Are there any other cooking hacks we should try? 🍛

Wait...I thought that's what everyone does 😳

I was chopping curry one day when my son asked if it was chocolate. I said yes, would you like some? 20 years later, he still hasn't forgiven me. 😁

This is what I do - you're really making me want Japanese curry right now, looks delicious! 😋

I used to shave/chop the blocks so they'd melt faster but then I stopped. The blocks dissolve in like 2 minutes anyway and it just dirties up a knife.

I was taught this by a Japanese YT channel called “Cooking with Dog” And before someone makes a tasteless joke, a dog hosts the channel called Francis.

I put my roux blocks in a spider nest that’s made for putting in miso paste and stir it in that way. Also as a warning for anyone that doesn’t make Japanese curry a lot-most of these brands use a lot of turmeric and it will leave your pot and plates with a thick layer of it (which is annoying during cleanup!!)

crack the block up still in the package and you won't have to wash all the residue off everything 🥰 and also you can steam the carrots and potatoes in the microwave to get them a bit softer so it all cooks faster! just throw them in a container with a bit of water in the bottom and cover with saran wrap or a cover with holes (meant for steaming) and microwave for a few minutes at a time until they're slightly soft before adding them in. Makes curry night so fast 😋

The separation of the blocks from each other was soooo satisfying 😭 Like so.

When I saw the logo on the packaging of the Vermont Curry, I had to look it up because I knew it looked familiar. So the product comes from House Foods, a Japanese company that sells treats, food mixes, and of course curry. They are available worldwide, and when you pointed out on how the spicy curry isn't that spicy, I realized that it seems like they tend to adjust the flavours of certain products to suit the tastes of the countries they are exporting to. Us Indonesians LOVE spicy foods, so when you mentioned that the spicy Vermont Curry blocks aren't spicy, I suddenly got reminded that the ones sold here in Indonesia are actually a lot spicier! Not black pepper spice, even, just straight up chilli pepper spicy. If you and Doug ever get the chance to visit Indonesia, I highly recommend you to get some Indonesian House curry blocks! There is also Warasa, which is a local Japanese food brand created by Japanese expats who live in Indonesia, and they also have curry mixes, including a pink one with dragon fruit-based food colouring in the mix. I got a free portion of their pink curry during a university event when I was a student there plus as a staff for said event, and it was delicious!

Loops went from amazing to absolutely perfect

I use these alot I put them in as is and they dissolve just fine in minutes!!!!!I love the golden curry brand it's hot and amazing

Increasing the surface area (in relation to the volume) always works! Smaller pieces mean faster* heating or cooling time, and more flavor per square unit of food when seasoning!

Japanese Curry is VERY popular in Hawaii, commonly served with chicken katsu. My parents didn't have much but had enough to make us dinner most nights. Japanese Curry to me feels like mom's warm hugs and scratches by dad's beard. I live in Colorado springs and my family ships it over to me so I'm never without it

You can add some grated apple to mellow out the spiciness and add some sweetness too. If you want to make a hotter curry add some chili peppers skin and all. Scotch bonnets are personal favorite.

Making your own curry paste is pretty simple too. Just make a roux (flour+butter) and add the curry powder (sold next to the curry block). I like making my own so I can adjust the intensity of the curry.

I'm so used to using one stock cube that seeing you chop an entire block of what looks basically like a stock cube made my brain go WAIT WHAT

I tend to grate mine just because it's quicker and thinner. Although I just started doing that recently 😂

I only came here because from the thumbnail, my greedy ass thought those were blocks of chocolate and I’m down for any recipe it can be added to 😂😂😂

i like too add the curry blocks and the water and while the carrots and potatos r still hard. soaks up all the flavor and makes it even more yummy 😊

Japanese curry🍛 reminds me of shinchan ❤

having had many nights of japanese curry my fav one is java curry! its a bit pricy but if you can find it i find it way better than vermont and golden curry

I watched your video yesterday and.... made this! Nom nom nom. Comfort food. 😄❤️

My mom does something GENIUS. She cuts the curry into pieces like you, but takes some of the broth and put it into a small bowl, and put in the curry pieces. After mixing it a bit and it’s all dissolved, she pours the dissolved mixture back into the curry, and it works every time.

Golden curry brand has a sauce version too. So you don't need the blocks at all and you just pour in the sauce from the bag

We had a Japanese exchange student stay with us for a year. She made the BEST curry 😍

The apple and honey in Vermont curry really brings out the flavor of curry. If I'm using any other brand, I add some grated apple for extra flavor. Additionally, the Torokeru brand below Vermont is actually pretty good. I found that one tastier than Vermont, but Vermont is great too.

