What are Japanese curry cubes?

Japanese curry roux cubes are bricks made with curry spices and seasonings, wheat flour, fats, and MSG. They are sold in packaged boxes, and you can break off the cubes from the brick and dissolve in water to easily make Japanese curry at home. Popular brands include S&B Golden Curry, Java Curry, and House brand’s Vermont Curry. They come in varying heat levels (Mild, Medium, Hot, and even Extra Hot if using the S&B Golden Curry brand).

Where to buy Japanese curry cubes?

Japanese curry roux cubes can be purchased at almost all Asian supermarkets and specialty Japanese ingredients grocery stores.

How many Japanese curry cubes to use?

Package instructions vary for how many cubes to use. It also depends on if your package has the small or large sized curry cubes. The recipe here calls for four large Japanese curry cubes, and makes 6-8 servings. I’ve added additional spices and seasonings to make the curry more robust and flavorful than if one were to only use the curry cubes.

Japanese Pork Belly Curry (Easy weeknight curry!)

Name: Japanese Pork Belly Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 454 grams / 1 pound thinly sliced Pork Belly (hotpot/shabu shabu style meat) – cut into bite-sized strips; 2 TBLS Unsalted Butter; 1 TBLS Peanut Oil (or canola or vegetable oil); 1 medium Yellow Onion – thinly sliced; 2 TBLS grated Ginger; 10 Garlic cloves – minced; 6-16 Red Chilies (I used Bird’s Eye, but any hot red chilies will work), to taste – chopped; 2 small (200 grams / 7 ounces) Carrots – small diced; 3 small (270 grams / 9.5 ounces) Japanese Potatoes – diced (or use Yukon Gold or Russets); 4 cups / 946ml Water; 4 large Japanese Curry Cubes (110 grams / 3.9 ounces) – cut into quarters; ½ cup / 118ml Apple Juice (no sugar added); 2 TBLS Japanese Sake; 3 TSP Kosher Salt, to taste (use a little less than 1.5 TSP if using table salt); 1 TSP Black Pepper Powder; 1.5 TSP Garam Masala (homemade garam masala preferred); 1.5 TSP ground Cayenne, to taste; 4 TBLS Double Concentrated Tomato Paste; 4 TSP Honey, to taste; 2 TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce; 1/4 cup / 118ml Water + 1.5 TBLS Corn Starch – mixed together to make a slurry; To Serve: Chopped spring onion (scallion), steamed rice

Japanese Pork Belly Curry

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A rich and savory Japanese Pork Curry made with melt-in-your-mouth thinly sliced pork belly, carrots, and potatoes. It’s easy to make with Japanese curry roux cubes, wonderfully spiced, and irresistible with steamed rice!

Author: Lavina
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 30
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Simmer
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

Scale

454 grams / 1 pound thinly sliced Pork Belly (hotpot/shabu shabu style meat) – cut into bite-sized strips
2 TBLS Unsalted Butter
1 TBLS Peanut Oil (or canola or vegetable oil)
1 medium Yellow Onion – thinly sliced
2 TBLS grated Ginger
10 Garlic cloves – minced
6–16 Red Chilies (I used Bird’s Eye, but any hot red chilies will work), to taste – chopped
2 small (200 grams / 7 ounces) Carrots – small diced
3 small (270 grams / 9.5 ounces) Japanese Potatoes – diced (or use Yukon Gold or Russets)
4 cups / 946ml Water
4 large Japanese Curry Cubes (110 grams / 3.9 ounces) – cut into quarters
½ cup / 118ml Apple Juice (no sugar added)
2 TBLS Japanese Sake
3 TSP Kosher Salt, to taste (use a little less than 1.5 TSP if using table salt)
1 TSP Black Pepper Powder
1.5 TSP Garam Masala (homemade garam masala preferred)
1.5 TSP ground Cayenne, to taste
4 TBLS Double Concentrated Tomato Paste
4 TSP Honey, to taste
2 TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
1/4 cup / 118ml Water + 1.5 TBLS Corn Starch – mixed together to make a slurry
To Serve: Chopped spring onion (scallion), steamed rice

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Instructions

Prep:

Prepare the ingredients: Cut the thinly sliced hotpot/shabu shabu style pork belly into bite-sized strips. Prepare the yellow onion, ginger, garlic, red chilies, carrots, and potatoes as indicated in the ‘Ingredients’ section. Mix ½ cup of water and 1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch in a measuring cup (or small bowl) until evenly combined and a slurry has formed.

For the Japanese Pork Belly Curry:

Sauté onion and aromatics: Heat the unsalted butter and peanut oil in a large nonstick wok or deep heavy bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot and the butter is frothing, add the yellow onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add the ginger, garlic, and red chilies and sauté for another minute until fragrant.
Cook the pork: Push everything to the side of the wok and add the pork. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until no longer pink, then toss to combine with everything else in the wok.
Add the veggies: Add the carrots and potatoes and sauté for a minute until slightly softened. Then pour in the 4 cups of water and stir to combine. Cover the wok and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
Stir in the curry cubes: Uncover the wok and turn the heat down to low. Add the curry cubes and stir continuously until fully dissolved – about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in seasonings. Turn the heat back up to medium-low and stir in the apple juice, Japanese sake, kosher salt, black pepper powder, garam masala, ground cayenne, double concentrated tomato paste, honey, and low sodium light soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the wok.
Add cornstarch slurry: Give the cornstarch slurry a quick stir with a spoon (the corn starch will have settled at the bottom). Then pour it into the wok and stir to combine. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the curry further thickens. Switch off the heat.
To Serve: Garnish with chopped spring onion and serve immediately with warm steamed rice.

S&B Golden Curry Roux Cubes (Extra Hot)

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Notes

Pork. Hotpot/shabu shabu style thinly sliced pork belly meat is available at Asian supermarkets. You’re welcome to use shabu shabu beef or even lamb if you prefer.
Japanese Curry Cubes. I used S&B Extra Hot Curry Roux Cubes, but you can use Mild, Medium, or Hot curry cubes based on your heat level preference. Look for Japanese curry cubes in Asian supermarkets or a speciality Japanese ingredients store.
Japanese Sake. This Japanese cooking wine can be found in Asian supermarkets. It adds depth of flavor, but you can leave it out if you prefer not to cook with alcohol.
Spice level. Omit or use less fresh red chilies and ground cayenne based on your spice level preference.
Protein swaps. You can use 454 grams / 1 pound of diced or boneless and skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), sliced flank steak, or sliced pork tenderloin instead of the thinly sliced pork belly shabu shabu style meat if you wish. I recommend seasoning the meat with salt and pepper, then cooking it first in a tablespoon of oil in a wok/pan. Transfer to a clean bowl, and add it back into the curry after dissolving the curry roux cubes in step 4.
Make it vegetarian/vegan. Omit the meat, and add crispy pan-fried tofu cubes or fried tofu puffs after stirring in the curry cubes. You can also add more veggies such as cauliflower, bell pepper (any color), snap peas, broccoli, etc. Also, make sure that the brand of curry roux cubes you’re using are vegetarian/vegan. S&B Golden Curry brand curry roux cubes are 100% vegetarian/vegan.
Curry consistency. Feel free to add more cornstarch (2-3 tablespoons) to the cornstarch slurry if a thicker curry consistency is desired.
Storing and reheating leftovers. Store leftovers in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat on high in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring once in between, until hot throughout.