Japanese Curry Roux is the key behind the comfortable rooster curry rice many people grew up consuming in Japan. With this easy home made recipe, you can also make the blocks forward of time, skip components, and modify the spice stage to your liking. It’s your shortcut to wealthy, flavorful curry everytime you want a fast, satisfying meal.
In case you’re searching for extra methods to make use of curry roux, strive my Japanese Rooster Curry, Curry Udon, and Japanese Beef Curry subsequent!
What’s Japanese Curry Roux?
First offered in block type in 1956, Japanese Curry Roux (カレールー) is a mix of browned butter, flour, and heat spices pressed right into a agency slab, which dissolves into broth and transforms it into curry sauce. Manufacturers like S&B Golden Curry and Vermont Curry turned weeknight curry rice right into a beloved family meal.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Made with all-natural components – No chemical seasonings, preservatives, or synthetic flavors.
- Simple to customise on your most popular style and spice stage, plus it’s unsalted.
- Newbie-friendly! This is likely one of the easiest DIY recipes, and I used to be stunned by how straightforward it was the primary time I made it.
Elements for Japanese Curry Roux
Discover the printable recipe with measurements under.
Substitutions
- Unsalted butter: I like so as to add salt later when cooking my curry sauce, so I exploit unsalted butter for the roux. In case you use salted butter, cut back the quantity of salt you add to the curry.
- S&B Japanese curry powder: This gentle, barely candy curry powder is my favourite model. Yow will discover it on Amazon or at Japanese markets. In case you can’t get it, strive my home made Japanese Curry Powder recipe. Different curry powders work too, however they gained’t give the identical genuine Japanese taste.
- Garam masala: A warming Indian spice combine with cardamom, cloves, cumin, coriander, turmeric, nutmeg, and black pepper. In case you don’t have it, you need to use the person spices or add extra curry powder as an alternative.
The best way to Make Japanese Curry Roux
Cook dinner
- Construct the bottom. Soften butter in a saucepan over medium warmth and stir in flour with a wood spoon to mix.
- Combine and cook dinner it for 20–25 minutes till golden brown (see the following step to see the golden brown coloration).
- Add the spices, then whisk and cook dinner for 30 seconds.
Assemble
- Mould the combination in an hermetic glass or steel container lined with parchment paper. Cool, then refrigerate in a single day to solidify.
- Minimize the agency roux into cubes the following day and retailer in a glass container till prepared to make use of.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Brown it patiently. A deep coloration means richer, nutty, caramel notes in your curry. Hold the warmth reasonable and provides it the total 20–25 minutes.
- Stir always. Roux can scorch in seconds. Use a wood spoon to start out and change to a whisk if the butter begins to separate.
- Add cayenne sparingly. The warmth will intensify because the cubes dissolve and simmer, so begin with much less and modify to style.
- Season on the finish. This roux is salt-free. Whenever you cook dinner your Japanese curry, style the sauce after you combine within the roux and add salt (about 2–4 teaspoons per full block) to style.
Variations and Customizations
- Dairy-free: Swap in vegan butter.
- Gluten-free: Use a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour mix.
- Additional depth: Sauté minced garlic, ginger, or onion earlier than including the flour.
- Thicker sauce: Enhance butter and flour in equal quantities for a heartier dice.
The best way to Use Japanese Curry Roux in Your Recipe
- How a lot to make use of: I discover that 6–7 cubes per 4 cups (1 liter) of broth/water is about proper. That is equal to at least one field of store-bought curry roux that calls for a similar quantity of liquid.
- Add to your curry pot: Dissolve the roux, 1 or 2 cubes at a time, in a ladleful of sizzling broth earlier than releasing it to the pot. If the home made roux hasn’t solidified but, you may add it on to the broth.
- Thicken: Simmer over low warmth for 5–10 minutes. If it doesn’t thicken, add extra roux. It’s potential that the veggies in your recipe launched further moisture, so please modify based mostly on the components you’re cooking.
- Modify the seasoning: Style the curry after the roux is absolutely dissolved and integrated, ideally after 3–5 minutes of simmering. Add the salt or spice to your liking. This home made roux recipe doesn’t comprise any salt.
