by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Potato/Squash, Root vegetable, Vegan, Vegetarian

Black Curry
黒カレー

Hi!

Sorry about the absence.

I just got back from my vacation in Japan.

It was great to see my family and friends, and there are a lot of things about this trip I would like to share with you, but I figure many of my blog readers are probably the most interested in food.

So I am hoping to make and post some dishes for that I got inspiration from my stay in Japan.

I made this black curry for dinner tonight.

I had never heard of black curry until this trip.

We had this wonderful black curry at a cafe in Nara, and I fell in love with it.

When I did some research, apparently black curry has been pretty popular in Japan lately, and many restaurants do offer their own version of black curry.

There appear to be many ways to make your curry black, but when I asked the server at the cafe she told me that it was “black sesame” that made their curry black.

So my black curry has a healthy amount of black sesame, but I also came up with some other secret weapons to add flavor depth and additional black color.

My black curry turned out DELICIOUS and very black!

My black curry was served with wild rice and roasted Kabocha, cauliflower, and carrots.

Black Curry

canola oil
2~3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
3 cups water
1/4 cup Shio Kombu (Japanese salted seaweed)
1 cup Hijiki (Japanese dried seaweed), soaked in water and dried
1/4~1/3 cup black sesame
1~2 tablespoons canola oil
1~2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2~3 teaspoons curry powder
cane sugar
salt and pepper

1. Sautee garlic and ginger with oil in a large pot. Cook over medium heat while constantly stirring until browned.
2. Add water and Shio Kombu. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
3. In a tall container combine Hijiki and black sesame. Add about a cup of the liquid from the pot. Puree everything using a hand blender until smooth and creamy. Add to the pot. Mix well with a whisk.
4. In a separate small pan combine oil and flour. Cook over medium heat while constantly stirring until turned dark brown. Scoop about 1/2 cup of liquid from the pot, add to the roux, and mix well. Pour the loosened roux to the pot. Mix well with a whisk.
5. Add curry powder, sugar, salt, and pepper.