flavor profile seems pretty authentic:  lots of aromatics like onions and a mineral earthiness from turmeric.

The first step to making the curry sauce is to make a paste with onions, garlic, and ginger.  I used my food processor to do this since I didn't want my precious Vitamix smelling like onions.  The food processor worked pretty well, but every time I opened the lid to scrape down the sides, a pungent flume of onion vapors would be released.  So if you're the type of person that cries easily when cutting onions, you're probably going to have a bad time with this.

Since I try not to cook too much meat anymore, I decided to use tofu as the protein and add some of the chicken flavor back in with chicken broth.  You can buy fried tofu from a Asian grocery store or just slice and pan fry firm tofu yourself.  You can also buy fried shallots (red onions) from an Asian grocery story or slice and fry them up yourself.  Since I didn't have any shrimp paste, I substituted a tablespoon of fish sauce and some chickpea flour to thicken the sauce.  I decided to use yellow Chinese noodles instead of rice noodles, but I think you could also use ramen noodles or even udon noodles if you wanted.  Lastly, I omitted the cilantro topping since I consider it the devil's weed, but if you like that sort of thing, you should definitely add it.

Burmese Coconut Noodles with Tofu (adapted from Food52)
serves 3-4

2 medium onions
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
14 oz. chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
1 tablespoon chickpea flour (optional)
14 oz. can coconut milk
12 oz. noodles
Fried tofu
Fried shallots
3 eggs, boiled and chopped
Kosher salt and chili powder, to taste
1 lime, quartered

Peel and roughly chop the onions and garlic.  Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce to a food processor and process into a paste.

Add the canola and sesame oil to a large pot and heat over medium heat.  Add the paste and cook for several minutes until it starts to get dry and the rawness of the onion is gone.  Add the turmeric and chili powder and mix.

Whisk the chickpea flour, if using, into the chicken broth.  Add the broth and coconut milk to the pot and mix.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the noodles according to the manufacturer's instructions, and prepare the rest of the toppings.  Taste the curry sauce and add salt and/or chili powder, to taste.

Divide the noodles into 3 bowls, ladle the curry sauce over the noodles, and top with tofu, fried shallots, and the egg.  Serve with the lime slices, cilantro, and additional fish sauce and chili powder, if you like.

Next:  Matcha White Hot Chocolate
Previously:  San Bei (Taiwanese Three Cup) Tofu and Ramen
Last Year:  Homemade Tagliatelle with Shaved Truffles
Two Years Ago:  Vanilla and Cinnamon Marshmallows
Five Years Ago:  Lemon Pudding Cake
Six Years Ago:  Toasted Coconut Ice Cream with Sesame Brittle and Crystallized Ginger

Coconut Curry Noodles with Collard Greens and Broccoli

A couple of weeks ago I got two Boston Organics deliveries in a row with collard greens and broccoli. I was fine with the broccoli, other than possibly getting bored with it, but I didn't really want to make braised collard greens with bacon again. So when I saw this recipe for creamy coconut collards, I was pretty intrigued. I would never have thought that collard greens, a staple in Southern soul food, could be used in an Asian-inspired dish. But it's a brilliant combination; the slightly sweet creaminess of the coconut milk tempers whatever bitterness the collard greens may have left after braising, and the curry gives it just enough kick to cut through the cream.

The only thing was, served over rice, the texture was just too blah. So I tried it over chow mein noodles (not the crispy La Choy kind; the kind that you boil), added some stir-fried broccoli, and the dish turned into something sublime and much, much greater than just the sum of its parts. I've already made this twice and will most likely make the next time I get collard greens; it's really that good.

Unfortunately, I didn't really take note of how much of what I used and basically "cooked by feel". But this dish is too good not to share, so here's what I did:

Coconut Curry Noodles with Collard Greens and Broccoli
serves 3-4

Cut off the florets from 3 stalks of broccoli to end up with about 2 cups of florets. Mince a clove or two of garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok and add the garlic and salt. Toss in the broccoli and stir fry until bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cover to finish cooking by steaming about another 5 minutes. Once it is done, remove the broccoli from the wok and set aside.

