Wafuu Curry

I was looking for this recipe for a tart that used almond paste in its crumble topping. I saw it the other day but I don't remember where I saw it. I think it was in a magazine. Good luck finding it since there are SO MANY magazines floating around my house. While looking for the magazine that might hold the golden recipe I came along a Saveur from February 2007 that I never looked through (yes magazines just pile up unread). What an awesome discovery because inside was a recipe for one of my favorite dishes, Japanese curry, also known as wafuu curry! It was my turn to make dinner tonight so I decided to give it a whirl. I went to the market and picked up the veggies that I will need and I happened upon some other lovelies while I was there:
Some imported anchovies from Italy. Look, they are bigger then my finger!
And some gorgeous mixed olives. Yum!

Maybe I'll turn these into a delicious Puttanesca sauce. By the way, La Famiglia DelGrosso makes an awesome puttanesca sauce in a bottle called Uncle Jim's Late Night Puttanesca. Okay now I'm waaaay off track. Back to my wafuu curry. I usually use the instant kind but this recipe taste just as good and is just as easy. Here's my adaptation of Saveur magazine's wafuu curry:


Wafuu Curry (Japanese Curry)
3 c chicken stock
canola oil
1 lb chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used skinless breast but you can use skinless thigh if you like)
3 T butter
1 inch chunk of ginger cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T flour
5 T curry, S&B brand (I used the spicy one)
2 small tomatoes, large dice
1 dried bay leaf
1 medium carrot, medium diced
1 medium potato, medium diced
1 small apple, small diced
honey, soy sauce, salt to taste

1) Simmer chicken stock.
2) Liberally salt and pepper chicken chunks. Toss with a tablespoon of cornstarch. (T= tablespoon t= teaspoon, you all know that right?) Saute in oil until golden brown on all sides. Set aside.
3) In the same pan, melt butter and sweat onions. Add garlic and ginger.
4) Stir in the flour and cook until browned, stirring constantly.
5) Add curry powder and tomato. Slowly add half a cup of chicken stock, whisking vigorously to combine and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Add the rest of the chicken stock slowly while stirring.
6) Add the chicken, onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, potatoes, apples and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
7) Simmer on medium-low until all the carrots and potatoes are soft. Make sure to stir once in a while. If the sauce gets too thick and dry add a little water.
8) Season with honey and soy sauce to taste. The more soy sauce you add the more honey you will need because soy sauce tends to be slightly acidic. Add some salt if you like the sweetness level but think it needs to be more salty.
9) Serve with a short grained rice.