Could not stop thinking about the beef curry I had at Coco Ichibanya Japan, so today I’m recreating that dish. The curry is loaded with umami flavours, and then poured on top of grilled black pepper beef, and topped with lots and lots of cheese. This is pure comfort food.
A few months ago, I finally tried Coco Ichibanya in Tokyo for the very first time and I fell in love. You’re able to fully customize your meal, and it’s also relatively cheap. I ordered a beef curry and was able to customize the spiciness level, how much rice I wanted, etc. The deep flavours of the curry had such an umami taste, I still find it super memorable to this day – which is why I had to create it again, based off of memory.
This dish looks like it has a lot of steps, but it’s actually super easy to make. We first make the curry using a pre-made Japanese curry sauce (yes, the pre-made Japanese curry is always unbeatable), and then make the grilled black pepper beef. You can also make the curry beforehand and store it in the fridge to let the curry flavours deepen even more. The pre-made curry block that I’m using is the Java Curry (medium hot).
It’s hard to replace the Japanese curry blocks because they make the curry full of umami flavours, and shortens the length of the cooking process. How can you say no to that? I always keep a couple of these in my pantry because it’s just so convenient and you can customize it however you’d like.
We put the cooked rice on the bottom of the baking dish (Staub’s 10.5” x 7.5” ceramic baking dish that’s oven and broiler safe up to 572F) – black pepper beef – curry sauce – topped with lots and lots of mozzarella cheese like there’s no tomorrow. We then repeat this process to make the whole dish even more flavourful and tastier. The dish is complete when the cheese bubbles and melts. Broil for a few minutes for that extra pretty look.
If you do try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! I’d also love to see your creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Cheesy Japanese Beef Curry Rice
Ingredients
Curry
- 2 onions (sliced thinly)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 carrots (diced)
- 1 cup low sodium beef stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 block Japanese curry block (4 pieces)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp bulldog sauce
Black Pepper Beef
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 400 g thinly sliced beef (eg. ribeye, skirt steak, hotpot beef)
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp mirin
Assembling
- 4 servings cooked rice
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Curry
- Caramelize the onions – in a large pot over medium-high heat, add in 2 tbsp butter. Once it has melted, add in the sliced onions. Stir to cook the onions evenly (add more oil if the onions start burning or sticking). Continue to stir fry until onions become golden, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add in garlic and carrots. Stir everything together for a minute.
- Add in the beef stock and water. Once it comes to a boil, add in the curry blocks. Mix to combine. Add in the soy sauce, ketchup, and bulldog sauce. Cover and turn the heat to low to let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and finish with the remaining 1 tbsp of butter to make the sauce smooth and glossy. Cover with the lid to let it rest (you can also make this the day before and refrigerate overnight for the flavours to deepen).
Black Pepper Beef
- In a pan over medium-high heat, add in the oil. Once the oil has heated, add in the beef. Once it starts browning, add in the black pepper, and mirin. Quickly stir fry. Do not overcook.
Assembling
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Add the rice to a large baking dish. Layer half of the beef on top. Spoon half of the curry sauce over the beef and spread it evenly. Sprinkle on the cheese. Repeat this process again. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the cheese bubbles and melts. Remove from the oven and mix everything together. Serve and enjoy!
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