Nostalgic Curry Rice Evokes Warm Memories of Childhood, a Classic Home-Cooked Dish in Japan

By Tomoyo Yamada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:30 JST, October 5, 2025

Cooking expert Ryuta Kijima introduces his “nostalgic curry rice,” a classic home-style dish with a comforting taste for people of all generations.

Kijima often enjoyed curry rice on weekends as a child. His mother and late grandmother, who were both culinary specialists, would cook curry rice using leftover meat and vegetables from their work. “They were of all different flavors and always delicious. They were part of my happy everyday life,” Kijima said.

You can make curry with store-bought curry roux, but it tends to have the same flavor no matter what ingredients you use. Kijima suggested making curry roux from scratch and shared his recipe. It is based on a standard curry recipe, but he has perfected “a taste everyone will find nostalgic.”

The key to the recipe is the way the onion is cooked. An onion is cut in half, and one of the halves is cut into 1-centimeter-thick wedges. They are sauteed only lightly to preserve their texture.

He also cooks ingredients in a frying pan in batches before adding them together into a pot.

Kijima adds vegetable juice to the broth while it is simmering. He said the juice, in which the flavor of the vegetables are concentrated, is perfect for Western-style stewed dishes.

While the broth is simmering away, he slowly sautes the remaining onion, which he thinly sliced, to bring out its sweetness. Add the curry powder and other seasonings to the onion. Then pour in a small amount of the broth from the pot, mixing well until it thickens and then adding the resulting mixture to the pot.

The chunky carrots and potatoes are filling, and the mild sweetness of the vegetables invokes nostalgic memories of delicious meals.

“The fun of cooking at home is that you can use whatever leftover ingredients you have, and curry is the ultimate example of that,” Kijima said.

Nostalgic curry rice

Ingredients (serves 4):

• Appropriate amount of rice
• 250 grams sliced pork
• 1 onion
• 1/2 carrot
• 2 potatoes
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
• 100 milliliters vegetable juice
• 10 grams butter
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• oil




Directions:

1. Cut half of the onion into 1-centimeter-thick wedges.

2. Peel the carrot and cut into 1-centimeter-thick half-discs. Peel the potatoes, cut into 6-8 pieces — depending on size — and round the edges. Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, add the onion and carrot, and briefly saute. Transfer to a pot.



3. Add the potatoes to the frying pan. Add more oil if necessary and saute until the surface becomes slightly translucent. Transfer to the pot.

4. Add the pork to frying pan. Once it changes color, transfer to the pot.

5. Add 400 milliliters of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the vegetable juice, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and tomato ketchup, as well as sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Skim off the foam, cover and then simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.

6. Thinly slice the remaining half of the onion. Microwave at 600W for three minutes in a heat-resistant container covered with plastic wrap.



7. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Saute the microwaved onion until lightly browned. Add the flour and butter and continue to cook, before adding the curry powder and mixing well.

8. Gradually add some of the liquid from the pot to the frying pan. Once thickened, pour the onion mixture into the pot. Simmer for about 10 more minutes once the curry has thickened.

9. Season with salt to taste. Serve rice on a plate and pour the curry over it. The dish can be enjoyed with a garnish of fukujinzuke mixed pickles.