Beyond Borders: Exploring the Unique World of Japanese Curry

Curry is Japan's national dish, and many Japanese people love it. But many people have an image that curry is made in India. However, in the latest "World's Traditional Cuisines Ranking" published by Taste Atlas, a website that provides gourmet information from around the world, Japanese curry was ranked 46th.

TasteAtlas　

To begin with, many Indian curries are "lighter" than Japanese curries. In Japan, it is common to thicken curry with a roux containing flour, but in India, curry is cooked with spices instead of using a roux. Let us trace the history of Indian curry to find out how it came to be thickened like Japanese curry.

According to one food manufacturer, in the 1770s, an employee of the East India Company brought curry spices and rice back to England from India. Then, curry became popular among the British royal family and the wealthy. Around 1870, curry powder was introduced to Japan, which was trying to adopt Western culture with the civilization opening in the early Meiji period. Various rouxes and retort curry products have been developed and marketed since then.

Curry was introduced to Japan by the British, but now, in fact, Japanese curry is so popular that it is being "reimported. The Japanese curry in the UK is "Katsu Curry" (pork cutlet curry). The standard ingredients are onions and chicken cutlets only.

However, Japanese curry is not only popular in the UK. In addition to Europe, there are more and more Japanese food manufacturers selling curry roux and other products in the U.S. and Australia, and overseas sales have been increasing by about 10% each year for the past several years.

In Japan, the most popular type of curry roux is "medium spicy" followed by "spicy," but in other countries, "sweet" is more popular than "medium spicy".

Furthermore, Japan has a variety of gourmet foods derived from curry, such as curry udon and curry bread. At Hiroshima Curry Bread Laboratory, a curry bread specialty store in Hiroshima, about half of the customers are foreigners, and the "Oyster Curry Bread" is said to be very popular. Foreign customers say that "500 yen for two oysters, a Hiroshima specialty, is reasonable," and "I have never seen curry bread in my own country.

There are many curry shops in Japan. There are a variety of curries with special characteristics depending on the region, and you will never get tired of new tastes.

Ramen, which Japanese used to think was Chinese food, is now considered by foreigners to be Japanese. Japanese people think curry is an Indian dish, but people from overseas may think curry is a Japanese dish.

Food changes in many ways over time. Let us enjoy those changes to the fullest!

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