Japanese Dry Curry

I am a big fan of Japanese curry and this dry style Japanese curry is one of my favourites. Japanese style curry usually consists of large pieces of meat and veggies in plenty of curry gravy/sauce and this ‘dry’ curry is a quick and easy take on it with ground meat, finer diced veggies and less gravy/sauce. There are plenty of different versions and recipes for Japanese curries using different meats, veggies, curry seasonings and cooking methods and this is a simple outline/template for a Japanese dry curry.
The base of any curry is the gravy/sauce and there are a number of ways of making it. The easiest way is to use a Japanese curry block; they are very popular in Japan and there are a ton of different flavours! (Look for them in an Asian grocery store, the Asian section of your grocery store or online, amazon has them.) The next way is to use a curry powder and to make a roux with butter and flour along with a variety of seasonings to build up that complex curry flavour base. This recipe uses a quicker and simpler method with curry powder and seasonings without the roux.
One aspect of Japanese style curries that I particularly enjoy is an underlying sweetness that balances the heat and spices in the curry. This sweetness often comes from the use of fruit and so I like to add diced or pureed pears or apples to my Japanese curries. In this recipe I have added diced pears along with onions, carrots, potatoes and peas to finish the curry off! Japanese dry curry is commonly served over rice with a garnishing of red pickled radish.

Plenty of veggies!

Or no veggies!