Japanese Beef Curry With Rice

Looking for a comforting Japanese meal to make for dinner tonight? Try making this delicious Japanese beef curry recipe! A popular recipe using store-bought Japanese curry roux, this beef curry is made using potatoes, beef, carrots, and onions and takes only 20 minutes. Serve it alongside some steamed rice for a full meal!

Have you ever had Japanese beef curry? If not, you are seriously missing out!

Beef curry is very popular in Japan as it’s traditionally served with white rice and usually comes as a fast food option at restaurants or convenience stores. It has become more common to see beef curry offered on the menu at traditional Japanese-style restaurants as well.

It’s really simple to make (thanks to store-bought roux) and takes about 20 minutes to make- perfect if you had a really busy day!

Why You Will Love This Japanese Beef Curry Recipe

This curry is made using a pressure cooker, which I think makes it a lot easier and better. Using the pressure cooker makes the meat much more tender and the vegetables softer in a shorter time. It also cuts down the time heaps because you don’t have to simmer the curry for ages.

Tip: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can still make this curry but it just takes a bit longer time. You can follow this recipe if you want to make the curry without a pressure cooker.

Do you love your curry spicy? You can easily do that with this beef curry recipe! It just depends on how you like it. I personally prefer it slightly spicy so I always go for the medium-hot mix but my children like a sweeter, non-spicy curry so they always make me get the mild one.

I think the take-away curry uses a medium-hot mix because it always tastes a bit spicier than the mild curry. Just a heads up for spicy measurement!

What Is Japanese Beef Curry?

Japanese curry is one of the most popular dishes here (and in Japan). It’s definitely the most popular take-away lunch item; I always see people eating this everywhere in the food court and it seems to be what I hear nearly everyone ordering at the counter.

Most of the time it’s made with some type of fried meat (chicken or pork) but I’ve used beef in this curry. It’s also a very flexible dish when it comes to the veggies used and side dishes served, making it a contender for using what you have in the fridge.

Plus, it’s freezer-friendly and great for big crowds so serve it up in big batches!

Ingredients Needed To Make Beef Curry

There are only a few simple ingredients in this flavorful recipe. All the exact amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. First, I wanted to share some more tips about what I used.

Japanese Curry Sauce Mix

I saved myself a lot of time by using a box of Japanese curry sauce mix. My favorite kind is JAVA curry medium hot. You can also make your own but I prefer to use store-bought to cut down on time.

Beef

Use your favorite cut of beef, as long as you cut it up into bite-sized pieces. I used beef chunks in this recipe but you can also swap it out for some pork chunks as well.

Vegetables

For the vegetables, I used onions, potatoes, and a carrot. It doesn’t take much to really make this a filling dish. You can also add in some broccoli, some diced Japanese sweet potatoes, or kabocha squash to up the vegetable servings.

Broth

All you need is some butter and water to make the curry nice and creamy.

Rice

Curry is traditionally served over rice. Use your favorite type of rice for this dish!

How To Make Japanese Beef Curry

This is such an easy recipe to make! Here’s a quick overview of all the steps, along with some additional tips.

Cook the Vegetables and Beef

The very first step is to cook the vegetables and beef in the pressure cooker. I added some butter to prevent it from sticking.

Add Water And Cook With Lid On

Next, add the water and put the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook for 10 minutes, which is about the length of time it takes for the pressure cooker to reach full pressure.

Mix In The Curry Sauce

Remove it from the heat and stir in the curry mix. After the curry sauce is completely dissolved, put it back on low heat and bring it to a boil.

Serve The Curry

You will know it is ready to serve when the sauce thickens up. Serve it over your favorite rice or go-to side dish!

What To Serve With Beef Curry

The traditional way of serving Japanese beef curry is with a scoop of white rice. The combo of rice and curry is absolutely delicious! If you don’t really like rice, you can also serve it with roasted sweet potato. The sweetness of the potato balances the creamy spicy flavors of the curry.

I also suggest serving it with a light soup instead. Egg drop soup is a very popular choice for lunch. Another really light choice is Japanese clear soup. If you are craving something nutritious, make some egg and spinach miso soup!

FAQ

Before I get to the beef curry recipe, here are some questions people have asked. If you don’t see your question here, please leave it in the comments.

How big is one serving of beef curry?

I usually serve about 1 1/2 cups of rice with 2 scoops of beef curry that I scoop with an ordinary ladle.

How do you store beef curry?

The best way to store beef curry is in an airtight food storage container in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days.

What type of potato is best for the curry?

I think that red potatoes taste the best in this curry. Honestly, you can use any type of potato and it will taste delicious. Try it with sweet potatoes too for a slightly different flavor profile.

What type of beef is best in this curry?

Most take-away curry comes with pork or chicken katsu but I’ve used beef in this recipe. You can use the cheapest part of the meat because it doesn’t need to be super good quality and the pressure cooker makes it very tender and delicious.

I use the pre-cut beef chunks that I also use for stews!

Can you freeze this curry recipe?

Yes, this is also a freezer-friendly recipe so you can make a big batch and leave some in the freezer to eat later! I recommend dividing it up into servings to make dinner prep much easier.

Related Recipes

If you enjoyed this beef curry recipe, here are some more curry recipes you might want to try next. They are some of my favorites:

• Chicken Katsu Curry
• Curry Roux
• Japanese Curry Rice
• Curry Udon
• Curry Bread

Stay Connected

If you like the recipe please rate the recipe and leave comments below. Also don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This way you keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles.

Don’t forget to sign up for a weekly newsletter so you never miss out on new authentic delicious Japanese recipes! Sign up form is on the right-hand sidebar.