S&B Japanese Curry Recipe

S&B Foods Inc.
http://www.sbfoods.co.jp

Japanese curry is hard to find in restaurants in America but luckily available for us in grocery stores and/or Asian markets. S&B is a pure Japanese brand that is a top choice in their kitchens overseas. Look for it in the Asian food section of your local grocery store.

Curry:
*One 3.5 oz brick S&B Golden Curry, chopped in 1" cubes
*3.5 cups water
*2 russet potatoes, chopped in 1" cubes
*2 carrots, chopped
*1 white onion, chopped in 1" slices
*1 tablespoon of chili pepper powder. In order of heat levels, use cayenne, habanero, or ghost powders.

Meat:
*1.5 lbs meat (chicken, beef, shrimp, lamb) chopped in 1" cubes
*2 tablespoons oil
*spices to flavor

Rice:
2 cups Asian rice
4 cups water

1. In a rice cooker or medium pot, add rice and water.
2. Cover after boiling on low for 20 minutes or until rice has risen.
3. Stir, turn off heat and leave covered.
4. In another medium pot, boil the water for the curry.
5. Add the veggies and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes start to soften.
6. Add the curry 2 cubes at a time, stirring occasionally on medium, until all have dissolved.
7. Add pepper powder and stir occasionally, covered on low for 20 minutes.
8. Fry the meat in a small skillet on low heat.
9. Add whatever spices you desire to flavor the meat. Cover on low until ready to serve.
10. Serve on plate with rice on one side and curry on the other, putting the meat on top of the rice.

Tips:
The recipe on the box has you fry the meat in the same pot as the curry, before adding the curry ingredients. My recipe is for a fried meat curry and I almost always use chicken. I use really good Japanese rice that I have to go to the Asian market to find, but super markets will have calrose rice and that's decent. Just don't use American minute rice. A rice cooker is pretty much a necessity for this recipe, but if using a pot, be sure not to burn the bottom of the rice. When serving, put some mozzarella cheese on top of the rice before the meat. Eat while mixing the curry with the rice. Serving them separately on the plate keeps the rice fresh.

Tiny Thai Devil

I have lived in many places and have had many gardens in my lifetime. It all began with my mom when she helped me grow sunflowers when we lived on base in Millington, wayyyy back when. They grew to, what seemed at the time, 10 feet tall. We baked the seeds, coated in salt, and ate them like crazy. I instantly had a green thumb. It runs throughout both sides of my family, mostly evident on my father's, where my grandmother had a garden so big, she could have opened up her own market. That tradition is now carried on by multiple family members, but nobody grows peppers like my brother and I do.

It has been a lot of trial and error, but I finally found the spot in my yard that yields the best mixture of sun and drainage. I am growing a LOT of peppers this year: bhut jolokias, jalapenos, habaneros, tabascos, and the pepper to mention in this post: one lowly, yet fruitful, Thai pepper plant. My travels to Thailand and Southern Cali have led me to some unique experiences. I have had multiple sauces, spices and dishes that had Thai peppers mixed in but I have never eaten a fresh one. I've always heard that this little devil is evil and burns mouths, so I decided to grow some in my new garden this year. It turns out now, that some red peppers are showing up, the critics were correct.

I decided to eat one the other day, right after picking the very first batch of reds. It was instant pain. It took one second for my tongue to flame up beyond control. A swig of water followed by multiple sips of milk helped very little. I didn't sweat a whole bunch, it was just a flame in my mouth that burned badly. It took about an hour for the feeling to come back. That combined with the small size, it's hard to explain the flavor of this pepper. It would make an awesome addition to some stir fry or curry, which is why I understand the use of this powerful, little devil in Thailand. I will continue to grow these every year and will be researching the uses of this pepper so stay tuned for a good recipe in the future.