Homemade Japanese Chicken Curry in the Crock Pot. No Flavor Bricks or MSG!

One of my obsessions is Japanese Chicken Curry. It’s thick, creamy and magical. In the Asian section of grocery stores you can buy it in block form. You cook the chicken, potatoes and carrots in water and then melt the bricks in near the end. Buying the bricks is easy and delicious, but there is a downside.

I looked at the nutrition values… Box curry is not that good for you and has an insane amount of sodium and MSG. Therefore, my latest endeavor has been to make curry that tastes just as good without the blocks.

Through experimentation, it is abundantly clear that the best curry powder is S&B curry powder. It is specially made for Japanese curry. I got mine at the Nijiya market in San Francisco. I’m sure you could find it at most Asian markets though, just look in the spices.

Today I tried making it in the crock pot. It turned out wonderful :)

Here is what I did - The full recipe is posted at the bottom

1 lb Chicken Tenderloins, 3 Russet Potatoes, 1 White Onion, 1 C Baby Carrots (I prefer regular carrots but this is what I had on hand), 3 ½ Tb of S&B Curry Powder, 1 Tsp Salt, Pinch of Pepper, Pinch of Cayenne, Pinch of Instant Coffee, Pinch of Cinnamon, 2 Tb Flour, 3 ½ Tb Melted Butter, 1 Tb Katsu Sauce, 2 Tb Cooking Wine, 1 Tb Ketchup, ½ C Unsweetened Apple Sauce, 4 C Chicken Broth -- (Ignore the Worcestershire in the picture, I decided not to add it in the end)

First - Chop up your veggies! I don't cut up my chicken breasts when crock potting but you can chop it if you like. Lay the chicken and veggies in the crock pot, they can wait for a sec while you prepare the sauce. Cover it if you have nosy cats.

Mix your dry sauce ingredients. Curry powder, flour, cayenne, salt, pepper, cinnamon, instant coffee.

Start the broth boiling. Put the dry ingredients in a separate pan and heat on medium till aromatic. Do not overcook!

Add the melted butter, ketchup and katsu sauce.  Stir until it gets kind of crumbly.

Add about 1 Cup of broth to the spice mixture to liquefy it. Once smooth add the rest of the broth. Add in apple sauce and cooking wine. Bring to a boil then simmer until it thickens a bit.  Pour over other crock pot ingredients.

Close, cook on high for 4 1/2 hours.

Voila! Serve with white rice. (I use Jasmine because it’s my favorite) You know you want a bite.

Hubby and I enjoyed our dinner while we watched Return of the King in preparation for The Hobbit coming out in December :)

Homemade Crockpot Japanese Chicken Curry

Ingedients:

1 lb Chicken Tenderloins

3 Russet Potatoes

1 White Onion

1 C Baby Carrots (I prefer regular carrots but this is what I had on hand)

For the Sauce:

3 ½ Tb of S&B Curry Powder

1 Tsp Salt

Pinch of Pepper

Pinch of Cayenne

Pinch of Instant Coffee

Pinch of Cinnamon

2 Tb Flour

3 ½ Tb Butter

1 Tb Katsu Sauce (Can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores)

2 Tb Cooking Wine

1 Tb Ketchup

½ C Unsweetened Apple Sauce

4 C Chicken Broth

Chop potatoes, carrots and onions and place in crock pot. Put chicken on top. For the sauce, boil the broth. In a separate pan combine dry ingredients – Curry Powder, cayenne, coffee, cinnamon, and flour. Heat until aromatic. Add melted butter, ketchup and katsu sauce. Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture becomes slightly crumbly. Add in about a cup of the boiling broth and mix until smooth. Now add the rest of the broth and mix. Put in the apple sauce and white wine. Bring back to a boil, then simmer until the sauce thickens up a bit. Pour sauce over the ingredients in the crock pot. You can add in more broth if you want it more saucy (I added about a half cup more broth) just keep in mind that the chicken will release some of its juices as well while it cooks. Put crock pot on high for about 4 ½ hours. Serve over rice!

And just for fun, I'm 28 weeks pregnant! December 19 is coming up fast!