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With a savory curry filling, a chewy, springy texture, and a light coating of crispy panko, Japanese Curry Bread – or Kare Pan – is the star of pastries at Japanese bakery shops. If you are a huge fan of Japanese curry, you have to make this insanely delicious bread bun at home.
Kare Pan (カレーパン), or Japanese Curry Bread, is one of the most popular savory pastries at Japanese bakeries, along with Yakisoba Pan. There’s nothing more satisfactory than biting into a warm, crispy, and chewy bread that reveals mildly spiced Japanese curry inside, like a passageway to pure happiness. I know you’ll be obsessed with this homemade curry bread once you make it.
What is Curry Bread (Kare Pan)?
Curry bread (kare pan) is Japanese curry encased in bread dough, lightly covered in panko bread crumbs, and then deep fried till golden brown. Justifiably qualified as comfort food, you can find these curry breads at bakeries and convenience stores throughout Japan. They are enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or snack, or anytime of the day in my case.
Mr. JOC won’t leave a bakery shop in Japan without purchasing curry bread, and he’s always searching for the best one. I asked what is considered the best curry bread, and he said:
- Outside crust should be crispy when you bite into it.
- The bread should be chewy but not too thick.
- It shouldn’t be oily even though it’s been deep fried.
- Good amount of curry should be filled throughout the bread.
As you can see, I have a tough customer at home. Since I welcomed a good challenge, I took it up as an encouragement to develop a good recipe!
There’s nothing fancy about these homemade curry bread. They are just downright tasty. Although it can be time consuming, it’s totally worth the effort and time because you’d be rewarded with the tastiest bread. The triumph feeling is worth celebrating. I’d make this bread at least every quarter of the year!
The Japanese Curry Filling for Curry Bread (Kare Pan)
The best part about making your own curry bread at home is that you can stuff the bread with your favorite, delicious curry! Plus it’s the perfect way to use up one big batch of Japanese curry. You will only need about 1 1/2 cup worth of leftover curry. It has to be chilled, so leftover curry from previous night makes the most sense for this recipe.
You can make Japanese curry with any ingredients you like. I used my Japanese Chicken Curry recipe for my curry bread. You can use other types of meats as well.
The curry next day should be in a thick paste form as you will be bundling up the curry filling in bread dough. Soupy curry is a no-no. Once you refrigerate your curry, it will solidify and easier to handle. Just take out the curry when you start making the bread, so it reaches room temperature by the time you fold it up in the dough.
3 Important Tips I learned from Making Curry Bread (Kare Pan)
1. Thin out the dough only at the edge
I learned from my experience that I enjoy the curry bread more when the dough has some chewy texture. Initially I thought I prefer thinner bread because it has a nice crispy texture. But when I tasted the chewy and springy bread, I knew the whole curry bread experience got elevated.
To achieve this, it’s important not to roll out the dough too thin. The best way is to thin out only the edges of the round dough with fingers, keeping the center thicker. So when you fold and pinch the edges, the seam won’t be too thick and doughy, and the bread has even thickness throughout.
2. Never ever overfill the curry paste
I’ve made this mistake and learned the hard way. When you place the curry filling on a round sheet of dough, make sure you have PLENTY of space around it so you can pinch the dough easily and tightly. You don’t want to overfill because if the curry touches the edge of the dough even a little bit, the pinched dough may pop open and the curry filling will fall out easily during the proofing and deep frying stages.
If you accidentally made the mistake, here’s what you can do.
a) If the pinched dough opened up before deep frying, you can toast the panko first until golden brown, then bake the bread at 375 ºF (190 ºC). This is the same technique as my Baked Tonkatsu/Chicken Katsu recipes.
b) If the dough opened up during deep frying, you want to immediately stop deep frying, instead gently remove the bread dough from the oil, pop them straight into the oven at 375 ºF (190 ºC) and bake until golden brown.
3. Flip the bread as soon as you place it in the oil
During the second proofing stage, the sealed side is on the bottom, and the dough is rising up. Now when you deep fry, you will again place the sealed side down first. As deep frying starts, the dough continues to rise from the bottom (seam side), and it tends to rise way too much, creating a cave inside the bread.
