Japanese Vegetable Curry

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• One good sized onion, finely chopped
• 2" knob of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• One apple, peeled, cored and grated
• Enough root vegetables for your number of people. For this recipe we used: four carrots, one celeriac, three turnips, three radishes (watermelon). Other options include potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, squash.
• Green vegetable like kale, chard or spinach (one bunch trimmed and slivered) or 1 cup frozen peas or 1 cup green beans or 1-2 cups zucchini
• 3-4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
• Japanese Spice Mixture,* approximately one block per person
• Scallions for garnish
• Hot sauce, if desired
• Fukujinzuke for serving (optional)

Peel and chop root vegetables into bite sized pieces. Heat oil over medium high heat add onion and ginger and cook until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add apple and vegetables, stir frying until they begin to soften. Add vegetable stock as needed to cover vegetables.

Allow mixture to simmer until vegetables are just tender. Add roux, green vegetable and soy sauce to taste. Allow to simmer until sauce is thick and vegetables are tender.

Serve over rice or udon noodles, garnished with chopped scallion and hot sauce to taste. Do it up right by passing fukujinzuke at the table to add brightness and color.

If meat is needed for a meal to be complete in your household, boneless, skinless chicken thighs work really well here. For 4-6 people cut 1 lb chicken thighs into cubes and brown quickly in oil as first step. Remove chicken and proceed with recipe. Add chicken pieces back in when root vegetables are added.

*The easiest path to Japanese Curry is using roux curry blocks, readily found in most Asian grocery stores or online or, if you're feeling adventurous, make your own from scratch using one of the many online recipes.