Because 40 kinds just wasn’t enough.
On the SoraNews24 team, we’ve tried a few crazy, unique, and delicious kinds of curry that Japanese restaurants serve up. But at the end of the day there are many people, like our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko, who prefer homemade curry or “ie curry” (lit. “home curry”), using supermarket curry roux.
Though most people use just one type of Japanese-style curry roux in their dish, Ahiruneko had the brilliant thought, “What would happen if I mixed every kind of supermarket curry roux out there into one giant pot?” And so the plan to create the King of Curries was hatched.
He journeyed to several supermarkets in the area and, while he didn’t find every single kind of curry roux out there, he did find a whopping 43 boxes and packets to try.
▼ Here they all are in their shiny, delicious glory.
There are some Japanese household favorites like Vermont Curry (not actually made in Vermont) and Java Curry (also not made in Java), and he also picked up some not-so-common varieties like powdered types and organic, plant-based types.
▼ Most of them are arguably pretty affordable, but the most expensive variety cost almost 700 yen (US$6.67)!
Whether or not you’re in Japan at the moment, you’re probably wondering exactly what curry brands and flavors we bought, right? In true SoraNews24 style, we’ll let you know every single kind we used with their labels translated from Japanese to English.
House “The Curry”
House “Kokumaro Curry”
House “Kokumaro Butter Chicken Curry”
House “Vermont Curry”
House “Java Curry”
House “Java Curry Keema Curry”
House “Gochirepiraisu Keema Curry”
House “Koku Blend Curry”
House “Seafood Curry”
House “Indo Curry”
S & B “Fon de Bo Dinner Curry”
S & B “Premium von de Bo Dinner Curry”
S & B “Curry that Melts in with Deliciousness”
S & B “Golden Curry”
S & B “Premium Golden Curry”
S & B “Prince of Curry Granules”
S & B “Genuine Curry”
S & B “Melting Dark Curry”
▼ But wait, there’s more!
Glico “Premium Juku Curry”
Glico “Curry Exquisite (ZEPPIN)”
Canyon Spice “Platinum Excellent Curry Roux”
Canyon Spice “Curry Roux for Children”
Canyon Spice “Curry Roux for Adults”
Wind and Light “Organic Vegan Curry Roux”
Wind and Light “Amami Curry”
Cosmo “Direct Fire Grilled Curry”
Cosmo “Direct Fire Grilled 15 Grains Curry ”
Oriental “Rice Flour Curry”
Oriental “Mars Curry”
Sokensha “Indian Curry”
Sokensha “Plant Ingredients Organic Curry”
Sokensha “Plant Ingredients Authentic Curry”
Sokensha “Chickpea Flour Curry Roux”
Sokensha “Authentic Curry Roux Made from Rice ”
Sokensha “Children’s Curry Thought out by a Dietician”
▼ If you’ve been keeping count, you’ll notice there are still some left.
Seven Premium “Curry with rich and fragrant taste”
Ebara “Yokohama Kouritei Curry Flakes Discerning Curry”
Smile Life “Curry with Rich Flavor”
Seijo Ishii “Hot Curry Roux at home”
Hachi Foods “Curry Specialty Store Curry Roux”
Frieden “Spicy Curry” ”
Sakurai Shokuhin “Vegetable Curry for Vegetarians”
Kokuritsu Yakuzen “Curry Roux ”
Phew! There they are. While we’d love to get into detail about exactly what each flavor is (curry made from rice!?), we must move onto the topic at hand: The King of Curries.
Next, it was time to prepare the curry. In order to avoid making a truly giant batch that combines the entire contents of every curry batch, Ahiruneko and teammates only used a small portion of each type. Even so, they felt like they were whipping up lunch for a bunch of Super Saiyans.
▼ They only used one block of roux in most cases.
With the roux prepared, they also prepared the standard add-ins for Japanese curry: onions, potatoes, carrots, and water (no meat this time).
▼ It might not look like a lot, but keep in mind that we’re using a giant pot.
▼ Enter: curry roux!
The other struggle our brave warriors had was to add the correct amount of water. Since each type of roux requires a different amount of water, they ended up eyeballing it until it struck the perfect balance between thick and soupy.
▼ This is when it turned into more of a science experiment.
When you think about the fact that most Japanese people will mix a maximum of two or three different types of curry together, the SoraNews24 team felt like they were about to experience something truly unique and magnificent. They were making curry history.
▼ With that in mind, Chef Ahiruneko began to stir with even more purpose.
And finally, the moment came when he declared the King of Curries born. Get ready to feast your eyes…
We don’t think you’re ready yet…!
Breathe in, breathe out, and…
▼ Feast your eyes on…this!
That’s right, the King of all Curries…
▼ …looks like completely average curry!
Even after mixing in 43 different types of curry, the end result looked almost disappointingly normal. You wouldn’t be able to tell the amount of effort and time that went into birthing this bowl of royalty just by looking at it.
Ahiruneko and company were a bit nervous to try it. What if all of their efforts (and money) went to waste?
▼ Now came the true moment of fate: the taste test.
▼ And it was absolutely delectable!
It was delicious! Scrumptious! Succulent! But, when Ahiruneko thought about it in a calmer state of mind, it did taste just like normal homemade curry. It’s just homemade curry on another dimension.
▼ Either way, it was super tasty.
You might recall that the SoraNews24 team mixed 75 different kinds of curry together before, but that was a mixture of all different types and origins of curry (Indian, Thai, and such). The end result of that experiment was a curry with layers and layers of flavor.
Even though the King of Japanese Curry didn’t have as much complexity, it tasted more unified, somehow. You wouldn’t be able to replicate this experience quite so well without this amount and variety of curry roux. It almost tastes profound.
▼ To confirm our suspicions, the team compared it with one more batch of curry using just one type of curry roux.
After comparing it with the one-type curry, Ahiruneko and several of our SoraNews24 team members confirmed that the King of Curries was definitely way more delicious.
▼ So many happy faces!
And so concludes the story of The Birth of the King of Japanese Curries. Oh, you want to know how much it cost us to make it? Well, we added up all the receipts, and…
▼ …it cost 13,857 yen (US$131.58) in total!
▼ But don’t worry, we’ll eat up each and every morsel by saving it in the freezer.
We only used plastic spoons this time, but imagine how much more delicious it will taste with the perfect curry spoon! We can’t wait.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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