My high school friend Takafumi who used to work at a bakery in Japan shared a pro tip with me when I was struggling with this. He told me that you will need to flip the bread a couple of seconds after you place the dough in the oil, stopping the dough to rise toward the same direction. This actually works magically! No more big cave in the bread!
Now that I’ve perfected my Kare Pan recipe, Mr. JOC no longer has to go out his way to hunt down the best curry bread because the best is always the homemade type. Are you ready for your Japanese curry bread mastery? Let’s get started!
Similar Recipes:
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- 150 g bread flour (1 cup + 1 Tbsp)
- 50 g cake flour (1/3 cup + 1 tsp)
- 3 g kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt) (1 tsp)
- 15 g sugar (1 Tbsp + ½ tsp)
- 3 g instant yeast (1 tsp; See Notes if you use ACTIVE dry yeast)
- 125 g whole milk (125 ml; I highly recommend using whole milk instead of non-fat or reduced-fat milk.)
- 10 g unsalted butter (1 Tbsp)
- 300 g Japanese curry of your choice (1 ½ cup) (at room temperature, made previous night kept in the fridge overnight. Here are recipes for Beef Curry, Chicken Curry, and Instant Pot Curry)
- 1 large egg (50 g w/o shell) (for coating the bread; I forgot to put in the ingredient picture below)
- 60 g panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) (¾ cup; at room temperature)
- neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
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1) Gather all the ingredients. Leave the unsalted butter and Japanese curry at room temperature.
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In a large bowl, combine bread flour, cake flour, kosher salt and sugar. Whisk together.
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Microwave the milk until warm to the touch (95 ºF/35 ºC). Then add in the instant dry yeast and the warm milk.
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Using the silicone spatula, combine the wet and dry ingredients together until it becomes a rough dough. [1-2 minutes]
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Once the dough becomes a ball, add the butter in the center of the dough and combine well until the butter is incorporated into the dough. At first, the dough will be sticky, wet, and oily and you might want to add more flour, but wait and try kneading a little longer. [2-3 minutes]
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5) Once you don’t see any big chunks of butter, transfer the dough from the bowl to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and pliable. Read the tip on kneading below. [5 minutes]
- Tip on kneading: Using the lower part of your palm, push out the dough. Then roll back up as if you’re drawing the number “8” with your hand. Rotate the dough 90 degrees every time you finish drawing “8”.
- After drawing “8” a few times, bang the dough onto the work surface and fold it over away from you. This helps develop gluten (elasticity). Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat drawing “8” again. Continue this process until the dough is smooth, supple, and silky.
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When the dough is moist, smooth, and pliable, form a ball. Place the seam side down on the working surface and twist the ball a few times to close the seam.
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Place the dough back into the bowl, seam side down, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at 100 ºF (38 ºC) for 60 minutes, or until doubled in size (I used proof setting in my oven).
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Dust your finger with flour and poke the center of the dough. If the dough doesn’t close up, it’s ready.
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Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently punch/press it down.
- Fold the dough into thirds – widthwise.
- Fold the dough into thirds – lengthwise.
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Turn upside down so the seam is facing down. Twist the dough to form a nice ball shape.
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Measure the weight of the dough on a kitchen scale and divide the number by 8. Roughly cut the dough into 8 pieces.
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Weigh each piece of dough and cut off the extra dough if it weighs more than you calculated.
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Add the extra dough to the smaller dough piece(s). Hide the extra dough in the center of the small dough by pulling the dough from the side.
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Twist the dough to seal the seam on your hand. Place the 8 dough balls on the baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper). Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
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Place the dough seam side up and flatten out each piece with your hand. Fold in thirds – widthwise.
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Fold in thirds – lengthwise, and then turn it upside down so the seam side is on the bottom.
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Flatten again, and flip so the seam side is up.
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Roll out into a 3.5 inch (9 cm) circle using a rolling pin.
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Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. One by one, thin out the edges of the dough with your fingers, with the center thicker than edges. The circle should be 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter.
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Place the dough seam side up and put 1 to 1.5 Tbsp of curry paste in the center of the circle. Gather the opposing edges of the circle and fold the dough in half. Remember, KEEP THE CURRY OUT from the edges! It’s the most crucial part. If you didn’t read my post, read the tip #2 now.
