Now a little of one of my passions: cooking. In particular: cooking Japanese food! This time I was asked to make karê rice for my students. I have two classes and each of them had a birthday, so we agreed on a fair price to everyone and had a nice karê party!
But what is karê rice anyways? Well, it's a very traditional dish from Japan where we brew a broth of vegetables and meat, seasoned with a curry paste that has more condiments I can count all mixed up in a delicious and spicy paste! Served with plain white rice 🍚
In the end, it will be like this:
Wanna know how to make it? Let's go! First, you need to pick your vegetables: I chose potatoes, parsnips, sweet potato, chayote and carrots. Then the meat: in this I chose some red meat, but it can also be done with pork, chicken, sausage... Let your imagination fly! (Once I made one with pork and sausage... It was awesome!). And the secret ingredient: a green apple.
How to proceed:
Cut all the vegetables in medium cubes and reserve (the potatoes you may reserve in a bowl of water so they don't get black from oxidation).
Cut the green apple in very little cubes, also reserve in a bowl of water to avoid oxidation.
-Cut the meat you chose in medium cubes, season with some ginger, garlic or any other season of your taste, but don't add salt. Roll all the pieces in flour.Cut half an onion in big pieces and reserve.
In a very large pan, add a little oil and fry the meat for about 3 minutes, only enough to make a little crust around them, but not enough to fully cook it. Take it off the pan and reserve again.
In the same pan, put the onions (you can add a little more oil if necessary), then you add the vegetables in an order: the harder to boil first. In my dish I usually put the carrots first because they are hard to cook. Then add potatoes, parsnips, chayotes and the green apple.
DO NOT throw away the water you used on the apple or the potato! They will be a part of your broth!
Fry the vegetables and add water as soon as they get hard to mix. Then, you can add all the water you have in your bowls.
Let it cook for a while, but don't let the vegetables stick to the bottom of your pan.
Add the meat and let it cook together with the vegetables.
This mix will cook this way for at least an hour and a half.
After the green apple has dissolved into the broth, you can add curry paste. They come in levels of spicyness: from 1 to 5. 5 is the hottest, if you can hanfle, go for it! 1 is almost sweet for it has some sweet apple pure in it too.
How to add curry paste: cut a piece of it and put it in a laddle, dive the laddle in some of the hot broth and use the liquid to undo the paste. Do this process untill all paste is dissolved. Add curry paste to suit your taste. There is no right or wrong in this.Add salt enough.
Serve with plain rice. Cook the rice only with water. No oil. No salt. For the karê already has too much condiments!!!
Enjoy!
Please, send me your pictures if/when you try this at home! Also, if you have any doubts, I'll be happy to answer!