Dept. of Possibly a Weeabo

[kaffy_r]

I Can Haz Japanese Curry!

Which I made myself, with home-made Japanese curry roux that took about 25 minutes to properly make (butter and flour cooked very slowly, constantly stirring, over low heat for about 22 minutes, and then curry, garam masala and cayenne pepper dumped in and mixed in. I can see why Japanese cooks make extensive use of ready-made curry roux (and I've used it myself), because making it from scratch is time consuming. But I've done it, and I know how to do it now, and that makes me very happy.

All the while, I'm slicing up onions and carefully cutting carrots with a style of cutting that I'm told is called "rangiri" and soaking potatoes, and cutting up the beef (one shortcut; it was the leftover Christmas roast beef that BB had made. It was a slightly tougher roast beef than he was happy with, but as the meat base for curry? Fantastic, and it cut the cooking time for the dish by about 20 minutes.)

Once the thinly sliced onion (which I was able to slice with the mandoline part of an all-in-one salad preparation bowl that my friend Dr. Gonzo gave us for Christmas, and I finally have a workable mandoline, and it makes cutting things up so easy!!!!!) was sauteed down to mush, in went more curry powder, garlic, about two teaspoons of ginger paste, because I didn't have ginger, and ginger paste is much, much easier, and then a cup of red wine and the beef. I let the beef simmer in the wine until the alcohol burned off, then added eight cups of beef broth and the veggies, and let everything boil until the veggies were tender.

Then in went the roux and, voila, the curry thickened right up. Meanwhile, the rice cooker had done its magic, and supper was ready! BB and I joked that our dinner table looked just like the tables of our favorite anime characters. As did the bubbling pot of curry.

I know I'm silly for being giddy about making Japanese style curry, especially since I developed a taste for it by watching loads of anime, but I don't care. It tastes great. (The British brought curry to Japan, which is why there's a culinary connection and similarity in tastes between Japanese and British curry dishes. I learned that while hunting down the recipe.)
Hmmm. Also, in non anime news, BB and I have started watching Legend of Korra. We are greatly impressed, and FB tells me it just keeps getting better. Woo-hoo!

Also, we finally took down the tree and got it to the park district for mulching. Less about what I truly think was about a quarter-pound of needles. That was a very, very, very dry tree by the time we took it out of the house. A vacuum full of needles. I even had to get needles out of the toaster. (Don't ask.)

Off to have a BAM and watch more anime. Because that's how I roll. (Did I mention that I made the curry while dancing around to Brazilian bossanova? I didn't? Well, that's what I did.)

Comments

[promethia_tenk]

Korra is the best.

[kaffy_r]

I'd been bracing for a mediocre start because so many people, even the ones who said it ended up quite awesomely, went on about how bad the first season was. As far as BB and I can tell, it's better than competent, and is extremely good at world-building, which I love. I've gotten fond of Korra within only four episodes, and it took me at least half a season to warm to Ang, so I figure I've got a lot to look forward to.

[promethia_tenk]

I found the first half of the season slow, but I loved it by the end of season one and was really disappointed that the fan response was so negative. I'm hoping with the reactions to the finale more people are going to go back and give it a chance because I've loved the whole thing and I feel like it never got a good chance just because it wasn't TLA.

I warned to Korra a lot faster too <3

[kaffy_r]

I'm the kind of person who loved the first, and only, season of Caprica, precisely because it was slow. I loved the very careful organic world-building and plot-laying. But I am in the very small minority. I've not been bored so far!

[promethia_tenk]

I loved Caprica! Though I confess that I needed a half a season to get into that one too. The world building was incredible, though, as it is on Korra. Actually, the common theme that kept me bored with both of those for as long as I was was probably teenagers.

[st_aurafina]

OMG, I honestly didn't know you could make Japanese curry from scratch - I thought the pre-made melty blocks were what made it Japanese curry.

As someone who makes other curries from scratch, I feel kind of stupid now. And craving Japanese curry.

[kaffy_r]

I thought the pre-made melty blocks were what made it Japanese curry.

Good lord, don't feel stupid! I didn't know, either. I've bought the block stuff (I think the brand I can find around here is "Golden") and it didn't even occur to me that it was actually a pre-made roux, because I don't tend to think in culinary terms. So reading the recipe and how the recipe poster described it was like a "eureka" moment for me.

You should try this one, it's really, really good. I should post the recipe, with credit ... let me find the URL ....