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Tightly pinch the edges to seal well. If the edges are not pinched and pressed tightly, the seam might open up during proofing/deep frying.
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Next, to double secure, fold the edges over to one side at least once, like folding a brown lunch bag. Press the edges again to secure.
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Keeping the seam side on the bottom, put the bread back onto the silicone mat and cover with a damp towel while working on the rest of the dough.
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Once all the dough has curry filling, crack the egg into a bowl and whisk well. Place the panko in a shallow bowl/tray. Using a pastry brush, coat the formed dough with egg and then panko.
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Cover the bread with plastic wrap and let rise at 100 ºF (38 ºC) for 45-60 minutes or until 1.5 times its size (I used proof setting in my oven). If you touch the dough with your finger, indentation will stay on the dough.
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Heat the deep frying oil to 320ºF (160ºC) in a pot. Place 2-3 curry breads into the oil, seam side down. After a few seconds, flip it around so the seam side is now up. You may need to hold it with a pair of tongs. Keep turning them while they deep fry, until they cook to a golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Drain the oil well and transfer to the wire rack or some paper towels to drain while it cools. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Cake Flour: If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute with all-purpose flour and corn starch. Here’s how.
- Prepare 1 cup all purpose flour in the bowl.
- Remove 2 Tbsp from the bowl.
- Add 2 Tbsp corn starch back to the bowl.
- Now you have 1 cup cake flour.
- Be sure to sift the flour to distribute the cornstarch well before using it in your cake batter.
Instant Dry Yeast: If you're using active dry yeast, it requires being activated in a little bit of warm water (110F/43C) before being added to the rest of the ingredients. In this recipe, add the active dry yeast in 110F/43C milk, hotter than the temperature specified in the recipe because if the milk is not hot enough, the yeast won't dissolve nicely.
Japanese Curry: Make sure the curry is solid pasty texture and not liquid so that you can scoop the paste and wrap in the dough. My recommendation is to make the curry one day before you plan to make curry bread, chill overnight in the fridge, and bring back to the room temperature while preparing the dough.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
This looks great! I can’t wait to make it.
Where do you get the mesh tray you place the bread in? It looks great for fried products.
Hi Joan! Hope you enjoy this recipe. I really, REALLY enjoyed eating this curry bread! The mesh tray was from a Korean grocery store in Sunnyvale, CA. 😀 I bought them as they are perfect for draining my favorite food, Korokke. 🙂
Hi! Would it be possible to use all purpose flour instead of bread flour? Would cake flour still be necessary?
Hi Elisa! Typically you make bread with bread flour, and we make the perfect texture of bread (for curry pan) by mixing the two types. You can use other flours but the result won’t be the same (probably less bread-like with all-purpose flour). 🙂
Hi< I just started making old World bread recipes. Ingredients are usually 4 to 6 not too different from yours. The big flavor enhancer is in the long processes. Have trouble proofing at a steady temp in my kitchen. A wonder of wonders I take my Nomiku (Immersion Circulator) in a dutch oven fit the mixing bowl in the water
& it holds an ideal at whatever temp you want. Life becomes simple.
Hi Tom! Haha, yes, Nomiku helps your dough rise too! 🙂 My oven has a proof setting, which helps A LOT. My old oven (which you probably see in my older posts) didn’t have one, so it was very hard to film/shoot recipes as waiting time can be longer… 😀
Hi Nami. Wonder if I can bake instead of frying. Would it come out similar? Not sure if you’ve tried.
Hi Luisa! It won’t be golden brown like deep-fried version so I still recommend deep frying, especially you spend so much time making this. You want the BEST curry bread at the end of your hard work.
I actually did this test before – dunk the curry bread in hot oil and pick it up immediately and baked. Spray oil doesn’t give you nice golden brown and it’s different, so I had to coat with the oil… but I realized that I should just deep fry if I have to this step. 🙂
Would it be possible to make this in an air fryer?
Hi Rebecca! I don’t own an air fryer… so I’m not too sure. 🙁 I think you can?? But not sure the temperature or time…
Hey Rebecca, if you haven’t tried using your air fryer yet, 7 minutes on each side at 375 degrees Fahrenheit worked for me, even without toasting the panko first. Hope this can work for you!
