Good morning! Today we have for you:
Brick your curry
Just because you’ve been cooking something a certain way for a long, long time, doesn’t mean you have to cook it that way forever. It’s an obvious statement for this newsletter audience, but it’s something I think about every time I make Japanese curry. Up until very recently, I never used curry bricks. And that’s because my mom never used them in her curry, and that’s because her mom never used them in her curry. (Curry bricks hit shelves well after my grandma had settled on her recipe.) Our family curry was always very soupy, a mix of chicken broth, soy sauce and curry powder thickened with only a simple cornstarch slurry, all the better for drenching copious amounts of white rice. Then Alexa Weibel gave me a copy of “Love Japan,” and I had to try its chicken curry recipe, which calls for curry bricks. I was immediately smitten. So I made the dish for my mom, who was similarly hooked. Now we both keep curry blocks in the pantry; the family recipe has been adjusted and updated. (I won’t say improved, because it was perfect before, just different.) All of which is to say: If you’ve never used Japanese curry blocks before, this new recipe from Amelia Rampe is a wonderful place to start. It’s a super simple recipe that turns supermarket staples — ground beef, carrots, potatoes, onion, frozen peas, garlic and ginger — into a rich, completely craveable dinner. If you’d like a vegetarian version, Eric Kim has you covered with his new bean and vegetable Japanese curry. And if you’re already familiar with the delights of curry bricks, I have two treats for you: this recipe from Sonoko Sakai, adapted by Tejal Rao, for making your own, and a picture I snapped of a veritable Japanese curry brick library at a grocery store in Tokyo (see below). Featured Recipe Japanese Ground Beef CurryNew and noteworthyGochujang tofu, squash and brussels sprouts bowls: Consider this Ali Slagle dish the cold-weather version of Eric’s sheet-pan bibimbap, given that it puts winter produce in the starring role. There are thin slices of raw apple and shallot in there for juicy crispness, and I’m thinking a soft-boiled or fried egg on top would be a very welcome addition. Stewed greens and chickpeas with toasted garlic and lemon: Yotam Ottolenghi says the best part of this recipe for chickpea stew is the the tiny pasta in every bite. Though I’d argue, however unwisely, that those silky ribbons of chard (or kale, or mature spinach) are also the main draw here, as are the tender chickpeas and fried oregano-garlic topping. Chile crisp cheese crackers: All I’m saying is, if you bring these sharp, buttery, crunchy coins from Helen Goh to your next book club meeting or at-home happy hour (or any gathering requiring good snacks), you will not bring home any leftovers. A stack of these next to a wincingly dirty martini? Hurry up, weekend.
For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. And before you goYou know that part of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” when Belle, overcome by her love of books, jumps on the sliding ladder and glides along the shelves, arm outstretched in a gesture of irrepressible joy? That was me in this curry brick aisle.
Thanks for reading!
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