After discovering the insane number of funky ingredients in the pre-made Japanese curry cubes, I decided to make my own vegan Japanese curry from scratch using whole ingredients. I also made a baked katsu tofu to replace the traditional deep fried Katsu chicken! This meal can be made gluten-free too and is super hearty and delicious and definitely much healthier than one made using the pre-made pastes!
It definitely took quite a few ingredients to get the same flavour profile as the Japanese curry that I love, but the outcome is super yummy and reminiscent of the real thing!
Here is the recipe:
VEGAN JAPANESE CURRY SAUCE
Serves: 2-4
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 large onion, diced
- ¼ of an apple, peeled
- 2 tablespoons of rice bran oil
- 4 tablespoons of curry powder
- ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 4 teaspoons of garlic paste
- 2 teaspoons of ginger paste
- 2 tablespoons of white miso paste
- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup of water
- 4 teaspoons of soy sauce or tamari
- 2 teaspoons of mirin
- 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
- 2 cups of diced vegetables ( I used carrots, mushrooms & capsicum)
Method:
1) Rinse and drain 1 cup of rice and cook using your preferred method.
2)Chop the carrots, mushrooms and capsicum into rough chunks
3)In a small food processor/blender, puree the onion and apple
4)In a pot on medium heat, briefly fry the curry powder and paprika in the oil.
5)Add in the onion apple puree, along with the garlic, ginger, miso and fry until fragrant.
6)Add in the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar and water. Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes.
7)Add in the chopped carrots, mushrooms and capsicum. Cook the curry on medium-low heat for a further 15 -20 minutes until the veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.
8)Serve the curry with rice, katsu tofu and I also added some stirfried bok choy for some greens! .
KATSU TOFU
Ingredients:
- 300g firm tofu
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds + 6 tablespoons of water)
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of panko crumbs or breadcrumbs ( you can use cornmeal for GF)
- 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon of dried parsley
METHOD:
1)Preheat the oven to 160 ℃ / 320℉ . Line a baking tray with non-stick parchment paper.
2)Get two bowls: In one bowl make your flax eggs and season them with salt.
3)In the other bowl: combine the panko crumbs, nutritional yeast and dried parsley
4)Slice the firm tofu into small rectangular steaks.
5)Dip the tofu into the flax egg mixture, then immediately into the crumb mixture
6)Arrange onto the prepared baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway, until the tofu is nicely golden and crunchy on the outside. Remove from oven.
Serve with curry, in sandwiches, wraps or just simply dip it in your favourite sauce!
Enjoy guys!
