Japanese Curry: A Delicious Journey of Flavours and History

Japanese cuisine is renowned for its diverse range of flavours and unique culinary traditions. Among the many beloved dishes in Japan, curry holds a special place in the hearts of both locals and visitors alike. Unlike traditional Indian or Thai curries, Japanese curry has its own distinct characteristics and fascinating history.

Origins and Influences:

Japanese curry, known as “karē” in Japanese, has its roots in India and British colonial history. The British introduced curry to Japan during the Meiji era in the late 19th century, and it quickly became popular. However, the Japanese adapted the dish to suit their own palate, resulting in a milder and sweeter version compared to its spicier Indian counterparts.

What is the Japanese curry sauce made of and how does it taste?

Japanese curry sauce is made from a blend of spices, including turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, and garlic, which are cooked with onions, carrots, and potatoes. It also typically includes a roux, which is made by combining flour and butter or oil to create a thickening agent.

The sauce has a rich and savoury flavour with a hint of sweetness. It is less spicy compared to other curry varieties, making it more accessible to a wider range of palates. The texture is smooth and velvety, and it pairs perfectly with rice or noodles, creating a comforting and satisfying meal.

While the basic components of Japanese curry include onions, carrots, and potatoes, there are numerous variations and additions that make it even more exciting. Additional ingredients can include meat such as beef, chicken, or pork, as well as vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, or eggplant. Some regional variations even incorporate seafood, reflecting Japan’s coastal influence.

How does Japanese curry taste and is it spicy?

Japanese curry is rich and slightly sweet, with a mild level of spiciness. Compared to other curry varieties, such as Indian or Thai curry, Japanese curry is generally less spicy. It has a milder heat that is more accessible to a wider range of palates.

Japanese curry has become a staple in Japanese households and a popular comfort food. It is commonly served in schools, restaurants, and even at home. Its popularity is evident in the numerous curry specialty shops and the availability of instant curry roux in supermarkets.

Japanese curry has become an integral part of the nation’s culinary identity, offering a taste of home and nostalgia for many Japanese people. Overall, Japanese curry is known for its comforting and satisfying taste.

Serving Styles:

Japanese curry is often served with a bed of steamed rice, creating a harmonious balance between the rich curry sauce and the fluffy grains. It is also common to find curry served on top of noodles, such as udon or ramen, creating a fusion of flavours. Moreover, curry can be accompanied by pickles, shredded cabbage, or a side of Japanese-style fried chicken known as katsu.

Japanese curry is a fascinating dish that combines historical influences with unique flavours. Its evolution from its Indian and British origins to a beloved Japanese comfort food showcases the adaptability and creativity of Japanese cuisine. The rich flavours, diverse ingredients, and cultural significance make Japanese curry a delightful culinary adventure for both locals and visitors. So, next time you have a chance, embark on a journey through the flavours of Japanese curry and savour the delicious taste that has captivated hearts around the world.

Order your custom version and delivery right to your home now! Have fun!

Japanese Breakfast? What’s Considered Breakfast Food in Japan?

Author: SAVOR JAPAN / Y93 Kitchen

The Japanese diet is said to be one of the healthiest in the world, and the traditional Japanese breakfast of rice, fish, and vegetables is often given as an example of an ideal, nutritionally balanced morning meal.

While breakfast foods are often seen as their own category in the West, the distinction is not as finely drawn in Japan. The traditional Japanese style of breakfast is structured in a similar way to the core format of a Japanese meal, which is referred to as ichiju sansai (一汁三菜), or “one soup, three dishes.” A “one soup, three dish” meal normally consists of rice and pickled vegetables, which are indispensable enough to go without mentioning. For breakfast, miso soup is the most common soup. Other dishes could include grilled fish, egg dishes, nori (seaweed sheets), natto (fermented soybeans), and vegetable dishes.

Japanese Breakfast Foods: Fish

As an island country, seafood has long been the most readily available source of protein for Japanese people. While processed meats like bacon or sausage have become more common in the West today, fish is still a strong breakfast staple in Japan.

A common way to prepare fish for breakfast in Japan is to simply grill a smaller fish like mackerel or pike with simple seasonings like salt. Fish left over from the night before can also be repurposed in a quick stewed dish. Otherwise, topping a bowl of rice with tiny whitebait, called shirasu in Japanese, is an easy fish dish that provides plenty of protein and minerals like calcium.

