Japanese Curry with Crispy Tofu Katsu

Ingredients

• 2 Yellow onion, sliced thin
• 2 tbsp Canola oil
• 3 Carrots, cut into chunks
• 3 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
• 3 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp All-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp Curry powder
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• 4 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp Low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Apples, grated
• 1 block Extra-firm tofu, pressed, cut into 4 slabs
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 Eggs (large), beaten
• 1 ½ cups Short-grain sushi rice

Method

1. Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until they are soft and deep gold. Japanese curry gets its background sweetness here and nowhere else.
2. Add the carrots, potatoes and broth. Simmer 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
3. Meanwhile make the roux: melt the butter in a small pan, whisk in the flour, and cook 3 minutes to a light tan. Take it off the heat, whisk in the curry powder and garam masala, and let the residual heat bloom them for 30 seconds.
4. Whisk a ladle of the hot broth into the roux, then stir the roux back into the pot. It thickens fast. Add the grated apple and the soy sauce, and simmer 10 minutes.
5. Fry the katsu: dip each tofu slab in beaten egg, press it into the panko on both sides, and pan-fry in a film of oil over medium heat, 3 minutes a side, until deeply golden.
6. Serve rice on one side of a shallow bowl, curry on the other, and the sliced katsu across the middle.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

A grated apple in the pot is the standard Japanese move for that particular fruity roundness, and nobody tastes apple.

🧒 For the kids

This is the mildest curry in the collection — it is a children's food in Japan. Cut the katsu into strips so it can be eaten with fingers.

🥡 Leftovers

Better on day two. Keeps 4 days; freeze the curry without the katsu.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.