Japanese Golden Curry Dupe with Tofu Katsu (V)
The thoughts of Japanese curry bring me back to my childhood where my family of five came home after a long day, hungry for a hearty, warm, comforting home-cooked meal. My mom would always have golden curry boxes on hand for nights where she was too tired after work to make something extravagant but eating this still left us full and satisfied. Honestly, I didn’t know until college that the curry my mom made was packaged. It’s no wonder she was able to whip up an entire pot of curry almost once a week within minutes! My first time making Golden Curry on my own, I turned the box around to read the ingredients and nearly CHOKED.
More than 40% of your daily sodium intake and multiple unnatural, unpronounceable ingredients.
I knew there had to be a way to eat this nostalgic dish without risking hypertension (aka high blood pressure). The dish requires many ingredients but this quick, easy, and much healthier recipe will hopefully encourage you to ditch the box!
This version of Japanese curry is full of vegetables, all-natural, and boyfriend approved! You can also just eat it alone, or on a piece of bread (my personal favorite method). いただきます!
Watch how to make it on my Instagram highlight “Vegan Japanese Food”.
JAPANESE GOLDEN CURRY WITH TOFU KATSU (VEGAN)
Makes 4 servings | Cook time: 30minutes
RECIPE FOR GOLDEN CURRY
INGREDIENTS
4 cups of vegetable broth or dashi*
2 tbsp garam masala powder (can sub with curry powder)
1 tsp curry powder
4 tbsp flour (I used mochiko but you can use regular flour)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 fuji apple, grated
2 carrots, chopped
1 potato, cubed
1 cup of frozen peas (optional)
4 tbsp neutral oil (sesame, olive, avocado)
2 tbsp ketchup (or tomato paste)
2 tbsp vegan worcheshire sauce (or soy sauce/tamari)
DIRECTIONS
If you haven’t done so already, prep your veggies and fruit.
In a pot on medium heat, saute your onion with 2 tbsp of oil until the onion is softened and fragrant.
Add in the broth, 1 tsp of curry powder, carrots, potatoes, peas (if using), and apple. Keep the heat at medium and cover with a lid. Let this simmer for 10 minutes.
In another pot, make the roux to thicken the curry by adding in 2 tbsp of oil and 4 tbsp of flour on low heat. When it’s roughly combined, add in the garam masala, ketchup, and worcheshire sauce. The mixture should look like a brown ugly ball (lol).
Gradually add in small pieces of the roux to your main pot with the veggies and broth. You may need to use your spoon or ladle to break down the roux into the curry.
Let the curry simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve hot over rice (or another grain).
RECIPE FOR TOFU KATSU
INGREDIENTS
1 block of firm tofu, cubed
1/4 cup of tamari or soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup mochiko flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger or ginger powder
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
DIRECTIONS
Cube tofu and press with a towel to get liquid out
Finely chop ginger (or ginger powder) and mix with soy sauce and coconut sugar to marinade tofu in a bowl or container for 10 minutes.
In another bowl, mix the flour with enough water to make a paste-like consistency
In another bowl, mix the panko bread crumbs with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and curry powder
Dip the tofu cubes after marinading into first the wet flour mix, then coat in the dry breadcrumb mix
Air fry for 10 minutes at 370 degrees*
NOTES:
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can use your oven but preheat it to 400 degrees and cook for 25 minutes. Shake up the tofu halfway and finish off by broiling on high for a minute to achieve a similar crispy texture.
Dashi is a Japanese umami broth. You can create it by boiling 6 cups of water with 1 piece of kombu and 1/2 cup fo shiitake mushrooms.
Let me know in the comments below if you tried to recreate this dish! Happy cooking!