Japanese Breakfast Foods: Salads / Kobachi

Salads are another standard addition to a Japanese breakfast menu that surprises some visitors. A traditional Western breakfast might include some cooked vegetables like fried tomato or spinach with eggs, but it’s unlikely you’ll encounter a garden salad before lunch in the West.If you order a breakfast set meal or visit a breakfast buffet in Japan, you’ll likely come across some salads as standard. Any type of salad can be eaten for breakfast, but common types include lettuce or cabbage-based mixed salads, hijiki (a kind of seaweed) salads, or cucumber salads.Japanese people are known worldwide for having a long life expectancy and lower rates of lifestyle diseases, so if you struggle to get your seven servings of veggies per day, why not take a leaf out of Japan’s book and add a side salad to your breakfast?

Japanese Breakfast Foods: Rice / Onigiri / Chawanmushi / Egg

It goes without saying that rice is the heart of any traditional Japanese meal. While it may seem a little labor-intensive to prepare rice for breakfast, especially for many households in the West that normally cook rice on the stove, most Japanese households have rice cookers that make cooking up a batch a relatively simple, hands-off process. Some households simply microwave rice left over from the batch cooked night before for breakfast, too.

A bowl of plain rice can be eaten alongside dishes like fish, eggs, or vegetables for breakfast the same way it is eaten with other meals. Rice can also be eaten for breakfast as a one-bowl dish. Tamago-kake gohan, which is a hot bowl of rice topped with a raw egg, is a common breakfast dish. While this may bring up concerns of salmonella in the West, Japan is known for their stringent quality standards when it comes to their eggs, so most Japanese people do not fear eating eggs raw. Another popular one-bowl breakfast dish is rice topped with natto. It’s often said in Japan that adding some natto makes for a perfectly balanced dish that covers all your nutritional needs.

On busy mornings, many Japanese people also opt for onigiri from the convenience store as a portable and affordable breakfast. This triangular rice ball can be flavored with fillings like fish, seaweed, or pickled plum.

Chirashi Don or Kaisen Don?

Chirashi sushi (scattered sushi) is a festive dish eaten on Girl’s Day or other celebratory events in Japan, with a generous serving of seafood such as tuna, salmon, salmon roe, and scallops placed on top of rice. Though traditionally a homemade dish, as more people favor eating out nowadays, many restaurants offer it as well. Nevertheless, kaisen-don is another rice bowl dish with seafood placed on top, commonly seen in restaurants. Is it the same as chirashi sushi? Or are they vastly different? Let’s find out!

Author: SAVOR JAPAN

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To read the full article, please go to: https://savorjapan.com

We have been featured at Culinaire Magazine March/April 2023 issue

Do you ever hard of Hambagu (Japanese Hamburger Steak)?

Japanese Hamburg Steak, or Hambāgu (ハンバーグステーキ) as it’s known in Japan, is a single served meatloaf with a tender, juicy patty that’s loaded with flavour and glazed with a sweet and savoury sauce. It is very popular in Japanese households and in Japanese styled western restaurants. Simple to make, affordable and versatile. Chef Alan is going to teach you how to make it at home!! Don’t forget to grab the latest March/April issue of Culinaire Magazine. Lots of interesting stories about Japanese food you can find too!

Find it online: Culinaire Magazine March/April 2023

All about Ramen — Reveal the Secret of Y93 Ramen Broth

In Y93 Sushi Crave, we served various Japanese comfort food. One of the specialty comfort food that we served is Ramen. Our customers love our ramen, especially in love with our broth. To be proud to tell you, we make our broth and tare in-house. Today, we are going to reveal the secret of our ramen broth to you.  — Y93 Kitchen.

Tonkotsu Broth

Ramen Tonkotsu Broth

When talking about Ramen broth, one of the most popular broth must be “Tonkotsu”. Borrowed from Japanese 豚骨 (tonkotsu), from (ton, pork) + (kotsu, bone, rib).  Many ramen restaurants make their own broth too; then what makes Y93 Tonkotsu broth different from others? The secret is we specifically used the local sources (more fresh!!), and we also used different parts of the pork bones and chicken bones. Each pot of our Tonkotsu broth using a consistency ratio of different parts of the pork bones.

Why used different parts of the bones of the whole pig? It is because each unique parts have different tastes and functions. For example, neck bones and backbones — create the sweetness; head bones and hock — create the creamy texture; chicken bones — create another dimension of sweetness.