Wash the collard greens, remove the stems, and cut the leaves into ribbons. Mince another clove or two of garlic. Heat up some oil in the cleaned wok and add the garlic and collard greens. Stir fry for a couple of minutes and then add a can of coconut milk and curry powder to taste (start with 2 teaspoons). Cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until the collard greens are done and the sauce is slightly thickened. Add the broccoli and toss. Remove from heat.

In large pot, boil salted water. Add the steamed chow mein to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and add to the curried coconut collards. Toss to mix and salt to taste. Serve hot.

You can add chicken or pork to the dish by cutting it into bite-sized pieces and browning it in the hot oil before adding the garlic and collard greens. If you can't find steamed chow mein, you could probably substitute Hong Kong style egg noodles (like the kind I used for the pan-fried noodles), ramen, or possibly even angel hair cooked al dente. I probably wouldn't use anything too thick or chewy; the reason why the noodles worked while the rice didn't is because you want some bite in the texture. I made this with regular coconut milk, but next time I will try it with reduced fat coconut milk.

ETA:  I tried it with the reduced fat coconut milk, and it wasn't anywhere near as yummy.

If you try making this, please let me know what you think!

Curry Turnovers(?)

Okay, so I have no idea what to call these things. Even in Chinese I've heard them called both jia li jiao and ga li jiao. I asked my mom if one was Mandarin and the other Taiwanese or Cantonese, but even she admits she doesn't know. My guess is that the former is Taiwanese Mandarin and the latter possibly Beijing Mandarin or Cantonese. Anyone know? Anyways, whatever these things are, they're delicious. The first time I ever had them my mom made the pastry from scratch, and it was this incredibly complicated process of making two types of dough and then combining them so that you got this extremely flaky crust, kind of like this. But then one day I was flipping through some old copies of Better Homes and Gardens and noticed that there was this reader submitted recipe for something very similar that just used refrigerated pie crust, and I was sold. They also used mashed potatoes instead of pieces of cooked potato, but I decided to use mashed potato flakes instead to make it even simpler.

The most impressive part of these turnovers is the crimped crust, which of course, my mom taught me how to do. Here's a quick video to show you how to do it:

Curry Turnovers (or whatever they're called)
makes about 56

2 packages of refrigerated pie crusts (4 pie crusts total)
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
4 tablespoons curry powder
1 lb. ground beef, 80% lean is good (you don't want to get too lean)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 egg yolk, beaten

Pre-heat the oven to 450° F.

Thaw and unwrap the pie crusts. Unfold and use a cup or cookie cutter to cut out 3" circles. Re-roll the excess pie crust and cut more. You should be able to get around 56 circles.

Saute the onions and 1 tablespoon curry powder in the oil until the onions are sweating. Add the ground beef and continue cooking until beef is brown. Add soy sauce and more curry powder to taste.

Add 1/4 cup potato flakes to bind the mixture. Continue adding flakes until all the liquid is soaked up and the mixture is no longer crumbly.

Place a little less than 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of each pie crust circle. Fold in half and pinch the edges to seal.

Place the turnovers on a cookie sheet and brush the top of each with the beaten egg yolk.

Bake at 450° F for 9 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

The reason for the color difference in the turnovers above is that I used two different brands of pie crust dough: Pillsbury and Shaws. Believe it or not, the darker turnovers were made using the Pillsbury brand. I'm not sure if there is a difference in the thickness of the doughs or more likely the ingredients in the dough, but the Pillsbury brand was a lot easier to shape. Taste-wise, I think I like the Pillsbury ones better, too; it's just too bad they don't look as nice as the Shaws' ones. Oh yeah, and personally, I think these taste better once they've cooled down and aren't piping hot anymore. =)