I have literally not stopped thinking about Japanese curry since I saw the original video. I've known about this recipe for a while, but something about the weather is making me crave it so intensely. So excited to try it out this weekend!

I use a grater and just grate them into my stew. literally melts instantly and i don't gotta wait lol

I noticed you did that and I tried it when I made curry the other day 😂 can confirm, it makes it a bit faster

I thought those blocks were chocolate from the thumbnail

Ok. But what is in the curry block? I dont like making food with a premade block and not knowing what is inside. For Caribbean curries I make, I use garam masala, cumin, coriander, star anise, fennel seeds, tumeric, paprika, chili powder, garlic, onion, ginger, and green seasoning - (blended herbs and spices)

Literally saw your other video earlier today and realized it’s been too long since I’ve had some. Therefore I have the curry blocks in my cart and plan on making it very soon lol 😂 Thanks for reminding me of this deliciousness especially since it’s cold weather season 😅

The reason why the blocks should be allowed to boil for a long time is so the flavor will infuse into the meat and veggies. The shortcut means worse flavor

Looks so good 👍 😍 😋.

What a great idea to show people how to do this. I’ve been doing this for years, never thought about sharing it. Thank you!

This really makes me want to cook some good chicken katsu and curry.

If you want to combine with another hack, I microwave the potatoes and carrots for a few minutes so I don't have to simmer them for long. You can microwave them while you prepare the other ingredients or while you're cooking the onions and meat.

That Looks.. SO GOOD! 😍😍😍

Since we don't have Vermont curry here, I love to use cheapest curry roux I could find and experiment with jams and chocolate to make curry with that balance of sweet and salty. My contender so far is adding blueberry jam to the curry pot

I laughed when I just imagined you thinking you had this genius idea that no one knew and getting all excited to make a video to share it

I do this too lol This is why I stopped using cubed bullion, I only use the loose powder now. I love curry. Never done it with ground meat though. Totally going to try this!!

Japanese curry is SO GOOD ❤️

Simple recipe or not. Doug is a very lucky man. I love it when couples share their favorite recipes. It’s wholesome.

Pastry cooks know that "hack" since forever...

Truth!! I chopped my curry like this last night after seeing the last curry vid and it worked like a charm

Or you grab a Ladle and fill it with the water and add the curry blocks which you break up with a whisk then add it to the water :)

I use sliced pork, the hot pot type of sliced pork or shabu shabu type of shaved pork. I cook onions first until very sweet with garlic. I also put some sake in the liquid. If I have broth, I mix water and broth instead of just plain water. I don't put the thin pork in until the curry block melts a little. The meat takes almost no time because it's super thin. You can put grape tomatoes and asparagus in the curry too. You can serve with an egg on top of the curry. 🍛

I’ve done a lot of experimenting with these products. This is what I’ve come up with. Use a pressure cooker instead of pot, 50/50 golden curry and vermont curry (golden alone is heart-burn inducing, vermont is too sweet), beef broth instead of water (better than bouillon brand is good), add some worcestershire to the beef before cooking, use chuck beef cubes instead of ground (sides browned, cooked 23 mins with the onions, high pressure). For rice, use haigamai specifically. Don’t forget the tonkatsu sauce on top at the end.

WHY HAVE I NOT THOUGHT OF THISS……

I use the golden curry but yeah put it in pieces not break them up lm goin to give your way a try next time as l love this curry,thanks for the tip,🙂👍👍👍

I feel like the amount of time it will take me to chop the curry blocks is equivalent to the time it will take to dissolve lol

wow, chopping them up causes them to dissolve faster? no way! that really is “like magic”, what a great hack..

So as someone who can't regularly get Vermont Curry, one of the things I like to add to Golden Curry is a splash of mirrin alongside half the blocks early on in the stewing process... I find it gives the rest of the dish a sweeter and more complex taste. Better yet, caramelize your vegetables with mirrin before you deglaze and add your rue to stew.

That looks so good 🤤🤤

I discovered this years ago when it was 3AM and I was absolutely ravenous lol

Tell me you never took physics without telling me you never took physics 😂

With ramen packs, i take 1 cube off the block of curry, chop it like that and add a spoonful of peanut butter. With some veggies on top, it's a quick karekare like ramen.

I learned to make Japanese curry at 17 an pregnant by my friends grandma who was a little Japanese lady named flaminko and she had cancer from the war but that woman don't let her fool you she would get up and jog that treadmill every morning haha

Thank you for sharing this!!!!!!

I've always chopped the blocks. They dissolve instantly. I'm surprised everyone doesn't do it. BTW. Vermont is very mild. If you like deeper, richer flavor, try Java or Java mixed with Golden for more complexity.