In addition to the bones, our broth also added lots of onions, gingers, garlic, and potatoes; Each pot needs to boil in high heat for at least 8 hours and after that, simmering for another few hours. The bone broth cannot be boiling for too long; otherwise, it will burn. The collagen and the water will separate, the broth will become very oily.

The last step and this is another secret of Y93 Tonkotsu broth is: after simmering, we separate the bones and most of the big chunky ingredients; then we will use the mixing blender to lightly blend all the remaining ingredients with the soup. So every drop of the soup is full of nutrition, we guarantee there is no msg added in the broth.

Y93 Ramen Chicken Broth

Y93 Shoyu Chicken Ramen

Our next popular Ramen is Shoyu Chicken Ramen. Some people like me will find Tonkotsu has a very strong “meat” taste and sometimes the texture is too thick. Therefore, they prefer to have something lighter, not that meaty taste broth. Another great option they love to choose is Y93 chicken broth. Even though it’s light, doesn’t mean a lack of favor or in an extreme — way too salty. It must have tasted the chicken favor as well as having umami out of it. Some ramen restaurants want to simplify the preparation procedure, they may only use instant powder or pre-made chicken broth.

Y93 Chicken broth is 100% in-house made. Not only use whole chicken, but the secret behind it is we also use lots of different vegetables.

Pork bone broth needs to be boiled for at least 8 hours; in contrast, chicken broth cannot be boiled for too long; otherwise, it will turn sour. The secret is right after the water boils, the heat needs to turn down to low, and let the broth simmer for at least 6 hours. Again, no MSG needed to add, the broth itself was already full of umami.

Shoyu Chicken Broth with assorted mushrooms confit, tomato confit, greens and egg.

Vegan Broth

Y93 Coconut Soy Milk Vegan Soup

The new trend in the ramen market is “Vegetarian / Vegan” options. In tradition, there isn’t any vegetarian ramen; therefore, we do have lots of creative space for us to create this new vegan broth. Our vegan broth is not just a mix of vegetables; we also used the perfect amount of soy milk and coconut milk. But the real secret is adding sesame paste and a touch of curry to create the creamy flavor. More exciting is, our vegan broth isn’t just the broth, it actually a full-size serving of vegan soup. When adding the special toppings — assorted mushrooms confit and tomato confit, the juice from the confit mixed with the broth, become umami explosion. Again, no MSG is needed.

Tea Time Special Available

It’s always fun to try something new and special. We now offering new items during TEA TIME. We have Pocket Sushi, Tonkatsu, and Vegan Mapo Tofu. All items only available on Tuesday to Friday 2pm to 4:30pm!

Starting from $12 each set. Also come with your choice of Japanese Tea.

Pocket Sushi Options: California, Spicy Salmon, Tempura Shrimp, Seaweed Salad.

Aburi Style Nigiri

Many of you may wonder why some sushi got torched? This is actually a different style of nigiri sushi. Its special name is called “Aburi Nigiri”.

Aburi Style Nigiri means “flame-seared” when the flame is applied to sushi, the heat changes the sushi’s flavor to create new textures while enhancing its natural flavors.

Some of our customers may already try Aburi Nigiri. The interesting thing is different chef will have their “secret” to create their own favor. With the mixture of Y93 chef’s special sauce, the flame caramelizes the sauce, it will release a smoky aroma and bringing out the finest flavors of each piece of sushi.

We are happy to include Aburi Nigiri on our menu now!

About our name: “Y93”

Why Y93? What is the meaning of “Y93”?

Y is the initial of our last name, 93 is our house number, Y93 represents our family. The meaning behind it is to invite you to our HOME. Enjoy the things that we love — from Food to our living style, our hobbies, our stories.

In our “home”, everything has a little story in it. Not just the people, even the dishes and the chairs inside our cafe, all have their little stories in it. (Ask us when you come visited, ok?) We believe that every story has a heart, it is exclusive and valuable, it is meaningful and full of memories and emotions. This is why we love sharing stories and listen to yours.

We are not just share the food & drinks that we liked; we also share our love with you. When we have time, we love to talk to you. Our customers are just like friends!! They would love to share their wonderful moment and sometimes they also share their sadness moment. We really appreciate your love and trusted. Our philosophy is “Love only grows by sharing.”

“The universe is not made of atoms. It’s made of TINY STORIES.”

