Alright, so without a doubt, filming Kei and Minori cook Japanese curry and tonkatsu was one of the most enjoyable filming experiences because not only are Kei and Minori awesome, the curry kastu they cooked was so, so good. Interestingly, both curry and tonkatsu (katsu) are not native to Japan. As I learned from Kei, curry, while originally from India, came to Japan via the British and katsu has it’s origins in Europe where deep fried meat like schnitzel and milanesa have been popular for ages. But as the Japanese do, they’ve taken these dishes and made them distinctly Japanese and ridiculously delicious. Please read on below for Kei and Minori’s recipe for both the curry and the katsu and Kei’s thoughtful explanation of “B-class gourmet” food in Japan into which both curry and katsu fall. Also be sure to watch the cooking videos so you can see how it’s done and witness how “oishii” or delicious the meal was. Itadakemasu!
-c
Japanese Katsu Curry for 6 people
<<must items for curry>>
2-3 onions
2 carrots
several pieces of garlic
10-15 mushrooms
a half pound of beef [sliced beef recommended]
a box of “JAVA CURRY – HOT” roux [my favorite brand of Japanese curry roux.]
white rice [Japanese rice recommended]
butter [or olive oil]
about 600ml of water [depend on how long you boil]
<<optional items for curry>>
1 zucchini
1-2 potatoes [Kei thinks dissolved potatoes in curry are unpleasant on the tongue, but potatoes are popular items]
a little salt, black peppers and red wine [for beef]
1-2 spoon of garam masara [Kei’s favorite spice to strengthen curry flavor and make it more spicy. Java Curry roux has this spice in itself, so this is just an addition.]
1-2 spoon of turmeric [While our rich curry makes your digestives and liver a little tired after eating it, turmeric helps revitalize these organs according to the Eastern medicine.]
100-200ml of heavy milk [If it is too rich, use about 400ml of whole milk instead.]
1 spoon of honey
Katsu
<<must items for katsu>>
pork rib [Fatty red-and-white pork recommended. Roughly a half-inch thickness and six-inch length for one person.]
salt & black pepper
flour
eggs
panko [crashed roasted-bread]
a lot of vegetable oil
——————————
alternative way of cooking curry
————————————-B-class gourmet food in Japan
Katsu curry is one of Japanese “B-class gourmet foods”, which means popular, affordable, not purely traditional, and extraordinary delicious foods. Many of them originated from a spontaneous mixture of Japan’s and foreign food cultures. B-class foods’ popularity is largely cultural phenomenon of daily domestic cooking or local food industry not controlled by global junk food corporations such as McDonald or Nisshin. Japan’s “B-class gourmet food” includes a huge variety of ramen, udon, okonomiyaki, yakiniku, donburi, nabe, croquette and curry. Sushi may be classified first-class if you go to established restaurants but sushi can be “B-class” if you go to kaiten-zushi [rounding shushi, popular style of shushi restaurant in Japan]. The “B-1 Grand Prix,” the contest of B-class gourmet foods in Japan, started in 2006. The best B-class food for me personally is tamago gohan [white rice donburi with salmonella-free Japanese raw eggs, dashitsuyu-soy-sauce, and sliced negi].
-Kei
Wow, good job for this, Kei. I like the summary of “B-kyu gurume”! I
forgot to include the part, though it is pretty important, that this
B-class is heavily connected with local-food movement. In fact, the
winner of the 2008 B-1 Grand Prix is from my Kanagawa Prefecture, and
it’s intestine BBQ… one of my fav dishes in Japan…
-minori
Who is this guy, Kei? Can I marry him? I wanna eat that curry katsu right now!! Love the commentary, too… and the girlfriend eating every spare moment she can. Also loved the sound the honey made.
Let the katsu curry speak for itself… fantastic video!
The grunting and honey flatulence can, in essence, also speak for itself…