curry rice

I was always kinda scared to try making curry rice, since it's such a kodawari (picky) thing, and everybody has their own taste preference. But I figured I might be able to wing it with cookpad's most popular curry recipe, so I gave it a try and actually it turned out pretty damn good. It passed the husband test which is all I need to know anyway!

Ingredients (makes a big pot of about 5 plates - it's best to make a big stash then freeze each serving you don't need in ziplock bags):

{Stage One}
♥ 300g beef in bitesize chunks
♥ 2 onions
♥ 1 carrot
♥ 20g butter
♥ 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
♥ Arabiki shiokoshou (if you don't have this, regular salt and pepper will do)
♥ 1 bay leaf [ローリエの葉] or a pack of curry herbs

{Stage Two}
♥ 200g curry roux blocks (2 packets)
♥ 1 tablespoon Worcester sauce
♥ 1 tablespoon honey
♥ 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Stage One:
1. Fry the garlic in the butter, then add the onion. Simmer until caramelised.
2. In a big saucepan, heat some oil and add in the beef. Season with arabiki shiokoshou. Add the carrots and cooked onion.
3. Add the bay leaf and 900ml water (or 1.2l water if you want to simmer for longer). Minimum simmer time is 30 minutes, but the longer you leave it, the better the flavour becomes. I like to start mine around lunchtime and leave it simmering all afternoon, making sure to top it up with a bit of water if it starts to run a bit low. 

Stage Two:
1. Add in the stage two ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve on a plate with rice!