Bifu Kare Risu

Recipe picture

Serves: 6

Date added: 2023-12-19

Description

This week’s dispatch comes by way of Sylvan Mishima Brackett’s recently-released debut cookbook, “Rintaro: Japanese Food from an Izakaya in California”—a beautiful collection of recipes from San Francisco’s very own Rintaro (of which he’s the owner and chef) that bring the experience of a Tokyo izakaya to the home kitchen. And while “Rintaro” is a detailed, but approachable guide to crafting some traditional izakaya favorites (there’s an entire chapter on making yakitori with every part of the chicken, not to mention one on hand-rolling your own udon noodles), there are a few recipes sprinkled throughout that show glimpses into Sylvan’s experiences having been born in Kyoto, raised in Northern California. This is a book that strikes a balance between a careful mastery of tried-and-true techniques with experimenting with creating new dishes with the flavors and ingredients that mean the most to you. In this case, “Rintaro” captures the kind of food that “tastes like both Japan and California—not fusion food—but the food that you’d expect if the Bay Area were a region of Japan.”

One of these recipes that caught my eye in particular was Sylvan’s take on curry rice. After all, this dish in itself is one that resulted from a cultural crossroads. He writes that curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era in the late 1800s by the British Navy, who had first adapted it from India during the Raj. Over the years, curry rice has evolved into a uniquely Japanese dish—becoming sweeter, and not as spicy as its Indian counterpart—and is now one of the country’s most popular dishes.

Curry rice has been a big part of Sylvan’s culinary experiences—from enjoying his mother’s version of it as a child, to selling it at a pop-up restaurant as part of a high school project, to crafting his own rendition that he continues to cook for family and friends as an adult. This recipe below for bifu kare risu (beef curry rice) from his cookbook is one he’s refined over the years. Here, Sylvan employs S&B brand curry powder (instead of pre-packaged curry cubes) and kurozato, an unrefined black lump sugar, to caramelize in the pan after browning the beef so that it creates deeper color and flavor. Onions also play an important role, as they provide structure for the curry; cooking them down over low heat with grated apple and the seasonings until soft and jammy, then blending them with chicken stock creates a silky sauce that results in a smooth, sweet curry.

Bifu Kare Risu

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable or other neutral oil
2 pounds beef chuck, cut into ¾-inch pieces
2 tablespoons kurozato black sugar or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 medium onions, chopped
1 apple, grated
.25 cup S&B brand curry powder
3 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons shoyu
1 quart chicken stock
Sea salt to taste
2 tablespoons konbucha, kelp tea powder (optional)
1 large Yukon Gold potato, scrubbed and cut into 12 mm pieces
2 large carrots, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 tablespoon potato starch

For serving:

Hot rice
Yogurt Raita (recipe below)
Store-bought fukujinzuke pickles (optional)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over high heat until it starts to smoke. Season the beef with kosher salt. Working in two batches, brown the beef until it’s deeply colored on all sides, turning occasionally, and reducing the heat if needed, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Although you need to color the beef well, you will use the pan drippings to flavor the curry, so take care not to let them burn. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a large bowl, leaving the fat behind. Turn down the heat to medium-high; add the kurozato and a splash of water to deglaze the pan and to help melt the sugar. Continue to cook, stirring, until the water has evaporated and the sugar has started to caramelize (look for a whiff of smoke).
Turn down the heat to low and add the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 15 seconds. Add a splash of water to keep the garlic from burning and then add the onion, apple, curry powder, mirin, and shoyu. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes soft and jammy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chicken stock.
Transfer the onion and stock mixture to a blender. Working in batches, blend on high speed until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl.
Wipe the pot clean and return the mixture to the pot. (You can omit this step if you’d like a more rustic texture.) Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, until slightly thickened and glossy. Taste for seasoning, adding the salt and the konbucha (if using) to taste.
Add the beef and any accumulated juices to the curry sauce and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the beef is almost tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Add the potato and carrots, cover, and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
In a small bowl whisk together the potato starch with ⅓ cup / 80ml cold water to combine (the starch settles as it sits) and slowly pour into the curry, stirring constantly to avoid starchy lumps. Return the curry to a boil and stir until thickened, about 1 minute.
The curry can be served immediately or made ahead and reheated. It will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing it, since the potatoes and carrots will suffer.
When ready to serve, spoon the curry into a large bowl. Serve with rice, yogurt raita, and the pickles (if using).

Notes

Variations: - This curry can be made with chicken instead of beef. Use an equal amount of boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, browning them skin-side down as you would the beef, or with an assortment of chicken parts (though if you use white meat, you want to pull those pieces from the curry sauce sooner, so they don’t dry out). - Whole boiled eggs are also a good addition to a chicken version, making it another Oyako, “mother and child” dish (akin to oyakodon). - As for vegetables, kabocha squash is a nice addition, although its cooking time is shorter, so you’ll want to add it just 10 minutes before the curry is finished. - If you want a lighter dish, broccoli florets, orange or purple cauliflower, and green beans can be blanched in salted water, then arranged over the rice before scooping the curry over.

Yogurt Raita

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

1 Japanese cucumber
.5 teaspoon sea salt
1 garlic clove
2 cups whole milk Greek yogurt

Directions

Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, thinly slice the cucumber. Place the slices in a small bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand until the salt begins to draw out water from the cucumbers, about 5 minutes. Massage the cucumber slices to release their liquid, gently at first to keep them from breaking, then more vigorously as they start to expel water. Gently squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the cucumbers, wipe the bowl dry, and return the squeezed cucumbers to the bowl.
Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic with a pinch of salt into a smooth paste (or grate the garlic on a rasp-style grater). Stir the garlic into the cucumbers and add the yogurt. Season to taste with additional salt.
Serve right away or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.

Source

That One Dish

Comments

2023-12-21: Delicious, everyone loved!