Potato, carrot and tofu Japanese curry. Super basic but it’s got legs. Made about a week’s worth of dinners with this batch.

  • PointAndClique [they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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    1 year ago

    I broadly follow the steps on the back of the curry block packet and just vibe with the quantities of veggies to add depending on how big the pot I’m cooking is (also, it needs garlic, I add four cloves roughly minced):

    Variations are that I use about 800g of soft tofu, cut into cubes or triangles instead of meat, and it still makes the ~12 serves. I also cook the onions first (20 mins in drizzle of oil over medium heat) to soften and sweeten them. I’ll cook longer if I really want the caramelisation to come through. I also vibe on water, basically add until the ingredients are almost covered and scoop off the oily dregs that come to the surface as it boils.

    The one tip I’ve learnt is that if your curry is too thin after the curry bricks have completely dissolved and been mixed through, you can mix some potato/corn starch into a glass of water and pour small amounts at a time into the batch while stirring, then waiting to see how it thickens up til it gets to the desired consistency.

    I’ve been thinking of reconstructing the curry base and making my own roux, the ingredients are here:

    I’m not a huge fan of the palm oil, which I understand is partially used to hold the dry ingredients for shelf stability as much as flavour. I’d use another room-temp solid oil on hand like coconut instead.

    • Firestorm Druid
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      1 year ago

      Thanks for the recipe! What kind of tofu are you using? Silken, firm, or something different entirely?

      • PointAndClique [they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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        1 year ago

        A firm or regular tofu, whichever I happen to grab at the shops, either the kind that comes in a tub or plastic with a bit of liquid. Silken would break apart easily, but could work if you added it at the very last moment and stirred gently, so I wouldn’t rule out trying it in the future. Fried doesn’t have the same melt in your mouth texture that pairs with the potato.

        • roux [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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          1 year ago

          Do you do a press beforehand? I’ve been meaning to try the Japanese curry cubes they sell at the store and this may have inspired me.

          Would you serve this over rice or is it good as its own dish?

          Also this reminds me I need to buy some more curry powder.

          • PointAndClique [they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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            1 year ago

            Do you do a press beforehand?

            As in press the tofu to get rid of excess moisture? No. Not for a stew/curry.

            You definitely need to press when you’re frying tofu on the other hand, paper towel or tea towel between two plates or a cutting board, because water explodes in hot oil and it can be very splattery and dangerous.

            I’ve tried pairing it with solo/naan/bread/pasta/rice and hands down you need it with rice. The pre-mix curry is sweet so I don’t really enjoy it on its own.

            You can do a curry udon too, you’d make the curry slightly thinner I reckon and probably leave out the starchier veggies. I don’t go for this because it requires more foresight than just grabbing the rice from the cupboard. It’s an easy alternative though if you just pick up some udon (usually pre-cooked/pre-packaged, just requires warming up) when you buy the curry cubes.

            • roux [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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              1 year ago

              Thanks for the reply. I’ve been meaning to try this style of curry for a while now and your post inspired me. I got all the stuff for it and will prob be making it today for lunch.

              I hadn’t considering not needing to press if you don’t use oil. I was thinking just for texture. I did order a tofu press tho this weekend because CONSUME and because I can never get it pressed enough with plates and random kitchen stuff as weights.