What to Make with Japanese Curry Roux
With the home made curry roux, you may cook dinner a myriad of Japanese curry recipes anytime:
Storage Suggestions
To retailer: Hold cubes within the fridge for as much as 1 month or freeze for 3–4 months.
Continuously Requested Questions
Too little roux, extra liquid, or watery greens can preserve it runny. Typical veggies embody carrots, potatoes, and onions. Stir in one other dice and simmer till the sauce coats the again of a spoon
Six to seven home made cubes equal one store-bought field designed for 4 cups (1 liter) of broth.
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
To Make a Brown Roux
-
In a small saucepan, soften 3.5 oz unsalted butter over medium-low warmth (you too can add cubed butter and begin with medium warmth, so it melts sooner).
-
When the butter is totally melted, add 3.5 oz all-purpose flour (plain flour). With a blunt-end wood spatula, stir to mix the butter and flour.
-
Quickly, the butter and flour will fuse and swell. For the following 20–25 minutes, management the range’s warmth to round medium-low warmth, and stir always as a result of the roux burns simply. Nami’s Tip: If the roux begins separating, change to a whisk and blend vigorously.
-
The roux will flip golden brown rapidly towards the top. See the “brown roux” coloration within the subsequent step. Nami’s Tip: Cooking the flour in butter till golden removes its uncooked, starchy style and provides a heat, toasty taste that makes your curry richer and smoother.
To Make the Curry Roux
-
Add 4 Tbsp Japanese curry powder, 1 Tbsp garam masala, and ½ tsp cayenne pepper (non-compulsory) to the roux. Tip: In case you can‘t discover garam masala, you may add extra curry powder or particular person garam masala spices as a substitute.
-
Cook dinner and stir for 30 seconds and take away from the warmth. You need to use the roux instantly (see the directions under) or mildew it right into a block.
To Mould right into a Block (in a single day)
-
Switch the roux to a glass or steel container lined with parchment paper. Let it cool fully on the kitchen counter, then refrigerate to solidify in a single day.
-
The subsequent day, take out the curry block from the container. If the curry block will get caught to the container, launch it with a butter knife or an offset spatula.
-
With a pointy knife, lower the block into 8 cubes, about 1 x 1 inch (2.5 x 2.5 cm) every. Switch the curry roux squares to a glass container.
To Use in a Curry Recipe
-
Essential! Please season your remaining dish with extra salt, because the home made roux is unsalted. I often add 2–4 tsp salt per serving (one block) to the broth of my curry sauce recipe. Retailer-bought curry roux is kind of salty, so it’s possible you’ll need to add extra salt to realize an analogous style.
-
Add the roux cubes or curry roux combination (earlier than it solidifies) to the broth of your curry recipe. Comply with the recipe directions on when so as to add it. Attempt it in recipes like my Rooster Curry, Prompt Pot Curry, Vegetarian Curry, Beef Curry, Keema Curry, and Curry Udon.
-
How a lot roux ought to we use? Roughly 6–7 cubes of this recipe are equal to at least one field of store-bought curry roux (that requires 4 cups or 1L of broth/water). Simmer over low warmth for five–10 minutes. Warmth will thicken the roux.
-
If the curry taste is missing or the curry doesn’t thicken, add extra roux. Whenever you add meat and/or veggies, they launch extra moisture to the broth; due to this fact, you have to to regulate the quantity of roux you employ in keeping with what you’re cooking.
- Completely different garam masala blends can differ considerably in depth and taste profile, so modify the quantity to style!
Serving: 1block (8 cubes), Energy: 1175kcal, Carbohydrates: 92g, Protein: 15g, Fats: 86g, Saturated Fats: 52g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g, Monounsaturated Fats: 22g, Trans Fats: 3g, Ldl cholesterol: 213mg, Sodium: 26mg, Potassium: 520mg, Fiber: 13g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 3132IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 155mg, Iron: 12mg
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @justonecookbook on Instagram so we will see your scrumptious creation!
Editor’s Word: This publish was initially printed on March 18, 2013. A video and new pictures had been added in August 2018. The recipe was revised and up to date with recent pictures and content material on October 20, 2021. It was republished once more with extra useful content material on August 28, 2025.