Your last video changed my life. I was stationed in Southern California over 15 years ago while I was pregnant with my daughter. All I craved was Japanese curry and there was a place near my apartment out there. Then i got out of the military and moved back home to the east coast and I couldn't find anything close to Japanese curry. Until I saw your last video. Thank you!!!

Wow high school chemistry class is kicking back to me

Love Japanese curry! Great tip 🔥

This looks so good

This reminds me a lot of the results you’d get from making roast beef in a crock pot but with very different flavors 😮

I love Japanese curry!!!💕

There’s two ways I’d go about chopping up the blocks - Grate it using a kitchen grater - Cut it using a spoon if lazy to find a grater (I’d be using said spoon to mix it anyways)

Oh, wow, what a hack! Increasing the overall surface area of the dissolvable/meltable item... makes it dissolve faster! Incredible! I can't believe this works with curry blocks and with absolutely no other things one might want to melt into a pot, such as butter or chocolate. My cooking methods have changed forever.

That looks so delicious!

I really wanna try these things, but getting stuff like 'Japanese curry mix' isn't so convenient around here sadly. Don't even know the last time I even had some roast beef stew.

We found that using a little red wine makes it even better.

i recommend java curry by the same brand if you want the spice! i've never thought japanese curry has enough spiciness, and the hot java curry is perfect to me.

Tried! So good~~~~~~

I made some after watching yalls first video!! I used a 3 pound chuck roast instead, though, and slow cooked the meat for about 6 hours before adding the carrots and potatoes I'd partially cooked on the stove top in with the meat and curry sauce!

Reminds me of the days my Japanese godmom use to make beef curry with these curry cubes … always delicious and beautiful memories 💖

That looks goodt!!!

I just made these today, and they were SO GOOD

Thank you for the good tip!

I'm not sure of the English export version but, In the Japanese Vermont curry box instructions. It says to put the roux after you have turned the heat off. I see a lot of people put the roux while the pot is simmering, please turn it off. The roux cube will dissolve way faster

I decided to try making it after your other curry video. it was so good. I packed the leftovers in my lunch.

Mix the Vermont brand with Java brand. Golden Curry is so so, you need to add more stuff to it to get it ideal to what would be tasted out at a restaurant.

Offtopic, but I recommend the Kokumaro brand if you wanna stray a bit from Vermont's sweeter notes. It's smooth and the taste is well balanced, and it's my go to brand

I always do that. My favorite Japanese curry hack is to mix milk with the water I used to boiled the carrots and potatoes (don't forget to remove the scum) preferable ratio 2:1, sometimes I'll add apply juice/shredded apple for sweeter flavor when I cook for those who can't eat spicy food, or add chili powder (I like ghost pepper hehe). When I'm feeling a bit fancy, I'll added some shredded cheese on top of the rice, adds some runny omelette and tonkatsu for topping hehe. I've heard some people use dried prunes too, but I'm not a fan so I've never tried it. Btw if you use milk, the next day the texture will be so thick like a sauce, you can heat up and add more water.

Oooh the baby carrots! That’s something that I never thought about!

This would also make it faster and easier to make mix & match curry roux (where you use more than one kind of roux packet in a single batch of curry, just to give the flavor some extra complexity).

Literally just made this curry after seeing your previous video on it. Sooo yummy!! 💜💜😊😊

I just made Japanese curry for the first time last night, and luckily I had watched this video the day before. Thank you so much for the tip about chopping the curry block! It works beautifully. The curry was so delicious that I can’t wait to eat the leftovers!

I JUST WOKD UP AND THE ONLY DREAM I CAN REMEMBER IS ME GOIN TO A STORE AND I WAS GETTING CURRY LIKE THIS

I love Japanese curry!!!❤❤❤❤❤ I’m so obsessed had some this weekend with rice and fried chicken ❤❤❤❤ it was so heartwarming and good

When I started making this for myself after my mom died and chopping the roux bricks is one of first the things I figured out. And because I still struggle with the timing of the potatoes so having to mix it so mush makes the taters dissolve.

I'm literally making Japanese curry tomorrow and this is definitely gonna come in handy!

Omggg this is gonna save me hella time thank you

Team KOKUMARO 🙌

Alright, I just tried it. Decent flavor, it's pretty good and cheap so I'll be making it in the future. However I would suggest to use the ingredients listed on the box. This recipe has less onions and more carrots. The baby carrots were good but they give A LOT of carrot flavor when you get a bite. The box has you use one big carrot but cut it into small pieces and I think that was the best way to go. I finished my bowl, still a good find :)

I'm planning to cook this on weekend after watching your previous video. Thank you for sharing tips. From 🇵🇭

Learned something today. Thanks!

I made this today omg I love it so glad I found your video

Now I want some 😋

I’m definitely trying this thanks jeanelle