Japanese Curry Roux Recipe: A Common Curry Paste You Need For Japanese Dishes

Japanese curry has a bit of spice, but it's not as spicy as a lot of Indian or Thai curry pastes. The curry powder and white pepper add a touch of spice, but it's not too potent.

In Japanese curry roux, we use white pepper instead of black pepper because white pepper has a more complex and earthy taste than black pepper. It's also less spicy and gives a unique flavour to the curry paste. 

• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons garam masala
• 2 tablespoons curry powder 
• 6 tablespoons butter ( unsalted )
• 6 tablespoons flour

Method

• In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
• Add the flour and mix, stirring constantly, for about 10 to 20 minutes or until the flour is lightly brown and fried. Make sure to keep stirring.
• When the roux takes on a light brown caramel colour, add the curry powder, garam masala and white pepper. Stir it for thirty seconds and remove it from heat.
• Refrigerate for two to four weeks or freeze for 3 to 6 months. 

Cooking tips:

• A mixture of flour and butter can initially be very thick, doughy or smooth. Don’t worry, keep heating on low heat until it becomes soft and smooth.
• The flame should be low to avoid burning. If the flour and butter catch fire or turn black from the smoke, turn off the heat immediately and continue with the rest of the recipe. Make sure that you stir continuously so that the flour doesn’t burn.
• Keep in mind that curry takes longer to cook in small pots than larger pans, so you may need to adjust the cooking time.