Japanese curry (also known as Curry Rice/Kare Raisu/カレーライス) is the ultimate comfort dish. It is the staple meal for many Japanese households because it’s so easy to make at home. The convenience comes from the readily made Japanese Curry Sauce Mix or curry roux (カレールー), which allows you to cook up the stew-like curry consisting of meat & vegetables in the shortest time.
What is Japanese Curry Roux?
The curry roux in block form was first introduced by S&B Foods in 1956. It refers to a solidified mixture of sauce, made with fat, flour, and curry spices as the base flavor. These days we can even find many varieties of instant Japanese curry roux in the Asian aisle at American supermarkets. The boxed curry roux often comes in a distinctive block that resembles a thick chocolate bar, where you break off individual cubes for the portion you need to make. Some of the common brands include S&B’s Golden Curry, House’s Vermont Curry, Java Curry, and Torokeru Curry.
Homemade Japanese Curry Roux
Although the boxed stuff may spare you some time in the kitchen, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make your own Japanese Curry Roux at home. And just like all curries, curry roux is best made from scratch. The other good reasons for homemade roux?
No chemical seasonings, preservatives, artificial flavors, and other food additives, which are commonly found in boxed mixes. You can customize the flavor, spice level, and thickness to your preferred taste each time you make it.
How to Make Japanese Curry Roux
Ingredients You’ll Need
My recipe for Japanese curry roux requires only five ingredients that you will have in the pantry. They are:
Unsalted butter All-purpose/plain flour S&B Japanese curry powder Garam masala Cayenne pepper (optional for spice)
You can use salted butter for making the curry roux. If you do, adjust the amount of salt in the curry recipe you’re making. I use unsalted butter and add salt to taste as I cook.
Why Do We Combine Curry Powder and Garam Masala?
I have made homemade curry roux with just the S&B Japanese curry powder in the past, and it works great. However, I wanted to make my own curry roux blend without having to buy all kinds of spices that I won’t necessarily use for my daily cooking. One day in my pantry, I found a bag of garam masala I purchased from my local Indian grocery store and I just mixed that into my curry roux. Garam masala added a wonderful fragrance and depth to the roux! Since then (for the past 10 years), I’ve been using these two spice blends as my base for my curry roux. You can play around with the spices I listed on my pantry page for Japanese curry powder. Make your own blend for fun! You’re probably wondering about the curry powder and garam masala, so I’ll cover these topics later in the post.
Overview: Cooking Steps
The roux is made with butter and flour that helps to thicken the broth. For the curry roux, we start by cooking the butter and flour mixture for a long time until it turns brown, somewhat chocolate color, for about 25-30 minutes. When you add the curry powder, garam masala, and cayenne pepper to the roux, you’ll get delicious homemade curry roux. The butter gives a rich sweet flavor and the toasted flour brings nuttiness. Feel free to modify the amount of the spices to your preference.
How to Store Homemade Japanese Curry Roux
The roux can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for a month or in the freezer for 3-4 months. I recommend cutting the block of roux into cubes. Then, you can add pieces as you need in your curry recipe.
Japanese Curry Powder
The most notable Japanese curry powder is the S&B brand that comes in a tiny red can. It has a slightly sweet and rounded flavor, and it is the most common curry powder that many Japanese homes and restaurants use in making their curry dishes.
Can’t find S&B Curry Powder?
To learn how to make your own Homemade Japanese Curry Powder, visit this pantry page.
What is Garam Masala?
Garam masala is a warming spice with a sharp and pungent flavor and this spice blend is used to add flavor and color to dishes. Depending on spice shops or home recipes, the blend varies. It typically contains:
Cardamom Cinnamon Clove Coriander Cumin – nice to add more for curry Mace Mustard seeds Nutmeg Peppercorns Red chili pepper
Some of the spices overlap with Japanese curry powder and that’s okay. You can always tweak your own homemade curry powder blend as you like through trial and error.
What to Make with Japanese Curry Roux
With the homemade curry roux, you will be eager to start cooking a myriad of Japanese curry dishes at any time. Here are some delicious recipes you can make with homemade curry roux:
Japanese Chicken Curry Instant Pot Japanese Curry Soup Curry Japanese Beef Curry Katsu Curry Curry Udon Japanese Seafood Curry Cold Curry Udon
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on March 18, 2013. The video and new images were added in August 2018. The recipe was revised and the post was updated with new images and blog content in October 2021.
