Vegan Japanese Curry
Vegan Japanese Curry is a plant-based take on one of the most popular dishes in Japan. This curry is all about balance - there’s no single spice that stands out - but the aroma is intoxicating and the flavor is really comforting. It comes with the classic trio of onion, carrot, and potato but you can customize it however you like.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 3 carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 potato peeled and chopped to 1 inch pieces
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups dashi broth or vegetable stock (see note)
- 3 Tablespoons mild curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne chile powder
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons sake
Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onion. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent.
- When the onion is translucent, add the curry powder, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir for 2 minutes to toast the spices.
- Add flour. Stir for 2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of vegetable stock or dashi.
- When the liquid reaches a gentle boil, add potato and carrot. Simmer 8 minutes, covered.
- Stir in the soy sauce, ketchup, and sake.
- Taste the sauce. Add salt as needed. Add broth if the sauce becomes too thick at any point.
- Serve with rice and steamed broccoli.
Notes
The curry freezes well and tastes good after spending a night in the refrigerator.
Either vegetable stock or dashi will work. You can use your own vegan dashi recipe or follow the one suggested below.
To make a dashi broth with profound umami, place 1 dried shiitake mushroom cap and 1 small (2-inch square) piece of dried kombu in a small bowl of warm water. Allow rehydrating for at least 10 minutes. Transfer mushroom cap, kombu, and soaking water to a high-speed blender. Blend on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 2-3 minutes until the broth has a uniform texture. Add water as needed so the volume of liquid is 3 cups.
I recommend mild Madras curry powder. You can make the curry spicier if you like by adding more cayenne.
You can substitute ingredients as you like for the carrot, potato, and broccoli. Cabbage, tofu, tempeh, cauliflower, bok choy, zucchini, sweet potato, mushrooms, tomatoes, corn, and winter squash all work well.
Alternatively, you can subtract the carrot, potato, and broccoli and use the curry sauce as a topping for many things. A crispy-pan fried veggie burger patty, for example.
Shown in the photo are roasted portobello mushroom caps. They pair beautifully with the curry.
Spinach works well as an addition in any case - add it just before the soy sauce, sake, and ketchup.
Try some shredded plant-based cheese on the curry. It’s a surprisingly nice pairing.
The garnish shown in the photos is fukujinzuke. It is a mixture of pickled vegetables that goes perfectly with curry.