This dish is somewhat controversial. The Japanese patented their own curry. The Indians say that you can’t call it a curry. The Japanese didn’t care and today, Japanese has become one of the easiest curries to cook.

I’m making a vegetarian dish here with Japanese curry. Turned out OK. First, with Japanese curry, you would need carrots and potatoes. Here they are, all chopped up. I fried some onions and added them to the pot.

Know what this is? It’s vegetarian “pork” or “chicken”. I’ve just microwaved them from their frozen state.

Next, you would add water to the vegetables and bring them to a boil. Put in the curry cubes. Stir and allow the mixture to thicken. If it doesn’t thicken, that means you’ve got too little curry cubes. Add more. It comes in tablet form like a bar of chocolate, so you can break and add till you get a nice, thick gravy. Turn the heat really low so you won’t burn the gravy.

Once the carrots and potatoes are soft, add in the vegetarian pork/chicken and your dish is ready to serve. It goes very well with white rice. The kids will love this dish as it’s so sweet and flavourful.

© Chan Joon Yee

Do you like to travel?
Do you like to go on holidays?
Do you want an additional stream of income?
Check out Dream Trips at World Ventures.

When I was a youngster, curry chicken rice often came with negative connotations. That’s because it’s almost routinely served at funerals. Today, curry chicken rice is a hit dish at some makan places. My favourite is the noodle and chicken rice place at level 2 Lucky Plaza. Killney Kopitiam also serves that dish with rice or bread, but think the one at the noodle shop is tastier.

Curry chicken is actually very easy to prepare. First of all, you’d need to fry curry paste or powder with the chicken. I would also add a couple of stalks of bruised lemon grass to add fragrance to the curry.

Water is then added and the whole pot is brought to a boil. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes. You can do a little tasting and flavour adjustment during this time.

I don’t like my potatoes too mashy, so I’d normally put them into the pot a little later. Of course, coconut milk is a must in any Malay style chicken curry. Stir up the pot and let it cook for at least an hour. This way, the chicken will be soft and separates easily from the bone.

This is honest and flavourful chicken curry – not the watered down and thickened with starch type. I find it extremely appetising and as long as your curry is not too spicy, your kids will love it too. They normally end up eating more rice than usual.

© Chan Joon Yee

Do you like to travel?
Do you like to go on holidays?
Do you want an additional stream of income?
Check out Dream Trips at World Ventures.