Hi,
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I live in Japan. I don’t usually have much time to cook so I make a big batch of Japanese curry on weekends using boneless chicken (thigh, pre-cut pieces bought from the supermarket), some veggies, onions, ginger+garlic and curry roux cubes.
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The problem is, no mater which roux cube I use or whatever seasoning I put on the chicken while stir-frying it for a bit (I’ve put black pepper, red garam masala and cumin powder this time), I can’t seem to get rid of the weird “chicken” smell and the taste. I’ve tried making curries like 3-4 times regularly without marinading/brining the chicken.
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And this time, I actually let the chicken soak in apple cider vinegar for about 15 hours in the refrigerator hoping that’d remove the unpleasant smell+taste.
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But no, it tastes all the same. I can eat it, but it just tastes so off that my appetite just goes poof. What exactly am I doing wrong? I have had chicken Japanese curries at restaurants, cafeteria and they taste totally okay there. Is there anything I’m missing?
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Thank you so much for reading my long post!
17 comments
Have you tried to precook the chicken a bit?
Did you try to cook the chicken with sake? It’s used to remove the smell
OMG don’t let the four seasons crowd know the chicken is unique also
Try to add some cooking sake when stir frying the chicken
Thigh meat can be more gamey, for lack of a better word. Try breast meat? I think pork works better in curry than chicken in general.
You have discovered you don’t like the dark meat.
One more thing have you tried differnt origins for meat Domestic, Thai, or Brazillian.
Try pork?
Maybe you’re pregnant?
But on the serious note, some alcohol while pre-frying might help with smells greatly, will also make meat softer. Just don’t add it after you’ve added spices, or you’ll get rid of the spice aroma too. Cooking sake is not good alcohol for cooking, because it stinks and has salt, some neutral white wine or even diluted mugishochu might work better.
dont use thigh meat for curry— i did this once because it is cheaper but the taste was wrong. breast chicken for curry!
You want to skim off the scum that floats to the top when you boil the meats and veggies before putting in the roux
Coco Ichibanya pari pari chicken and the limited hand-made chicken katsu curry is delicious
Factory chicken in Japan is pretty slimy and gross. Also, the spices you buy from places like Aeon are very weak. It like it’s mostly filler. You can tap the contents straight into your mouth and barely taste it.
Try sasami chicken?
Maybe more expensive but a little less chicken won’t change much.
Boil and draining it first could also work.
Use chicken with the skin. The skin is where the flavor is.
Medium heat, some oil, pan fry/sauté the chicken on the skin side till it’s nice and brown. No need to cook it on the ‘meat’ side.
Remove the meat, in that oil cook the vegetables (onion first) in med/high heat for a bit. Then add the chicken back in.
Add your water then and turn temp down and cook.
I actually don’t add any water to my curry and just add 6-7 large tomatoes and have them all cook down before adding the roux.
Good luck. However if you are using bad meat, not much can rescue it. Better of skipping it and using beans or something for the protein.
Here you go–one of my personal recipes (Don’t use a roux cube!)
Apple/Raisin Chicken Curry
Ingredients
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½-1 teaspoon coriander, ground
• ½-1 teaspoon cumin, ground
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• ½+ teaspoon cardamom, ground
• ½-1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1.5 tsp salt — maybe a bit more, w/veggie additions
• 3-4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• chunk of fresh ginger, finely minced, better->ground
• maybe add 2 potatoes, or a package of frozen string beans (chopped)
• 2 chicken breasts (750-780g) cut into bite-size pieces
• 1+ cup plain yogurt
• 1 can cut tomatoes
• 2 apples, if med-small, one giant one might be okay
• 80-100g raisins
• ((water — if needed to make it liquid enough, less than a cup))
Instructions
• Combine the spices and mix well together. (as prep)
• Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook on low a few minutes until onion starts to soften.
• Add the spices. Cook for 5 minutes, stir & mix well.
• Add the chicken, mixing to fully coat it in spices. Cook for maybe 10 minutes.
• Blend the yogurt and canned tomato into the chicken mixture.
• Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
• Add some water if needed (or tomato paste to thicken).
• Add the apple and raisins and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
• Serve with rice.
the taste you looking for can only be find in whole cut chicken parts.if you gonna use just one specific part it won’t work in curry.
Thigh meat ain’t so good in curry, but soaking in some sake can get rid of some of the gamey favour.