“Real happiness doesn’t come from getting everything you want. It comes from sharing what you have with the people who matter.”

When you walk through our doors, we hope that you know you are invited into our home. We hope that our stories can inspire you in some way. Every single story is an experience, it’s unique. Even though life is not smooth all the time and it very well never be, but there is always, always be someone out there to support you until the very end.

This is the meaning of “Y93”.

Yes, we WON!! ——————— Champion of “Calgary’s Best Fish n Chips Award”!

In December, we jumped out from our comfort zone and challenged ourself to join the “Calgary’s Best Fish n Chips Award” competition hosted by Culinaire Magazine. Although Fish n Chips isn’t our specialty; we still decided to accept this challenge.

We accepted because we also love Fish n Chips. We have been to few different places to find the best one. The most memorable one was in Montreal Old Port. That dish is memorable because they used Salmon, not many places used salmon in Fish n Chips. More surprising was the seasonings, it has a touch of curry favour in it. It’s crispy, delicious and also different from others. So we loved it.

Although we are not specialty in Fish n Chip; we also want to SHOW Calgarian there may be another way to enjoy Fish n Chips too. That’s the reason we created the Y93 Japan cultural infused Fish n Chips and join this competition.

Joining the competition is a fun and valuable experience. It’s also an learning process too. We need to find the best balance in ingredients, taste, sides, presentation, original creativity, innovative, affordable. and more. But the most important part is the judges’ overall experience. This involved suggested pairing drinks, adding fun & surprise factor to the dish, and how easy for them to enjoy. We want to let our diners know, we used our heart on each creation. We care about every single details. This is also our promised. Every customers are invited guests to Y93 home enjoy the best we offered.

It’s our honour to be the champion of “Calgary’s BEST Fish n Chip” Award in contemporary category. It’s definitely the best news we’ve got in the beginning of year 2021.

We are thankful that our CEO is guiding us and walking through with us in every single step. Ask us for more journey with God story when the dine-in option open up. It’s very real and we would love to share that with you, hope it could also inspire you.

In the future, we will keep being innovative. Creating lots of different delicious and fun Japanese food to all of you. We promised will do our best in every creation. We approved, you approved!

For the full details on the other best Fish n Chips in Calgary and more information of this award, please go visit Culinaire Magazine official website or simply get a free copy of the magazine.

 

Review of the Year 2020

Year 2020 is almost over, it was definitely a challenging year for most of us. Not just for small businesses, but it affected every single household. Some lost their jobs, others lost their businesses, and many lost their loved ones. Once you hear their stories, you can also feel their pain.

However, we decided to change our perspective on the lock-down and see it as a given opportunity. During the time of the 1st lock-down, we had closed for 1 month. In that month, we had extra time to utilize a new way to serve our customers. We were able to spend more time with family and created more new items to add on to the menu. For example, our original bento boxes, more vegan options like Green Vegan Roll, Vegan Soup, Vegetarian Ramen and much more. We also launched the ramen kits and other frozen meal kits for anyone who works from home or does home schooling, so that they can enjoy the authentic Japanese food at home. 2020 was a difficult time but that also entailed more opportunities out there! For us, we have faith that our CEO is guiding us every step of the way! Read our Add Oil 加油 Faith Story!

In December, it is also a very special month for us at Y93 Sushi Crave — our Anniversary month. Thank you all for your support for the past two years. From a 2 people team, we grew into a 4 people team. Still very small but as they say, good things come in small packages!! We are blessed to have two amazing team members who are good match to our Japanese cafe; in return, we also empowered them to growth into their unique personalities, to be a much better self.

In December, we also accepted a very interesting challenge —  Joining the “Calgary’s Best Fish n Chips” award competition hosted by Culinaire Magazine and in collaboration with British Consulate General. This is a very interesting challenge. Although Fish and Chips isn’t our specialty; but we did our best! We created and served the best Y93 version to the judges. Those 5 judges cover the whole city trying out every fish n chips nominees. As I know there were more than 40 nominees. The scoring are based on 4 different areas. The final result will be announced on Global TV on Jan 3, 2021 at 8:20am!! Do you want to find out who will be the champion of the BEST Fish n Chips in Calgary too?

We know year 2020 is not an easy year, many of us want it ends soon. We are looking forward to the year of 2021. We know the best is yet to come. Wish you have a Happy New Year and all the best in 2021.

 

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