Vegetarian Japanese Curry with Homemade Roux

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (42 g), for the roux
• 4 tbsp plain flour (30 g)
• 1 tbsp Japanese curry powder (6 g)
• 1 tbsp garam masala (6 g)
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 onion (280 g), cut into wedges
• 1 carrot (85 g), cut into chunks
• 2 Yukon Gold potatoes (260 g), cut into chunks
• ⅛ kabocha squash (140 g, seeded), cut into chunks
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 3 cups vegetable broth (720 ml)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Japanese eggplant (115 g), sliced
• 1 bell pepper, half red and half yellow (220 g), cut into pieces
• 8 asparagus spears (140 g), cut into lengths
• 4 king oyster mushrooms (140 g), thickly sliced
• ½ pack shimeji mushrooms (100 g), separated
• 4 button mushrooms (60 g), sliced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter (13 g), for the mushrooms
• kosher salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 apple (220 g), grated
• 1 tomato (150 g), cut into wedges
• cooked Japanese short-grain rice, about 180 g a serve, to serve

Method

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1. Make the roux: melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook on low 12–15 minutes, stirring, until chocolate-brown. Stir in the curry powder, garam masala and cayenne, then set aside. 1:13
2. In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion, potatoes, kabocha and carrot in 1 tbsp oil, add the ginger, cover and steam on low 15–20 minutes until nearly tender. 4:05
3. Add the broth and bay leaf, bring to the boil, skim, cook 3 minutes, then turn off the heat. 4:47
4. Meanwhile pan-fry the eggplant in 1 tbsp oil until brown, and sauté the pepper and asparagus in the last 1 tbsp oil 6–7 minutes. Sauté the mushrooms in the butter about 4 minutes. Season each with salt and pepper. 5:19
5. Add the cooked vegetables and mushrooms to the pot, keeping a few colourful pieces for the top. Dissolve the roux in ladles of hot broth and stir it back in; simmer gently until thick. 6:31
6. Grate in the apple, adjust the salt, and add the tomato last. Serve over the rice, topped with the reserved vegetables. 7:21

Tip. For a vegan version, use plant butter or oil in the roux and for the mushrooms, as the cook suggests. Leftover curry keeps about 3 days in the fridge.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.