Japanese-Style Pork Curry

This recipe for mild but full-flavored Japanese-Style Pork Curry is recreated from “taste memory”, having consumed it often at “Masa-Ya”, a Japanese restaurant in West Los Angeles, which was owned by a lovely and talented lady named Grace.  Sadly, while “Masa-Ya” is no longer with us today, this wonderful dish is.  Serve Japanese-Style Pork Curry over (authentic fashion) or accompanied by (Western-style) freshly steamed white rice; it’s also just as delicious without any rice at all. Hearty and comforting, it’s particularly good on a wet, cold winter day. Begin your meal with a Sicilian Orange Salad appetizer for a great taste contrast and a reminder that sunny days will return.  Heat up leftover Japanese-Style Pork Curry for a great lunch too.

Prep Time: 1 hour, Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes, Serves: 6

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Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs. Boneless Pork Stew Meat or Pork Cushion Meat
• 6 Tbs. Flour
• 1/3 cup Cooking Oil, preferably a Peanut/Canola or Olive/Canola Oil blend
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 1 lb Carrots*, ends trimmed and cut into 1” pieces
• 1 lb Potatoes, eyes removed and cut into 1” pieces
• 3 Tbs. Oriental Curry Powder*
• ½ tsp. ground Chile de Arbol or Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• ½ cup Soy Sauce
• 12 oz. Beer at room temperature
• 12 oz. Water at room temperature

Preparation:

1. Cut the pork cut into 1” cubes or pieces.
2. Combine the pork and flour in a mixing bowl and toss together to coat the pork.
3. Heat the cooking oil in a large (3-quart) heavy pot or Dutch oven, suitable for the slow cooking of stews.
4. Shake the excess flour from the pork and brown the pork in the hot oil over a medium-high heat, uncovered, until all the pork is evenly browned.
5. While the pork is browning, chop the onions, mince the garlic and combine in a small bowl. Cut the carrots and potatoes and combine in a separate bowl.
6. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion to the browned pork. Reduce the heat to medium, stir and cook, covered, until the onion has softened
7. Add the carrots and potatoes to the pot, stirring carefully to thoroughly combine all ingredients.  Cover and cook for two minutes.
8. Add the oriental curry powder, chile de arbol or cayenne pepper (optional) and soy sauce to the pork and vegetables. Stir thoroughly, then add the beer and water and stir again; cover and raise the heat to medium-high to bring to a boil.
9. As soon as the stew is boiling, drop the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the pork and vegetables are tender and pierce easily with a fork, about one hour.
10. Serve the curry spooned over or accompanied by freshly steamed white rice.

*Notes:

• Select larger carrots, usually sold individually in supermarkets.  They are very good to use in curries and stews as the long, slow cooking releases their wonderful deep flavor and sweetness.
• Oriental Curry Powder can be found in the Asian food aisle of most supermarkets as well as any Asian supermarkets, particularly Japanese and pan-Asian stores; it has a different mix of ingredients versus Indian curry powder.  S&B brand, in its distinctive small, round, yellow and red tin, is my favorite and does not contain any MSG.