Golden curry



Japanese canteen food is my ultimate in quick-and-easy comfort eating, and my favourite canteen dish is golden curry (often served over a breaded pork or chicken cutlet and rice, called katsu curry). In the UK, the best-known version of this dish is served at Wagamama. But it's also incredibly easy to make at home, and you don't even need to make the curry sauce from scratch – no one in Japan does!

Ultra-easy recipe Buy a package of "golden curry" paste from an Asian shop or any decent supermarket (I can find it in my local Waitrose and Tesco). It comes in tubs or cubes. Simply mix the curry paste with hot water, boil 2 minutes, and it's ready to use. Pour over tempura or roast vegetables and rice, or oven-roasted breaded chicken cutlets for a healthier version of chicken katsu curry. Top with some Japanese pickled radish (daikon) if available – you're unlikely to be able to find them in the shops unless you've got access to a Japanese grocery store. Et voila! Japanese fast food at home. But if you really want to make the sauce from scratch, here's how: From scratch recipe Heat in a small saucepan: 1 tsp oil Add 1 small onion, very finely minced 1/2 carrot, diced Sweat until the onion is translucent. Then add: 1 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp curry powder (mild or hot, as you prefer) 1/2 tsp garam marsala 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp honey or brown sugar Cook one or two minutes, then add: 1 cup chicken stock Simmer until the mixture is very thick and reduced (probably 5-6 minutes). The sauce is now ready. You can strain it if you wish (so it will look more like restaurant curry sauce) or leave it chunky. I personally like giving mine a whizz with the immersion blender, so it goes smooth but even thicker. Use the sauce as per the ultra-easy recipe above.