Thank you Nami for this recipe. So excited about it as this is my favourite bread from the Japanese bakery near my office. Can’t wait to try the recipe soon. Thank you again!
Hi WT! Awesome! I’m so happy you want to try this recipe. Please read the post and instructions carefully (to avoid mistakes). And enjoy the bread. I wish I have one with me RIGHT NOW! SOOOOOOO GOOOOOD!
Hi Nami, my family loves curry buns too.
Juz wondering if the dough is doable by bread machine? Will it affect the result in any way?
Hi NJ! Yes, you can use the bread machine until you divide the dough. A lot of people use the bread machine to make it easy for the first part. 🙂
I love this recipe and would like to make a lot and stock it in the fridge. Can i freeze this for a week and take out some pieces whenever i want another one? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jenjen! Once you finish making, let cool and freeze. You can definitely do that. But since it’s fried food, I recommend consuming in a week (quality purpose) 🙂
Hi Nami san,
So happy to have made this recipe w/ sourdough bread. It tasted so good after proofing overnight in the fridge that my son requested me to double the recipe to freeze so he can just thaw out as many as he wants to take to school. He usually just warm it up on nonstick pan until the oil came out and the outside crisp back up. He said by the time he ate it at school the fillings had come to room temp. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Ima! Your son is so lucky to bring this for his lunch! What a wonderful treat to enjoy during school…. 😀 Thank you for sharing your tip with us!
What about freezing. Before or after deep frying?
Hi Sean! Should be after deep frying. 🙂
Oh Nami! Your curry pan look so good! I’m hoping to try your recipe very soon! Meanwhile, I’ll keep drooling at the pics……
Hi Donna! I was just telling Mr. JOC how much I miss eating this bread freshly deep fried…. and this was supposed to be Mr. JOC’s favorite, not mine! I hope you enjoy this recipe. It’s a lot of work, but at the end it’ll be worth it. Just be careful about keeping the edges of dough CURRY-FREE. 🙂
Hi,Nami! The curry bread looks soo good, can’t wait to try it! Also, I think there’s a chinese version of that it looks similar, with crispy but chewy bread outside and meat inside. There’s no curry in the chinese one though, which is just sad.😔
Hi Ashlynn! We love this curry bread although it takes so long to make it… the result is worthwhile when you get to enjoy the hot curry bread at the end! 🙂
I was wondering if you could bake them instead of frying them?
Hi Callie! Yes you can…. but if you put all the effort… I really would like you to try the deep fried version. It’s guilty pleasure, but so worth it. 😀
Hi Nami,
I made the Kare-pan yesterday and it turned out really well for my first time. This is one of my all-time favourite snacks – I think just as good as a hotdog or pie. This is quite a labour-intensive item to make, I was pretty exhausted afterwards but they were so good that I will still make them again. One note, I used Vermont Curry med-hot and it was a vegetarian curry. It was a really nice curry but I think for Kare-pan you need to use a curry with a bit more “deep-impact” as Japanese people say. Maybe S & B curry would be better because it has a bit more spice and flavour to kick through the bread.
Anyway, thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Hi Joe! Yay! Thank you for trying this recipe! Yeah, I agree, pretty labor intensive that I would only make maybe quarterly… not more than that for sure. I still remember the texture when you bite into it… oh soooo good!!!! I’m always S&B curry fan (just because it’s the first curry powder company in Japan. Haha). Thank you for the tip on Vermont Curry roux. Maybe you could add curry powder if that’s the only option at the local Japanese grocery store, too. Thank you again for your kind feedback!
This reminds me of the Malaysian curry puff but I think I will like this more, I like the milder Japanese curry 🙂
Thank you for posting this and giving standard measurements! My curry always ends up runny in spite of everything I do, but I think this technique will work beautifully with my tikka masala that always seems to solidify in spite of everything I do! I do have a question, though:
If you want to bake this instead of fry it, how long do you bake it at 350F?
Hi Kim! Filling is already cooked, so I’d say 400 ºF (200 ºC) for 15 mins? I’m not sure how panko will turn to golden color.
I may suggest using pre-toasted panko that I use for Baked Tonkatsu recipe.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/baked-tonkatsu/
These are so dangerous…. dangerously moreish!
