A homemade Japanese curry with ground pork and meltingly tender vegetables, thickened with a homemade curry roux and brightened with sweet-savory touches.
Picture a bowl of steaming rice topped with golden curry, with pieces of kabocha squash, potato, and eggplant cooked until tender. The ground pork melts into the sauce, notes of ginger and garlic shine through, and sweet-savory touches — ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, apple, and chutney — round everything out.
This hearty, easy weeknight curry gets its body from a homemade roux. Serve it piping hot, spooned over rice.
What is yasai karē?
Yasai means “vegetables” and karē comes from “curry” via English. Most often served as karē raisu — curry poured over rice — it belongs to yōshoku, Japan’s family of Western-inspired dishes. This thick, mild, homemade version is part of everyday Japanese cuisine.
“Yasai” puts vegetables front and center, but it doesn’t mean vegetarian: many versions, like this one, add a little meat. Here, 140 g of ground pork pairs with five vegetables (onion, carrot, eggplant, kabocha squash, and potato).
The sauce starts with a homemade Japanese curry roux, made in a pan with oil, flour, Japanese curry powder, and a hint of garam masala.
A curry from the West
Japanese curry came not from India but from England. Introduced when Japan opened to the West in the Meiji era, it spread through the navy, then through canteens and schools, before becoming a beloved home dish. Milder, thicker, and sweeter than Indian curry, it now comes in many homemade variations.
The main ingredients in yasai karē
Kabocha squash turns sweet and tender as it cooks. It joins diced potato, thinly sliced eggplant, sliced onion, and julienned carrot. Soak the potato and eggplant in water for a few minutes before cooking to keep them from discoloring. Used in a small amount, the ground pork adds depth and body without overwhelming the vegetables.
Make the roux separately: heat the oil with the sifted flour over low heat until smooth, then stir in the curry powder and a hint of garam masala. This homemade roux thickens the sauce and carries the spices — no need for a store-bought curry block.
Two seasonings punctuate the cooking. Seasoning A — grated ginger and garlic with red wine — seasons the pork from the start; reserve half of the red wine for the finish.
Seasoning B, added once the vegetables are tender, brings together the sweet-savory notes that give the dish its character: Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup, stock powder, apple puree, and chutney. The stock is simply hot water mixed with stock powder; other Japanese preparations start instead from a seafood-based stock with dashi and kombu. Serve the curry over rice — see the rice guide to choose the right variety.
Tips for success
Make the roux ahead and set it aside: stir it in at the end of cooking, off the heat, then return to a gentle simmer to thicken without lumps. Soak the potato and eggplant in water while you prep the rest, and add just enough hot water to cover the vegetables.
Add seasoning B only once the vegetables are tender, then stir in the roux and finish with the remaining red wine to preserve its aroma. For more Japanese curries, try the katsu curry, curry udon, or bifu karē.
Ingredients
- 140 g pork ground
- 180 g onion
- 60 g carrot
- 40 g eggplant
- 75 g kabocha squash
- 100 g potato
Curry roux
- 5 teaspoons oil
- 5 teaspoons flour
- 2.5 g curry powder
- 0.2 g garam masala
Seasoning A
- 0.5 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 0.5 teaspoon garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon red wine
Seasoning B
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 0.2 teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon bouillon powder
- 1 tablespoon apple puree
- 2 teaspoons chutney
Instructions
Curry roux
- Heat the oil with the sifted flour over low heat, stirring until smooth.5 teaspoons oil, 5 teaspoons flour
- Stir in the curry powder and garam masala and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and fragrant.2.5 g curry powder, 0.2 g garam masala
Preparation
- Cut the potato into 2 cm cubes.100 g potato
- Slice the eggplant into 5 mm quarter-rounds.40 g eggplant
- Soak the potato and eggplant in cold water.
- Cut the pork into 2 cm pieces.140 g pork
- Thinly slice the onion into half-moons.180 g onion
- Cut the carrot into thin julienne strips.60 g carrot
- Cut the kabocha squash into bite-sized pieces.75 g kabocha squash
Cooking
- Sauté the pork in a saucepan with seasoning A, reserving half of the red wine for the finish.0.5 teaspoon ginger, grated, 0.5 teaspoon garlic, grated, 1 teaspoon red wine
- Add the onion and carrot and sauté until softened.
- Add the potato and sauté briefly.
- Add the kabocha squash and eggplant and stir to combine.
- Pour in enough hot water to just cover the ingredients and simmer.
- When the vegetables are tender, stir in seasoning B and remove from the heat.1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, 0.2 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper, 2 teaspoons ketchup, 1 teaspoon bouillon powder, 1 tablespoon apple puree, 2 teaspoons chutney
- Add the roux, stir well to blend, then return to the heat.
- Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
- Stir in the remaining red wine to finish.
