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800877290
Moyu Ikuta
Japanese Curry Rice
What is Japanese Curry? 1Japanese people call it kare raisu, a stew of onions,
Potatoes, carrots, and meat in a thick, turmeric-tinted sauce that they serve with a plate
of white rice. Curry Rice is now one of the most popular Japanese home cuisine and it
is served to almost every generations at almost everywhere; it is served in a home for
the aged, it is also eaten by little children as a baby food. 2According to the internet
research done by DIMSDRIVE, more than 90% of Japanese people like Japanese curry.
Moreover, if you take a look at the frequency of eating curry rice, 44% Japanese people
eat curry rice two or three times in a month, 28.5% of people eat it once in a month,
13.6% of people eat it once or twice in a week. It shows that more than 87% of Japanese
people eat Curry Rice at least once in a month. You can see how much Japanese people
prefer curry rice and how often they eat it. 3Adding to it, those who like curry are not
only Japanese people. Export Japan Inc. made a research about Japan toward foreign
people. According to it, foreign people who have ever eaten Japanese food reach more
than 90%, and curry rice is ranked 5th on their favorite Japanese food; over 50% of
foreign people answered curry rice is their favorite. As you can see on the data, now
Japanese curry is one of the most well-known Japanese cuisine in all over the world.
1 Andoh, Elizabeth. Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen.
Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2005.
2 " ." /
DIMSDRIVE DIMSDRIVE. August 10, 2008. Accessed
February 03, 2016. http://www.dims.ne.jp/timelyresearch/2008/081014/.
3 " | ."
| . Accessed
February 03, 2016. http://www.japanguide.co.jp/research/survey_about_japan.html.

Then, what is the history of Japanese curry, how was it invented? The history
of Japanese curry dates back to the Meiji period. As you already know, curry is
originally one of Indian cuisine. However in the 18th century, when England had been
controlled India as a part of their colony, Indian curry brought into England. Around that
time, the Meiji Restoration has begun in Japan, when Japan was trying to adopt various
kinds of western culture, Japan adopted curry as one of Western food culture. Having
said so, British curry which was brought into Japan was totally different form the one
exists today. Almost all western foods brought into Japan during this period were
adopted by Japanese, modified, and eventually became Japanese foods in their own
way. Curry rice, it is said that cooks who had worked in Yokohama foreign colony
modified it and made the basis of Japanese curry. The authors of The Essence of
Japanese Cuisine: An Essay on Food and Culture mentioned that 4it soon became
modified, and the popular food indeed, to the point that as early Japanese food critic
(circa 1890) extolled it as the food of the future, one that would bring Japan from an
Age of culinary barbarism to culinary and healthful heights of modernity. In the Taisho
period, with the spread of cheap curry powder produced in Japan and as other
ingredients such as carrots, onions and potatoes cultivated in northern part of Japan,
Japanese curry established as you see today.
Needles to say, curry is known as one of the most popular home cuisine, but I
assume there are two other factors why it became popular in Japan. First, if you think
about the kitchen tools that you will need to use when you make curry, you find out all
you need is just a handful size of pot which is almost every family have in order to
4 Ashkenazi, Michael, and Jeanne Jacob. The Essence of Japanese Cuisine: An
Essay on Food and Culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.

make miso soup. Second, with the spread of cheap curry powder, more and more food
industries started to produce various types of curry powder which suit Japanese peoples
taste. You can chose spiciness; hot, medium and mild. You can chose the type of curry;
curry powder, the packed curry roux, the retort curry which you just need to put it in the
microwave or boiled water. You are able to find a suitable curry which corresponds to
your taste, circumstances. Moreover, you will never get tired of the taste of curry since
there are many different flavors of curry.
The taste and ingredients of curry are almost same no matter how you make
since the basic materials of curry powder and roux are same. Yet it slightly varies
depends on family, religion and your favorite. 5According to the questionnaires done by
Do House Int., in Kinki region such as Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo, people tend to put
beef as a ingredient rather than pork. On the other hand, in Kanto region such as Tokyo,
Chiba and Saitama, people prefer adding pork rather than beef. It is probably because in
Kansai region, there are top-brand local beef such as Kobe-beef and Matsuzaka-beef.
This is why people in those region prefer beef.
Curry is eaten in any situation, it can be a daily dishes or it also can be a
ceremonial dish. There are no symbolic significance. Nevertheless, Japanese people
sometimes eat pork-cutlet curry before the game or match of sport. Pork-cutlet is called
Katsu in Japanese and the curry which has pork-cutlet on the top of the rice called Katsu
curry. In Japanese, Katsu means to win, so it is believed as a lucky charm for wishing a
good luck on the match.
In charlotte, if you want to get curry powder, or packed curry roux to make
5 "."

.
February
08,
2012.
Accessed
February
03,
2016.
http://suumo.jp/journal/2012/08/02/26000/

Japanese curry rice at home, you will be able to find a small packed curry roux for 5
plates of curry rice at Walmart, but if you visit to Asian super market or Korean
supermarket such as G-mart, Hatoya, you will be able to find various types of curry
which suit to your taste. Approximately, a packed curry roux for 10 servings, it would
be 2 to 4 dollars in Japan. But here in charlotte, the price would be 4 to 6 dollars
because of it is imported.
To sum, Japanese curry has a deep historical back ground. It might not an
invention of Japanese people, but now it is many peoples favorite not only in Japan but
also in foreign countries.

Bibliography
Andoh, Elizabeth. Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen.
Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2005.

Ashkenazi, Michael, and Jeanne Jacob. The Essence of Japanese Cuisine:

An Essay on Food and Culture. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2000.
O'Rourke, A. Desmond. Understanding the Japanese Food and
Agrimarket: A
Multifaceted Opportunity: Conference: Papers. New York: Food
Products Press, 1993.
"."
. February 08, 2012. Accessed February 03, 2016.
http://suumo.jp/journal/2012/08/02/26000/.
"." /
DIMSDRIVE DIMSDRIVE. August
10,
2008.
Accessed
February
03,
2016.
http://www.dims.ne.jp/timelyresearch/2008/081014/.
" |
." |
. Accessed February 03, 2016. http://www.japanguide.co.jp/research/survey_about_japan.html.