I just made these today and I have to say they were amazing. Light, crunchy on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside. It was a bit of work, but I actually made these on a weeknight. I had all the ingredients measured out the night before. My dough also rose a lot faster thanks to the weather (it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere). This was the perfect recipe. They were beautiful. Thank you!
Some notes:
The breads were a bit hard to handle and coat/brush with egg since they’re pretty fragile!
I also noticed that they puffed up nicely during frying (I applied the tip of flipping them a few seconds into frying). During frying, there were times when the oil would spit a bit. Later on I saw that some of the curry breads had created a small hole to expel the hot air in the bread cavity during frying. No curry came out though, the hole was very small luckily. Maybe something to be weary of (especially if you’re afraid of frying like me)!
Hi Diana! Yay!! I’m so happy to hear you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Yes… this is seriously dangerous and I can’t wait to make again (I think I had enough break from last time I made).
Thanks for sharing your notes. Yes, brushing with egg – it’s like handling a newborn… I think the dough split happens when it’s not closed / sealed tightly. And curry can seep through it. I’ve had that learning lesson on my first trial. It “can” be dangerous when curry comes out, so the sealing is SO important. And to seal tightly, the curry can’t be touched the edges… when curry touch the edge of the dough, the oil stays there and it won’t close tightly. That’s the main concern I have when I tried to explain this recipe… SUPER important part.
Thanks again for trying this recipe. You’ve made my day! xo
Hello! I’ve been using your recipes for mostly sweets in the past but lately I’ve been trying your savory recipes too 🙂 I was planning to make this next week and I can’t wait! Everything I’ve made so far with your help has been absolutely delicious and loved by everyone I gave it to 🙂
However since this is my first time making a bread, I am a bit intimidated. I don’t have a proof setting on my oven, so I’m not sure how to approach letting it rise 🙁 can I just leave it at room temperature?(I live in socal and it’s been quite cold lately) Or put it in the oven without turning it on? Would I need to let it rise for a longer period of time?
Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes btw!!
Hi Tina! Thank you for trying my recipes! I’m glad you enjoyed them and thank you for your kind feedback.
Bread making is intimidated. Every time I am about to make bread, I need some extra power to get started, even though I know I’ll be rewarded with delicious homemade bread… it’s a time consuming process that “could” fail if something goes wrong…
I did not have a proof setting on my oven before getting this oven (p.s. It really helps – future consideration when your oven decides to retire). There are several hacks for this… sunny warm day helps (don’t put under direct sun), warm dryer (yes washer & dryer’s dryer), warm oven (keep it warmer for some time and turn off), what else I did… anywhere that’s warm… It’ll take a longer time if it’s not warm enough so you have to be patient. 🙂
Hope you will enjoy this recipe! It’s so delicious… be careful when wrapping curry… that’s one step you need to make 120% sure. 🙂
I made these tonight, and they were amazing! I loved the bread dough – so soft and silky and light. It’s inspired me to make shako pan. Thank you for sharing this oishii dish!
Hi Jennifer! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy and excited to hear you tried this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
The recipe calls for butterni corporation too early. The dough cannot develop enough gluten later on. I couldn’t get a window pane no matter how much I was kneading. This caused problem when fillingthe dough with curry. The dough kept snapping back even after relaxing the dough. This made filling sufficient curry very difficult….
Hi Ping! Thank you for trying this recipe, and I’m sorry yours didn’t come out well. I’ve studied this recipe for a long time from different bread cookbooks and different online sources. Even though I would consider this is a rather advanced recipe, I think it’s do-able if you follow the steps precisely. I’ve seen many successful curry bread made by my readers on Instagram (#justonecookbook) and other social media, so I know it’ll work and I’m very confident that this recipe works. Please feel free to email me or ask me. I’d love to help.
Hi Nami! I’ve written you before and I love your recipes. Some we even eat on a weekly basis (like donburi w/ shiso-garlic soy – that soy is soooo good). I’ve been researching yeast to use, since I’ve made bread in the past with regular active yeast.
