Katsu Curry (by G)

I don't know what prompted me to make Katsu Curry. It just popped into my head that it would be a good combination with thick udon noodles.

There are two ways to make Katsu, use a packet, or do it from scratch. In the interests of making an effort I made mine from scratch. I started out by lightly frying some onions and browing some beef chunks dusted in flour. Then added garlic, ginger, curry powder, tomato paste, some bay leaves, red wine, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms and left all of that to simmer for a while. I was a bit dubious that this dinner would actually taste like anything at this point - it was pretty watery and bland. The key is the roux.

The roux in this case ia a mix of butter and flour flavoured with some more curry powder, some garam marsala and (if the urge strikes you) cayenne pepper (I left it out). The roux definitely added more curry flavour and thickened everything up nicely.

Oh, yeah - there are some other wacky crap you add at the end. A grated apple (though I used a pear), some milk and some worcestershire sauce.

I was pretty pleased with the combination of the glossy curry with the slippery thick noodles. I managed to make about 3 times the quantity required so I think it will feature as leftovers some time in the near future.