Japanese Curry on Milk St Radio
Listened to your short take on Japanese Curries on Milk St Radio. As an Indian American ( AZ ) who has been to Japan over 25 times I must say that after a hard day of meetings and evenings of obligatory Sake swilling, nothing can beat a late night feast of Japanese Karey - Raisu served by Room Service and eaten on bed. Even my Dad used to love it when I would take him to Japan on biz trips.
Now here is a bit of history. How did the Japanese get into the Curry habit ? Actually courtesy the Brits. In the late 19 th century the Japanese were trying to catch up with the West, primarily the Brits. They were importing whole big Warships from GB. The determined Japanese thought that to be powerful they needed not just Western Gun boats, but their Sailors too must get strong like the British sailors. So they too needed to start eating Beef but being used to fresh fish they could n't handle the smell of Beef. Curry used to be regular Friday fare on board Her Britannic Majesty's Ships. So along w/ Warships and Gunnery the Japanese adopted Curry spices too from RN as a way to good way to mask the flavor of Beef. Even today if you go to Yokosuka, Japan's principal Naval Base at the mouth of the Tokyo Bay ( about 50 miles west of the City ) you will find little stands selling Karey - Raisu that is much more like Indian Curry ( i,e. w/o thickeners except for the Potatoes ). As you move further east to Tokyo ( through Ofuna, Yokohama, Kawasaki ) the amount of Roux and Soy sauce in Karey increases. BTW based on my culinary researches in Nagasaki and Portugal, I am inclined to believe that TEMPURA ( Japanese corruption of "Tem Pakora" ) too comes from India ( have you ever tried Pakoras, veggie fritters deep fried in batter ), carried by the Portuguese from Goa to Penang to Macao to Nagasaki where it stuck. You can NOT find any Tempura in Portugal.
BTW Lynn was winging it when she said that the Japanese have their Curries with Quinoa, Amaranth etc. too. The Japanese get very serious about their Curries right from their school days, as they get it for lunch 2 or 3 times a week, and when it comes to their Karey Raisu avoid the 31 flavors approach ( though they do have a version called "VERMONT" Curry in which Potatoes are replaced by Apples ) .
One of these days I will tell you about the traditional desserts at the Melk Monastery on the banks of the Donau just upstream of Wachau.
Leave a Comment