I found some info on instant yeast and am a little confused. The only instant I can find is Fleishman’s Rapid Rise Instant dry. Some sites have mentioned that this is not the same as regular instant yeast and will cause your dough to taste different. I try to get as close as I can (and I have to make adjustments for baking or soft-cooking things due to our altitude here in CO). Do you have a brand you use of instant yeast or is the one I got okay for this? Thanks!
Hi Emeraldkat! I use the same one. This one doesn’t require activation with warm liquid and go straight into dry ingredients. It’s much easier to use, and ones that I feel comfortable using for my recipes so far. Hope this helps!
And thank you so much for trying out my recipes! So happy you enjoy them. 🙂
I just wanted to update you as I was finally able to make this (I used a lactose-free version for dietary issues in my family). Your clarification was great and these turned out wonderful! I made a double-batch and with my teen daughter’s friends around, they were gone within 24 hours!
I’m so in love with these now, I’m interested in filling them with other things like bbq’ed meats or even simply ground fillings like pork + veggies (maybe using something like the filling for gyoza). They are wonderful to have around for the kids or hubby to just grab and take.
Hi Emeraldkat! I am SO happy to hear that. We were crazy for these when I was testing the recipe too (it didn’t look perfect then, but we don’t care). We ate too much bread that I had to stop making (who can resist these?! so goood!!). Yes, you can make with different filling, and I recommend ones that are “cooked” filling so you don’t have to worry about inside being uncooked. It’s easier that way since you just need to reheat the filling. Have fun making variations and thank you so much for your kind feedback. xoxo
320°F burned the heck out of my buns and only 4 of them were edible by the time I figured out a good temp. Also my oven only goes down to 175°F so I had to make lots of adjustments for letting the dough rise.
Hi Zoe! 320 ºF (160 ºC) is considered pretty low when it comes to deep frying. Maybe your oil kept going higher and higher. It’s hard to maintain the right oil temperature as it keeps rising. If your oven doesn’t have proof option, then you can place it at a warmer place of the house (it may take a bit longer time). If the temp is too high it may kill the yeast, so be careful. 🙂
First time they turned out perfect and we so enjoyed. Can’t get them here and my mother in law was impressed- Tokiko. The second time the humidity was high in the house and I had trouble with them not wanting to close but another “squeeze” just as they went into the oil and they were fine. So very different in your other great recipes and a lot of fun to make and eat
Thanks
Hi Steve! Thank you for trying out this recipe twice already! I’m glad to hear you and your mother in law enjoyed it. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
Thanks for the recipe! Tried it today, was super successful. . . Dough might be better w/a little more sweetness? All your recipes work great. love your website and recommend to many.
Hi Miky! I’m so glad your curry pan came out successfully! You can add more sweetness to the dough if you like. Thank you for recommending my site to your friends!
Hi, so excited to try this recipe but no matter how hard I pinched and fold and double fold, the bread keep opening at the seam on the last proof stage. What mistake do I make here ? I follow the recipe to the gram and size. Thank you.
Hi Tamara! I know why – the dough area gets oil from the curry and once the dough has oil on it, it doesn’t close. This is why I mentioned many times to be careful about keeping the edge clean.
2. Never ever overfill the curry paste
I’ve made this mistake and learned the hard way. When you place the curry filling on a round sheet of dough, make sure you have PLENTY of space around it so you can pinch the dough easily and tightly. You don’t want to overfill because if the curry touches the edge of the dough even a little bit, the pinched dough may pop open and the curry filling will fall out easily during the proofing and deep frying stages.
If you accidentally made the mistake, here’s what you can do.
a) If the pinched dough opened up before deep frying, you can toast the panko first until golden brown, then bake the bread at 375 ºF (190 ºC). This is the same technique as my Baked Tonkatsu/Chicken Katsu recipes.
b) If the dough opened up during deep frying, you want to immediately stop deep frying, instead gently remove the bread dough from the oil, pop them straight into the oven at 375 ºF (190 ºC) and bake until golden brown.
Quick question – can I make the dough and filling ahead of time or does it need to be made all at once? Thanks!
Hi Christine! I always make the filling ahead of time, but I make the dough when I make the recipe. You don’t want to over-proof the dough. 🙂
can i make the bread dough in a breadmaker?