[ljgeoff.livejournal.com]

That sounds very interesting! How much curry did you end up with, because 8c. of broth has me wondering.

[kaffy_r]

How much curry did you end up with,

I believe the Japanese term for the amount actually dovetails with the classic Western culinary term which, in my experience, is called a "shiton."

We'll be eating it throughout the week. Actually, it was good enough that I had to refrain from having some for breakfast. It's also good enough that the left over aroma from cooking it didn't bother me when I got up. As I've gotten older and my sense of smell has gotten, apparently, more acute, I can detect cooking odors long after the cooking is done, and it generally makes me feel as if I'm being smothered. With this stuff, I don't mind.

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

Yay, cooking!

I've been hearing lots of good things about Legend of Korra lately, I hope you have lots of fun watching!

[kaffy_r]

Yay, cooking, indeed; it's something I actively enjoy.

We're four episodes into Korra and I haven't been disappointed yet. One thing I am extremely impressed by is the world-building. The creators of Avatar obviously sat down and asked, "How would this world develop if there were 75-80 years of peace?" Then they put their collective answers together in a very believable way.

[eve11]

That sounds good! Do they use regular flour or mochiko (sweet rice flour) for the roux?

I have heard good things about Korra but I'm still only on s2 of Avatar :)

[kaffy_r]

Do they use regular flour or mochiko (sweet rice flour) for the roux?

They just use regular flour, which makes me quite happy. I've never used other flours, and I'd probably muck recipes calling for non-wheat based flour completely up.

I'm still only on s2 of Avatar

You're in for a treat as it goes on, and s3 is amazing.

[vourxz.livejournal.com]

Japanese food is awesome same thing happened here with the whole watching anime and wanting to cook I 😔 really wish they would invent streaming food already my egg sandwhich looks a little depressed next to your definition of curry 😔 makes me wish I had a stove.

[kaffy_r]

Heh. I like the idea of streaming food. But don't look down on your egg sandwich - I happen to consider egg salad sandwiches one of my prime comfort foods. My Best Beloved cannot stand egg salad, so it's become a relative rarity in our house, and I miss it.

And I don't know what it is about anime, or various strains of Japanese culture, but they seem to have a real love for making food, and sharing food, a part of many plots. I don't mind at all!

Well until them

[vourxz.livejournal.com]

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<o.o> -gives half of my egg sandwhich awkwardly my version of streaming food it was actually really good :P
yeah and love the whole idea of sharing food and making it its just you know awesome ...we dont really do that here where im from we kinda just stare at each others lunch awkwardly our idea of a conversation.

Guy 1: stares awkwardly at a girls lunch box.

Girl1: what?

Guy 1: that egg?

Girl1: yeah and?

Guy 1: o.o cool .

see what I mean? :P

Re: Well until them

[kaffy_r]

Heh - there's definitely a cultural difference, isn't there?

Re: Well until them

[vourxz.livejournal.com]

Yeah 😃 thnx for replying interesting talking to you

Re: Well until them

[kaffy_r]

:)

[honorh.livejournal.com]

Kare! My favorite Japanese comfort food. Sometimes, after a long day, when I didn't feel like cooking, I'd drop in to Hokka-Hokka Tei, a bento shop, and order curry with rice and panko-breaded shrimp. I desperately need to find a Japanese place that sells something similar here.

[kaffy_r]

curry with rice and panko-breaded shrimp.

OOOoo, that sounds wonderful! I like the idea of bento shops, too. (Did you know there's an anime out there from several years back, about epic battles between high school kids over the left-over bento boxes they can get for half price at one bento shop. It's completely over-the-top, surrealistically, gleefully incomprehensible. That's another thing I love about anime - they can make it about any thing they want to, and they'll pull it together enough for your to get emotionally invested.)

[thisbluespirit]

It sounds very nice - congrats on culinary success! :-)

[kaffy_r]

Oh, it was quite lovely - as I said to ljgeoff above, I had to fight the temptation to eat it for breakfast!

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

OMG...you need to feed me again!

*HUGS*

[kaffy_r]

Heh ... I should probably put the recipe up (with credit to the lady who posted it first), to share the yummyness.

Or do you spell it yumminess? Hmmmm.

*hugs right back*

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Yay, cooking! And I heard great things about Legend of Korra, it sounds really good :)

[kaffy_r]

So far Legend of Korra is everything I'd hoped for, and more!

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! :D