Japanese chicken curry rice

With NV Jaillance Tradition Clairette de Die

The Clairette de Die is a safe choice for this Japanese chicken curry rice - imagine adding sugar to a curry dish to balance out the flavour.

I had quite a lot of curries when I lived in Birmingham and London but my favourite curry remains the Japanese style one. It is milder, creamier and smoother. Japanese curry rice is very common in Japanese household (and also Hong Kong household where I grew up). I cheated a little in this recipe by using the golden curry cube but they taste quite fine and it is a saviour for a mum of two young children at home.

Japanese chicken curry rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless chicken thigh fillets, roughly diced

• 1 white onion, chopped

• 3 gloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped

• 200g of sushi rice, cooked per package instruction. Add 2 spoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar and blend gently once the rice is done and slightly cooled

• 1 medium size carrot, diced

• 5 small potatoes, diced

• ¼ cube of instant Japanese golden curry cube

• 300ml of water

Chicken marinade:

• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon of mirin

• 1 tablespoon of sake

• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil

• Salt and peppers

Methods:

1. Marinate the chicken for at least 10mins or until the liquid is absorbed

2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan in medium heat, add the chopped onion once the oil is hot, fry the onion until it is softened

3. Add the chicken pieces and fry until they are golden; add the garlic and ginger and keep frying until the garlic and ginger are softened

4. Cut the curry cube into small pieces and add to the saucepan, roughly blend so that the curry cube is spread among the ingredients

5. Add the first 100ml of water to the saucepan and stir until the curry is melted; add more water gradually until you achieve a consistency that is slightly waterier than the final curry sauce. Add more water if needed and no need to use up all water if you have reached the desired consistency

6. Bring the sauce to boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 mins with lid on

7. To serve, pour the sauce on top of a bowl of nice warm sushi rice

Wine pairing:

Japanese curry is a wonderful twist of the traditional Indian curry. It is usually milder, sweeter and creamier and both of my kids love it. Even though it is milder, it still has the distinctive spicy curry taste which can make wine pairing challenging. For this chicken curry rice, I have chosen a sparkling sweet wine from the Rhone Valley – NV Jaillance Tradition Clairette de Die. This is a safe choice for as the sugar in the wine will blend well with the spicy curry taste of the dish – imagine adding sugar to a curry dish to bring out the flavour when you are cooking. At the same time, it has nice blend of exotic and tropical fruit flavours including lychee, pear, ripe apricot and a hint of citrus. The fruity characteristics will lighten up the thick creamy texture of the curry sauce and blend well with the chicken and starch potatoes and carrots.