To the Land of the Rising Sun

Japanese Pork Curry

My Son introduced me to Japanese curry a few years ago..when he mentioned the curry “came in a box” I was rather apprehensive on how much I would appreciate what a few cubes of curry could actually do! This does take a bit of time as you have to slowly braise the pork shoulder first’ which takes a couple of hours, but the end result is a deeply satisfying, thick medium curry that is as filling as it is rewarding! You can buy the little box of curry cubes from an Asian supermarket, they are inexpensive and 1 box contains enough to make this dish twice.

Japanese Pork Curry

Servings: 3-4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2.5 Hours
Difficulty: Medium
Rating: *****
Print

A delicious, deep flavoured curry

Ingredients

1 x 3 pound pork shoulder
1 TBSP Kosher salt
1Tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsps vegetable oil
4 Cups of Chicken stock
1 TBSP vegetable oil
2 medium carrots cut into 1″ pieces
2 or 3 large russet potatoes cut into large chunks
1 large onion also cut into large chunks

Meat and Curry

The braised pork
4 cubes of Japanese curry (shown in above photo), I use medium
1/2 Cup of whole milk (optional to add a little creaminess if desired)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F
Debone the pork, trim of excess fat and cut into 2″ cubes
Season the pork all over with the salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch Oven pot on medium high heat. Add the vegetable oil and coat the bottom of the dish. Add half of the the pork chunks and sear on all sides. Keep moving the pork around the dish as it browns. It should be seared and ready in 15 minutes. Remove the pork and repeat with the remainder of the pork chunks.
Once both batches are cooked, return the pork to the dish, add 3 cups of the chicken stock and stir well to remove any bits from the bottom of the dish. Add the lid and place into the warmed oven for 2 hours.
Remove the braised pork from the oven. Put the pork onto a plate and reserve the remaining broth.
Heat a large non stick Wok on medium high heat, add the vegetable oil when heated enough.
Add the carrots and potatoes, stir and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Add the onion to the wok and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Now add the braised pork and mix in well with the vegetables.
Add the remaining broth and another 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken stock to the wok and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
Add the 4 curry cubes and stir constantly to break them all up, they will start to ‘melt’ after a minute or so! If you like your curry to be a little creamier, then add the milk to the wok now ( I actually do not use the milk).
Simmer for 5 minutes or so to finish.
Use a large wooden spoon and serve onto warmed plates.

To Serve: I serve my curry with some steamed rice and Japanese pickled sushi ginger (see in above photo)