Korean Curry is deceivingly simple to make. When I was young, I was amazed by how fast my mom could cook a delicious pot of curry.
I told her that she should open a Korean Curry restaurant. Her response was a sharp "no" but with a smirk. It was in high-school (when I had to cook for my sister) that I realized my mom's secret. She was using store-bought curry roux blocks. I felt slightly "cheated" and also realized why my mother smirked. Later in college, I also had a chance to cook up some Korean curry for my roommates during a (very) snow night in South Bend. My roommate took one bite and said something along the lines of "Yo - you need to do a food truck!" My response was also a "no" with a crooked smirk!
Key taste variable: Curry powder. The most popular Korean curry brand is Ottogi . It comes either in powder or roux blocks. Either form tastes great. For the spice level, I would recommend starting with the "medium" heat. Also, the Asian store will most likely carry different brands like S&B (Golden Curry) and House (Vermont Curry). Those are Japanese brands and the taste is very similar - select any of them. In fact, I use them interchangeably.
Korean Curry - Fast and Simple Weekday Dinner
Ingredients
- Curry Roux Block - 4-6 blocks or use Curry Powder
- Water - 3 cups
- Onion - 2
- Potato - 2 Medium-sized, size of palm
- Carrot - ⅔ of a whole
- Broccoli - ⅓ of a whole
- Button mushrooms - 4 button
- Beef - 150 grams
- Rice - 1 cup
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Cube onion, potatoes and carrots into rough bite-sized pieces. No need to be exact.
- Then cut broccoli florets into smaller pieces. Quarter button mushrooms.
- Cut beef into bite-size pieces as well.
Make Curry
- Take out large frying pan or pot and place on medium high heat. When it is hot, put oil into the frying pan. Put onions in and stir until they begin to turn slightly translucent.
- Then add in beef. When beef lose most of their red color, place in all of the vegetables except for the broccoli. Stir-around all of the vegetables until they begin to sweat.
- Then put in water. Bring up to a boil. Once water is boiling, use a ladel to take out any scum that floats on the surface.
- Let all vegetables cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. After 10 minutes, add broccoli into the stew.
- Then mix in the curry roux blocks/powder into the soup (add half the curry blocks/powder at once and then add more, tasting as you go).
- If you see that your stew has reduced too much, simply add more water. Or if you like the taste stronger, add more blocks (or powder). Once you like the taste, turn the heat off. Serve with rice.
Notes
- Don't add all of the curry powder/roux at one time. Put half the amount in, and taste as you add more. If the stew reduces too quickly, simply add more water. Likewise, if it tastes watery, add more powder/roux. Can't go wrong with it!
- Watch video recipe below for more details
Fantastic!