Easy Curry Beef Rice Bowls Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

FAQs

What is the best beef to use for a curry? ›

Chuck Steak

Chuck is juicy, flavourful, and versatile with the fatty juices providing a rich, delicious curry. Plus, the chuck steak is easy to cut into small pieces, so it cooks quickly and evenly.

Recommended beef cuts for Japanese curry: Beef chuck or shoulder: These cuts are commonly used in Japanese curry due to their balance of tenderness and robust flavor. They break down beautifully during cooking, infusing the curry with their rich taste.

Tough cuts of beef that are typically used in stews have lots of collagen, which is what makes them so tough. Collagen turns into gelatin when exposed to heat (and moisture) for a sufficiently long time. Typically this means cooking it for several hours on a low heat.

Blade steak can also be used. Chilli is optional. I find that cooking this curry and eating it a couple of days later tastes even better. This recipe was photographed by Greer Worsley for Best Recipes.

Tip in the tomatoes, stock and sugar and bring to the simmer. Add the beef, put a lid on top of the curry and cook over a low heat for 1 ½ – 2 hrs or until the meat is tender and falling apart. Remove the lid for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

The curry-making process begins by chopping the vegetables and meat, followed by sautéing them in oil and butter. The meat will brown and the onions will soften. As soon as this occurs, add water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for about twenty minutes, or longer if more tender meat is desired.

The sauce is thickened by a roux (a mixture of fat and flour and an addition of curry spices). You can find many variations of Japanese curries, ranging from regions to households, but the most basic one uses chicken, which is the recipe I'm sharing here.

For one, Japanese curry uses curry powder with less spices whereas Indian curry uses a variety of bases such as cumin, paprika, turmeric, and many more. Indian curry is more vibrant and bursting with flavor, while Japanese curry is sumptuous and “umami” but in a more understated manner.

The curry base is made with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, red chilli powder and garam masala. I prefer to go with potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, cauliflower, corn and bell peppers. Though you can use other veggies like baby corn, sweet potato and broccoli, the curry will have different flavors.

How do you get the strong taste out of curry? ›

Adding citrus or vinegar provides a tangy flavor that balances the heat. Yogurt or sour cream can cool down the curry. Adding a pinch of sugar or ketchup can counteract the spiciness. Starchy foods like potatoes or rice can absorb heat.

Waxy potatoes like Yukon gold, white potatoes and russet potatoes are best for curry. However any other kind of potatoes are okay if you cook them just until fork tender so they retain their shape. Avoid using new potatoes.

Beef has long been one of the favourite meats to pair up with curry sauces and these classics are sure to show you why.

Beef, pork, and chicken are the most popular meat choices. Katsu curry is a breaded deep-fried cutlet (tonkatsu; usually pork or chicken) with Japanese curry sauce. Curry originates in Indian cuisine and was brought to Japan from India by the British.

Beef is sought after and popular in Japanese curry along with onions, carrots and potatoes. That's classic comfort food for most of them. However, pretty much any protein is great in a curry. Try it with chicken or pork.

For this red curry beef, we're calling for a chuck roast. It's the same cut of beef you'd use to make pot roast—it is cut from the shoulder of a cow—and we love it because it's inexpensive and, with a little slow cooking, it becomes meaty and tender.