Japanese curry roux alternative


 
I'd like to make my own substitute for commercial Japanese curry roux. Commercial curry roux is very commonly used in Japanese home cooking and even in many restaurants in Japan. It is sold as a hard roux that is added at the end of the cooking process, after browning beef or chicken, then adding onions, potatoes, and carrots and braising in water till veggies are done. The curry made this way is always very dark brown in color and much thicker than typical Thai or Indian curry. I'd like to replicate the color and thickness as much as possible. I'd like it to be medium hot--on a scale of 1-10 I'd want it to be a 3 or a 4.

It would be nice if I could make a batch that would keep for a month or two if that is possible. (I have a chest freezer, so freezing would be an option.)

It would seem to me that doing my own, it probably does not make sense to combine the spices with the thickening agent. Or maybe an early spice addition and a later addition with the cumin at the end.

Here are the ingredients from the most detailed one that I have on hand (why on earth do they add cheese?):

Palm oil
Cornstarch
wheat flour
salt
sugar
curry powder (turmeric, coriander, cumin, fennel, spices)
onion powder
cheese (cheddar, gouda)
tomato powder
chutney
celery extract
Autolyzed yeast extract
peanut butter
worcester sauce powder
butter milk powder
garlic powder
skim milk powder
spices (cumin, black pepper, cadamom, cinnamon, red pepper)
vegetable paste (onion, carrot, leek, celery)
soy sauce powder
maltodextrin
fermented wheat flour seasoning (wheat flour, malted rice)
soybean powder
butter
glucose
coloring (caramel)
MSG
Disodium Inosinate
soy lecithin
citric acid
natural and artificial flavor
spice extract (cumin, cardamom)

Here is another one where the spices are not specified:

wheat flour
edible oils (palm oil, canola oil)
salt
sugar
curry powder
spices
caramel color
MSG
Malic Acid
Disodium Guanylate
Disodium Insosinate
 
Vermont and S&B? Let me see if I can find one or the other and give you a hand. Haven't run into either for a while but haven't looked.

Keeping qualities will depend on salt concentration and low Aw (water activity). Commercial products of this type are often pressure cooked and machine-dehydrated but it's possible to work this from a home kitchen angle.
 

 

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