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Japanese-Style Chicken and Vegetable Curry
Japanese curry is wildly popular, including outside Japan. Some restaurants specialize in the dish, offering dozens of iterations, from basic beef curry to fried cutlets and croquettes with curry, hamburger curry, even curried omelets. At home, Japanese curry typically is made using commercially produced “bricks,” which are seasonings mixed with a roux and packaged much like bars of chocolate. Added near the end of cooking, a curry brick, broken into pieces, melts into the mix, seasoning the dish as well as thickening it. Sonoko Sakai, a Los Angeles-based cooking instructor and author of “Japanese Home Cooking,” blends her own curry powder, which she uses to create all-natural, additive-free homemade curry bricks. This recipe is our adaptation of Sakai’s chicken curry. We simplified her curry powder and skipped the brick-making process in favor of a built-in roux for thickening. Serve with steamed short-grain rice or mixed-grain rice and, if you can find it, fukujinzuke, a crunchy, savory-sweet pickle-like condiment that’s commonly offered alongside Japanese curry. Lemon wedges for squeezing are a nice touch, too.
4
Servings
Tip
Don’t worry if the flour sticks to the bottom of the pot and begins to brown. This is normal, and the browning helps build flavor in the curry, but stir constantly and lower the heat if the flour is coloring too quickly. Also, when adding the first 1 cup water, do so in two additions and be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any stuck bits of flour. A rigid wooden spoon is better suited to the task than a flexible silicone spatula.
1 hour
Ingredients
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1
pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
-
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Directions
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01In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper; set aside. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 9 minutes. Push the onion to the edges of the pot, add the chicken to the center and cook, stirring just once or twice, until the chicken is no longer pink on the exterior, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce to medium, then stir the onion into the chicken. Add the garlic, ginger and remaining 3 tablespoons butter, then cook, stirring, until the butter melts. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes; some of the flour will stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the curry powder and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and toasted, 2 to 3 minutes.
Reviews
March 11, 2026
Big payoff for little work!
We really loved this- found it hard to stop eating! Made the homemade curry powder but would also try it with other curry powders in a pinch. Used more chicken and added cut up Napa cabbage towards the end since I had it and wanted some greens. Very easy recipe too. will make often!
December 22, 2025
So good
We always say “that was SO good” after we have this. Delicious and easy and even the kids eat it.
March 17, 2024
So so good!
Liked it so much might experiment with doubling the ingredients next time for more leftovers!
March 13, 2023
This was delicious
I made this for dinner tonight and everyone went for seconds. We loved it. My potatoes took longer to cook so I think next time I will cut it into smaller pieces. I will definitely make it again. Also, I had to add more salt at the end. If you want it hot, you can add pepper flakes. Thanks for the recipe.
January 4, 2023
Delicious, came together in a snap
This was a hit in our house, the recipe came together quickly. Need to do a bit better job managing my heat next time as the onions, flour and curry powder want to scorch. End product was great though, and my family has given it the thumbs up!
I made this last night for dinner. I agree with the earlier post that the flavors are indeed subtle. I did add extra homemade curry powder but could have added more. My husband's ex mother-in-law (she was born in Japan) did make chicken curry but used the store bought curry mix. He liked this curry better than I did. I like spicier foods. If I make this again, I think I would add pepper corns instead of ground black pepper with the other spices before roasting them in the pan. After the addition of soy sauce and mirin, that is what really makes the flavors come out in this dish. I really liked the pickled carrots and daikon along with the dish. I loved the crunch with the curry. I think this is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day after the chicken takes in more of the flavor of the sauce.
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We're vegetarian, so I subbed tofu. Recipe worked great. Flavors were subtler than I expected -- particularly given all the work. But it's a much more sophisticated answer to the premade curry cubes Next time, I'll add more (delicious) curry powder.