Name: EASY! Homemade Japanese Curry Roux
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon Coriander powder; 1 teaspoon Cumin powder; 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon powder; 1/3 teaspoon Cardamom powder; 1 teaspoon Garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon Ginger powder; 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder; 1/2 teaspoon Chili powder; 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper powder; 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg powder; 1/4 teaspoon Cloves powder; 1/4 teaspoon Allspice powder; 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala; 100 g Butter; 100 Flour; 1 tablespoon Honey

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Easy step-by-step picture recipe for making Japanese Curry Roux (カレールー) from scratch. This is a great recipe that you can customize to your liking to create a curry roux to make delicious Japanese curry as you like.

Easy Japanese Curry Roux Made from Scratch

What is Japanese Curry Roux?

Japanese curry roux is made with fat, flour, and a spice mix. Here in Japan, you can easily buy curry roux, as it is sold everywhere, and there are many varieties of curry roux that come in blocks just like thick chocolate bars. Making Japanese curry with store-bought curry roux is so easy and convenient. You just break off individual cubes for the portion you need to make.

Homemade Japanese Curry Roux

In this post, I will show you how to make curry roux with your own curry powder blend. If you cannot find Japanese curry powder or curry roux, or if you want to make your own curry roux, this method will surely be helpful. Just feel free to modify the recipe to your needs and taste.

Check out the recipe for making Japanese Curry Rice. Japanese Curry Rice (Kare Raisu)

Advantages of Making curry roux from scratch

It is very easy to make and you can personalize it to your tastes.
You can also control the level of spiciness and the proportion of various spices used.
The roux made from scratch is much healthier with natural ingredients and without chemical seasonings, preservatives, artificial flavors, and other food additives.
If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, you can easily cook a vegetable Japanese curry by making your own curry roux.
Make it with rice flour instead of wheat flour to make a gluten-free version.

Steps to Make It

Dry roast the spices
Cook the butter and flour
Add the spice mix to the roux and mix
Add the honey and mix it to make a paste

Ingredients you’ll need

Japanese curry roux is typically made with fat, flour, and a mix of several spices. Butter and flour help to thicken the curry sauce. The important thing is to use fat and flour in equal proportions. Adding honey is optional. However, Japanese curry is typically somewhat sweet, and most Japanese people like it that way.

Fat

I used unsalted butter but you can use margarine, lard, or vegetable shortening. If you use salted butter, don’t forget to adjust the amount of salt in the curry recipe you’re making. You can make a vegan-friendly version with vegetable shortening.

All-purpose flour (plain flour)

you can make a gluten-free version with rice flour.

Spice mix

Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Cinnamon powder, Cardamom powder, Garlic powder, Ginger powder, Turmeric powder, Chili powder, Black pepper powder, Nutmeg powder, Cloves powder, nutmeg powder.

Garam masala (optional)

Garam masala is an Indian Spice Mix including warming spice with a sharp and pungent flavor. It typically contains cinnamon, clove, cardamom, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, and black pepper. However, please remember that depending on the brand, different Garam Masala contain different ingredients with different ratios.

Chili powder

Adjust the amount of chili powder to your needs.

Honey or Jam

I added one tablespoon of honey as it helps to make a paste easily. If you don’t like a sweet curry, just skip it. And it is also possible to replace the honey with some jam. Some people even add chocolate.

About the Spice Mix

You will need a spice mix to make this Japanese curry roux. You can make the spice mix in the following three ways.

With store-bought Japanese curry powder
With store-bought Japanese curry powder and Garam Masala
With your own curry powder blend

1. With store-bought Japanese curry powder

In Japan, homemade curry roux is usually made with commercially available Japanese curry powder. The S&B brand is probably the most popular Japanese curry powder and is widely used in Japan.

The basic ingredients in commercially available Japanese curry powder are turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, cumin, red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, cloves, cardamom, fennel, nutmeg, laurel leaves, allspice, and garlic. However, please remember that depending on the brand, different curry powders contain different ingredients with different ratios.

2. With store-bought Japanese curry powder & garam masala

You can add some garam masala to Japanese curry powder as it adds a nice fragrance and flavor to the roux. As both spice mixes are commercially available it will be easy for you to make a special kind of curry roux. Some of the spices in garam masala overlap with the spices in Japanese curry powder and that’s okay as we use only a small amount of garam masala.

3. With your own curry powder blend

If you cannot find Japanese curry powder, or if you want to make your own curry roux, this method will surely be helpful. Just feel free to adjust spices to your needs and taste. And you can also modify the amount of the spices to your preference.

Helpful Tips

You can use the roux immediately or shape the roux into a block.
Lining the container with parchment paper or cellophane will help you take out your curry roux easily.
You can cut the block into 4 to 8 cubes. 1/4th of the block is enough for making Japanese curry for about 4 people.

How to Store Curry Roux

You can use this homemade curry roux immediately or make it ahead and store it in the refrigerator for a month or in the freezer for 3-4 months. By cutting the block of roux into cubes, you can add pieces as you need in your curry recipe.

How to Make Japanese Curry Roux
(step-by-step-recipe)

Prep Time 10 min
Cooking Time 20 min
Makes 4 to 8 Curry Roux Cubes

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Coriander powder
1 teaspoon Cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
1/3 teaspoon Cardamom powder
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon Chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg powder
1/4 teaspoon Cloves powder
1/4 teaspoon Allspice powder
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala
100 g Butter
100 Flour
1 tablespoon Honey

Instructions

Gather the ingredients

In a pan, dry roast the spices until it releases the aroma for about one minute. Be careful not to burn the spices.

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Keep the heat low so that the butter will not turn into smoke and get burned.

Add the flour to the melted butter and stir to combine the butter and flour.

Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until it turns to medium brown. Make sure to keep stirring so that the roux will not stick to the pan.

Add the spices and mix well.

Now, add honey and mix everything until it forms a thick paste.

Remove from heat. Transfer the roux to a glass or metal container lined with parchment paper or cellophane. And now, let it cool completely and then refrigerate to solidify overnight.

The next day, take out the curry roux block from the container. If it gets stuck in the container, you can release it with a spatula.

With a sharp knife, cut the block into 4 or 8 cubes. Store the cubes in a glass container and keep them in the fridge.

Homemade Japanese curry roux
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