Japanese Curry Rice (Kare Raisu)
Chicken thighs, potatoes and carrots simmered in broth and thickened at the end with a homemade curry roux of butter, flour, warm spices and miso, served the Japanese way: rice on one side of the bowl, curry on the other.
Curry rice is one of Japan's everyday comfort foods, but it is yoshoku, Western-style cooking, not something that came straight from India. Wikipedia says curry appeared in Japanese cookbooks in 1872, most likely introduced by the British Royal Navy, and was a luxury in Western-style restaurants through the Meiji period (1868 to 1912). The Government of Japan's Highlighting Japan magazine (April 2026) tells the navy story: in the 1880s the Imperial Japanese Navy was plagued by beriberi, a vitamin B1 deficiency common on a diet of white rice, and navy surgeon Takaki Kanehiro's diet reforms introduced a dish inspired by the British Navy, meat and vegetables simmered, thickened and served over rice; the navy's official cooking manual of 1908 printed curry rice recipes.
The same article says retired sailors are thought to have carried the taste home, that Yokosuka, a navy port, has promoted "Kaigun (Navy) Curry" since 1999, and that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force serves curry every Friday at sea to keep track of the days. Wikipedia adds the milestones that made it a home dish: domestic curry powder in 1905, school lunches in 1948, block-shaped instant roux in 1950 and House Foods' apple-and-honey Vermont Curry in 1963. How much the navy spread it to civilians is DISPUTED (see the rules below).
Why it works the kitchen science
A light roux
ATK stops the flour at pale golden because a darker roux thickens less; the result is the glossy, spoon-coating curry Japanese cooks get from a store-bought brick.
Sweet-savory seasoning
A little sugar and miso in the roux, plus soy and Worcestershire at the end, give the mild, rounded flavor Japanese curry is known for, with no chile heat required.
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the roux: stir the sugar, spices, garlic powder and pepper together in a small bowl. Melt the butter in an 8-inch skillet over low heat, take it off the heat and whisk in the flour until smooth. Return to medium heat and cook, whisking often, 3 to 4 minutes, until pale golden brown. Off the heat, whisk in the spice mix, then the miso. Scrape into a small container and refrigerate about 30 minutes, until set.
- Step 2
Toss the chicken with 1 tsp salt. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring often, about 8 minutes, until browned. Add the ginger and garlic and stir 30 seconds.
- Step 3
Add the chicken and cook, stirring often, about 3 minutes, until no longer pink on the outside. Stir in the potatoes and carrots, add the broth and bring to a simmer over high heat.
- Step 4
Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender (the chicken will be well past 165°F; check one piece).
- Step 5
Add the set roux, soy sauce and Worcestershire. Let the roux melt about 1 minute, then stir gently, scraping the bottom, and simmer about 3 minutes, until the curry thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 6
Spoon rice onto one half of each shallow bowl and ladle curry beside it. Top with scallion and serve with pickles, pickled ginger or lemon.
Japanese Curry Rice (Kare Raisu)
Serves 4 · about 6 cups curry plus 4 cups rice · 1 hr total
Curry roux (half of ATK's brick recipe)
- 3/4 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 3/4 tsp ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp each ground cardamom, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, ground fennel, ground fenugreek and garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp ground brown mustard
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp white miso
Curry
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
- 2 2/3 cups chicken broth
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
To serve
- 4 cups cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced on the bias
- Fukujinzuke (Japanese curry pickles), pickled ginger or lemon wedges
Method
- Make the roux: stir the sugar, spices, garlic powder and pepper together in a small bowl. Melt the butter in an 8-inch skillet over low heat, take it off the heat and whisk in the flour until smooth. Return to medium heat and cook, whisking often, 3 to 4 minutes, until pale golden brown. Off the heat, whisk in the spice mix, then the miso. Scrape into a small container and refrigerate about 30 minutes, until set.
- Toss the chicken with 1 tsp salt. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring often, about 8 minutes, until browned. Add the ginger and garlic and stir 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and cook, stirring often, about 3 minutes, until no longer pink on the outside. Stir in the potatoes and carrots, add the broth and bring to a simmer over high heat.
- Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender (the chicken will be well past 165°F; check one piece).
- Add the set roux, soy sauce and Worcestershire. Let the roux melt about 1 minute, then stir gently, scraping the bottom, and simmer about 3 minutes, until the curry thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon rice onto one half of each shallow bowl and ladle curry beside it. Top with scallion and serve with pickles, pickled ginger or lemon.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Kare Raisu (Japanese Curry Rice with Chicken)" by Lan Lam (published October 2, 2023), serves 4: with half of her "Japanese Curry-Roux Bricks" (same date). The spice blend, the pale golden roux cooked 3 to 4 minutes, the miso, the 8-minute browned onion, the 20-minute simmer and the soy and Worcestershire finish are ATK's. We make a half batch of roux instead of a full brick to halve; ATK checks the chicken by color, and its 20-minute simmer takes 1-inch pieces well past 165°F. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- The full brick recipe makes two 4-ounce bricks; ATK says they keep a week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
- Store-bought curry roux blocks can replace the homemade roux; they are already salted, so taste before adding salt.
- Katsu curry, curry poured over a fried pork or chicken cutlet, is the classic restaurant upgrade; ATK has a version.
- Yokosuka's navy curry is served with a salad and a glass of milk on the side (Highlighting Japan).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- The British Navy brought curry to Japan. Disputed: Highlighting Japan says the navy dish was "inspired by the British Navy", and Wikipedia says the Royal Navy "most likely" introduced it; Wikipedia also says it may have spread through the Imperial Japanese Army's mess halls instead, and notes curry rice was on an Army academy menu in 1873.
- Sailors spread curry to the rest of Japan. Disputed: Highlighting Japan says retired servicemen "are thought to have" brought it home; naval researcher Naoshi Takamori, cited by Wikipedia, argues the military took curry from civilian cooking, not the other way around.
- Curry prevented beriberi. Documented as the purpose of the navy's diet reforms (Highlighting Japan); Wikipedia credits curry as a quick source of thiamine.
- The navy serves curry on Fridays. Documented (Highlighting Japan): the Maritime Self-Defense Force serves it every Friday at sea to mark the days of the week.
- William S. Clark coined "curry rice". Folklore: Wikipedia says the 1873 Army menu predates him.
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