Japanese curry

Ingredients

100g beef chuck cut into bite-sized cubes
¼ onion cut into bite-sized cubes
¼ carrot cut into bite-sized cubes
1/3 potato cut into bite-sized cubes
2 litres stock made from assorted vegetables and bones
1 tablet Japanese curry
20g Fukujinzuke (bright red Japanese pickles)
¼ tomato
40g cabbage shredded
150g Japanese white rice cooked in usual way

Method

At first many Europeans find Japanese curries bland but because they are so mild the flavours of the meat and vegetables are not lost. Japanese curry comes in blocks that look like chocolate - it is best to use one of the proprietary brands such as House or S&B.

Stir-fry beef and vegetables in a little oil. Add stock and bring to boil. Simmer for half an hour skimming the surface every few minutes. Melt in one tablet of curry and simmer for a further half- hour. Serve on an oval steak platter. Put rice on the upper left the Fukujinzuke tomato and cabbage on the upper right and pour the curry along the bottom of the plate avoiding the rice. This dish is always eaten with a spoon and fork not with chopsticks.