[RECIPE] Korean Curry Rice (Kare Rice)
[RECIPE] Korean Curry Rice (Kare Rice)
Make Korean curry rice at home! Enjoy savory, slightly sweet, and spicy flavors in this comforting dish, perfect for easy weeknight dinners!
Ingredients
250 g beef chuck steak (or your choice of meat), (8.8 ounce), diced
1 Tbsp sweet rice wine (mirin)
3/4 cup water , to mix with the curry powder
100 g Korean curry powder (3.5 ounce)
2 Tbsp cooking oil
200 g onion (7 ounce), peeled and cut into large cubes
70 g salted butter (2.5 ounce)
150 g potato (5.3 ounce), peeled and cut into large cubes
120 g carrot (4.2 ounce), peeled and cut into large cubes
4 cups water
steamed rice , to serve
Instructions
In a bowl, marinate the meat with sweet rice wine (mirin), then set it aside for 5 minutes.
In a small jug, combine 3/4 cup of water with the Korean curry powder. Mix well until you achieve a smooth, well-blended mixture.
Preheat a large pot (e.g. dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Then, add the cooking oil and sauté the onions until they turn golden brown.
Add the previously marinated meat to the pot and stir. Cook the meat until it reaches a medium level of doneness, with a slight hint of pink in the center.
Add the butter to the pot and stir until it completely melts and evenly incorporates into the dish.
Add the potato and carrot pieces to the pot, and then pour in 4 cups of water.
Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking uncovered for about 30 minutes, periodically skimming off any bubbles or foam that may form on the surface and discarding them. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Finally, add the prepared curry powder mixture to the pot and stir it in until the curry thickens, which should take around 1 minute.
Serve the curry on a bed of steamed rice with a variety of side dishes to complement the flavors. Some popular side dishes include kimchi, radish kimchi, pickled radish, and a refreshing pickled cucumber. You can store any leftover curry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Have you ever made it with tofu or seitan instead of beef? And how different is Korean curry powder than typical curry powder from the grocery store?
Echoing the other comment. Curry powder and Asian "instant curry" are very different things. That being said, Korean and Japanese curries are very similar. You can find both in powder or "block" roux forms. Ottogi is probably the most common brand of Korean curry mix. S&B being the most common Japanese one. You can find both in most Asian grocery stores.
The main differences is in what's put in. Koreans use more pork or beef short ribs as well as fermented or pickled veggies, like kimchi in as well. But yeah, you can put basically whatever you want in. Tofu especially, we use tofu just as often as other proteins. Kimchi Jigae or Kimchi soup, being one of my favorites.
Not OP, but Japanese S&B curry powder is very different from "standard" curry powder. I'd be willing to bet that in Korea they use a similar powder to Japan.
There's no reason you can't use tofu or seitan. Just make sure you use a decently firm tofu since you'll want it to simmer in the curry for a while to absorb the flavor.
I use the S&B curry powder and it works really well. I actually prefer a mix of the S&B powder with some garam masala (maybe 2:1) but it's also great on its own.
I've never tried seitan, but tofu works very well. I don't see why seitan wouldn't.