japanese curry bread (カレーパン);
Japanese curry bread takes Japanese-style curry and tucks it into a savory pocket of dough, usually fried. But let’s start with the curry. Japanese curry is one of those undiscovered, underrated meals that I absolutely adore. The best way to describe traditional curry rice is a thick stew gravy with chunks of vegetables, potatoes, and meat. It’s often served over rice, and called curry rice (カレ-ライス) and can be served spicy or mild. Now take a slightly chunkier version of curry and stuff a fried bun full of the delicious savory filling. You can get kare pan curry buns (カレーパン) at many bakeries and French pastry shops in Japan, and the crunchy savory doughnut-like pastry is the perfect handheld snack or lunch.
I was surprised when I studied abroad in Japan that curry was a Japanese staple. Of course when you think about it for more than a minute, Japan is much closer to India than the US. So it makes sense that colonization and travel between India and Japan might result in sharing of cultural cuisines.
Living in America, I’ve found the common conception is that Japanese people eat sushi for most meals, and they couldn’t be more wrong. Sushi is typically a special occasion meal, and eaten relatively rarely. One survey says 60% of those surveyed enjoy sushi once every one-four months. So when you set aside sushi, what other delicious Japanese meals are we overlooking in America that we could be enjoying? The answer? Well if you’ve never had japanese curry bread (カレーパン) then you’re missing out!
Honestly, the recipe for curry is pretty simple. The key is to acquire Japanese curry stock cubes to get that hearty, delicious Japanese curry flavor. You can toss in whatever you like to your curry. This time around I made a vegetarian version, so was so grateful to okonomikitchen‘s original recipe to build off of! I used soy chorizo as the main protein. To that I added potatoes, onion, and carrots. I’ve also added peas and corn before for some extra color.
If you’re not feeling soy chorizo, or find it hard to find in your area, any ground meat will do. While traditional Japanese curry can be made with chunks of beef or chicken, I prefer ground meat for Japanese curry bread. Because they’re handheld, I don’t want any one ingredient to be too big and get in the way of a reasonable bite. Some options you could try include ground beef, ground pork, ground turkey.
The biggest investment in this recipe is making the dough for the buns and frying it up. I’ll also share options for baking. Of course, any recipe involving yeast means a little bit of TLC and waiting around for the yeast to do its thing. I like to use a breadmaker for the dough because it saves me a couple of steps, but it’s easy enough to do by hand. No breadmaker required. You’ll still make tasty Japanese curry bread.
Once you have your curry and it’s cooled off, and your dough has risen, it’s time to assemble and cook. Heat your frying oil to 350 or preheat the oven. The key to successfully frying is to watch your items closely. Don’t overcrowd the pan. This serves two purposes. First, it means your buns will fry evenly to achieve that perfect golden gl brown color. Second, it helps keep the oil temperature consistent. When you add items to the hot oil it brings the temperature down. So if you add too many to the pan at once, it can mess with your frying temps.
secrets to success;
- You want a thick and chunky curry filling for this Japanese curry bread. This will allow you to easily fill and roll the buns and also makes for easier eating. When you finish cooking you want a thick curry that clumps when you push it around the pan. The curry will continue to thicken as it cools, but when frying it will loosen again to be closer to texture fresh out of the pan.
- Japanese curry roux and spiciness. My preferred brand of Japanese curry roux cubes is Golden Curry, and I’m able to find boxes at my local asian and international markets. Golden curry makes different levels of spiciness: mild, medium hot, and extra hot (there may actually be other levels, but these are the most common I’ve seen.) I prefer the mild especially when using soy chorizo because the chorizo adds it’s own level of spiciness.
Check out more of my favorite Japanese recipes that you can make yourself at home!
- chocolate chip melon pan (メロンパン) is another bakery staple. A light fluffy sweet bread with a thin crunchy cookie layer on top. These guys are delicious!
- This savory seafood pancake is an umami bomb waiting for your mouth: hiroshima okonomiyaki.
- Crunchy tempura shrimp make for a great lunch when you make shrimp tempura bowls;
Want to visit Japan? Check out the ultimate travel guide to get started on planning your trip.
japanese curry bread (カレーパン);
Ingredients
curry filling;
- 6 oz ground meat (like soy chorizo, pork, or beef)
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup carrots, diced
- ⅓ cup potatoes, diced
- 2 cubes Japanese curry roux
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1½ cup water
- 1 Tbsp oil
dough;
- 3 cups bread flour
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp yeast
fry;
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup water
- 48 oz canola oil (or preferred frying oil)
Instructions
curry filling;
- Dice and prep all ingredients. Add 1 Tbsp oil to a pan over medium high heat. Add the chopped potatoes, chopped carrots, minced garlic, and diced onions and cook until the onions are almost translucent, approx 5-7 minutes.
- Add the ground meat, crumbling it up and cook for a minute or until browned. Add 1½ cups water, 1 Tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp garam marsala, and crumble 2 cubes curry roux into the mixture. Stir to combine.
- Cover with a lid and reduce to low heat, cooking until potatoes are cooked through. It should be thick, but will thicken more as it cools. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl or container and allow to cool. Refrigerate after cooling.
dough;
- Bread machine: Add all ingredients to your bread machine, and select the "dough" setting. Let it run until primary fermentation is done.
- By hand: Add all ingredients except butter to a medium bowl, and mix together until a shaggy dough forms. Sprinkle a tiny bit of flour onto your work surface and turn out the dough. Knead until the dough comes together and starts to feel smooth. Add the butter to the dough and knead it in. Once the dough is smooth, shape into a ball. Add to a bowl and cover, allowing to proof for 30-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Flatten the dough to remove air bubbles and then portion into 12 even portions. Give them a quick knead, then allow them to rest for 10 minutes to allow gluten to relax. Grab the cooled curry filling.
- Grab a portion of dough and roll it out into an oval, roughly hand-sized. Add the filling to the top half and bring the bottom half up and over the filling. Take care to squeeze out any extra air, and pinch together the seams. Make sure to keep the filling from touching the edges. Once sealed, place on a plate or silicone mat and cover with a damp paper towel to keep them moist. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
fry*;
- Begin by adding oil to a deep dish or pan over medium heat. Bring the oil to roughly 350°. You can check this by using a thermometer or dropping a few panko crumbs in and seeing if they start to bubble and fry.
- Add panko crumbs to a shallow dish. Brush or spray water around each of the formed curry breads. Roll in panko crumbs to coat. Set aside and cover with a damp towel while repeating for the remaining breads.
- (Optional) Wait 15-20 minutes for a second rise.
- Once oil has come to temp, add the curry buns. Add only 2-3 at a time, to prevent crowding and too much of a temperature drop. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a metal rack to allow excess oil to drip off. Repeat for remaining buns. Serve warm!
