Sizzling Stone Pot Japanese Curry Rice

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A weeknight Japanese curry built the way it should be: onions cooked down until sweet and jammy, grated apple for gentle fruitiness, a splash of soy for backbone, and boxed curry roux blocks doing the heavy lifting. Ladle it over rice pressed into a hot cast-iron skillet so the bottom crisps like a stone pot, then finish with quick-seared thin-sliced beef, chicken, or crunchy katsu.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 3 clove garlic, grated
• 1/2 medium sweet apple (Fuji or Gala), peeled and grated on a box grater
• 4 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 box (3.5 to 4.2 oz) Japanese curry roux blocks, mild or medium hot
• 1 teaspoon honey, optional

• 2 cup short-grain Japanese rice
• 2 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

• 12 ounce thinly sliced beef (shabu-shabu or sukiyaki cut, or ribeye sliced paper-thin)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon neutral oil
• freshly ground black pepper

• 2 stalk scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fukujinzuke or red pickled ginger, optional
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 4 egg yolks or soft-cooked eggs, optional

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, swirling and draining 3 to 4 times until the water runs mostly clear. Drain well, combine with 2 1/4 cups water in a rice cooker or heavy saucepan, and let it soak 20 minutes. Cook in the rice cooker, or bring to a boil on the stove, cover, reduce to the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then rest off heat 10 minutes.
2. Melt the butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the onions collapse to about a quarter of their volume and turn deep golden. If they stick, add a splash of water and scrape the bottom. This step is where the curry gets its sweetness — don't cut it short.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more, until it darkens slightly.
4. Add the carrots, potatoes, grated apple (with any juice), broth, soy sauce, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, cover partially, and cook 15 to 18 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
5. Turn off the heat. Break the roux blocks into pieces, place them in a ladleful of the hot broth in a small bowl, and mash with a spoon until dissolved, then stir the slurry back into the pot. Return to low heat and simmer, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until the curry thickens enough to coat a spoon. Taste and adjust with honey for sweetness or a few more drops of soy for depth. Keep warm over low heat.
6. Toss the sliced beef with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, the sugar, and several grinds of black pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet over high heat until just smoking, then add the beef in a single layer, working in two batches. Sear 45 to 60 seconds per side, until browned at the edges and just cooked through. Remove to a plate.
7. For the sizzling stone pot effect: wipe out the skillet (or use a 10-inch cast-iron pan), add the sesame oil, and heat over medium for 2 minutes. Press the cooked rice into an even layer, about 3/4 inch thick, and cook undisturbed 4 to 6 minutes. You'll hear steady crackling and smell toasted rice when the bottom crust forms.
8. Ladle the hot curry over half the rice, pile the seared beef alongside, and shower with scallions, sesame seeds, and pickles. Add a raw egg yolk in the center if you like — it melts into the curry as you stir. Serve straight from the skillet, scraping up the crisp rice from the bottom. For plated servings, scoop rice into 4 shallow bowls and top with curry and beef.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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