Hi darlyne! Yes, you can do that. 🙂
Thank you for posting this recipe! I love kare pan so much. Can I freeze the unfried ones if I don’t want to make them all at once and want to save some for the future? Or should I just reduce the recipe and make only what I need each time?
Hi Jana! I think you can freeze fried ones, but don’t freeze the unfried ones. I haven’t tried it myself… I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Dear Namiko,
I am already a subscriber to your newsletter and I like your Japanese and other asian recipes.
I saw the link to the Japanese curry bread from a facebook post. I want to air fry the bread instead of deep frying it. Does the dough need to be modified for airfyng?
Thanks. I look forward to your reply.
Selena
Hi Selena! Thank you so much for your kind words. I don’t have an air fryer to test to see if it works or not… I “think” it should work considering that the curry filling is cooked and all things you need to do is to cook the bread/crust. You will need to try and test to see how long it takes and temperature… I wish I knew already so I could share the info but I am not sure. 🙁
Hi Nami! Like all of your recipes, this one turned out great – it does take a long time (I just finished deep frying them and it’s 11pm haha) but they are so worth it!! This is one of my favorite things to eat as I am so glad I can make it at home now.
The oil temp of 320 was perfect to achieve a crisp and non oily exterior yet cook the bread at the same time too.
In case people are wondering if the dough can be done in a stand mixer, I made the dough completely in a stand mixer (just put the butter in once the dough starts to come together and the kneaded on med low for 5-6 more min).
I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep the edges clean. I only had one bread pop open during frying – so like you suggested, I let it get golden brown outside and then put it into an oven I had already heated to 375 just in case – which worked great. One suggestion would be to maybe include in the same step for heating the oil, for people to also preheat the oven to 375, just in case any break while frying – that way you can just pop the broken one on and keep going with the rest.
Hi Brenda! Hahaha I can feel your pain. It is such a time-consuming recipe! But it tastes so good!! Yes, thanks for mentioning that the dough can be made in the stand mixer. Thanks so much for sharing your detailed tip on “finishing up” in the oven for the bread that pops up! Very helpful!
I found this recipe by chance and decided to give it a try since our beloved Curry House Restaurant closed without notice. The spicy curry pan was my son’s favorite thing to order. It was absolutely delicious. My son ate 4 without taking a breath and loved it. I made another batch to take to my mom’s house and she was really impressed! She’s originally from Kumamoto and is a great cook so that’s a real compliment. I made the miso butter cookies today (also delicious) and am going to try your other recipes as well. Thank you for the detailed instructions and pictures. Best of luck with your surgery and I wish you a speedy recovery!
Hi Dianne! I’m sorry to hear your favorite curry house restaurant closed. 🙁 But you made this (super time consuming) recipe!! I’m so excited and happy to hear your son enjoyed your homemade curry pan and your mom approved! 😀 Thank you for trying my recipes – glad to hear you liked miso butter cookies (I’ve been craving to eat this for some time now). And thank you for your well wishes! I finally can type with 2 hands! 😉
Can this be made in an air fryer?
Hi Kazuko! No, I don’t own an air fryer so I haven’t tried this with it. But I think you can. Inside the korokke is all cooked and you just have to fry the outer layer panko. 🙂
Hi,
Thank for your efforts to give us wonderful recipe. We had a good time having them this evening.
😀😀
Hi Sampath! Wonderful! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for trying this. I miss eating this out of the fryer!
Hi Nami,
I made this recipe yesterday for my family. It turned out very delicious but I had a couple of questions. One is about the rolling. After separating into eight pieces and allowing the Delta rest even recommend doing a fold into thirds and another fold into thirds. After I did this it was very difficult to roll the dough into a circle. It was a square. Is the stuff really necessary? Also I felt that the bread needed more curry filling. Before you add a tablespoon and a half of curry do you chop up your veggies smaller? It just seems like it needed more curry in there to me. Also I was a little bit confused about the shaping. What do you mean when you say to fold the dough like you would a brown paper bag? My bread turned out a little bit lumpy and not perfect like yours. But it still tasted good! Last question… Would it be possible to farm these breads and freeze them so I could fry them in the morning on school days for my kids?
Hi Cristen! Thanks for trying my recipe and here are my answers.
1) Yes, you need to fold into thirds (it’s a very common method in bread making). I’m afraid you overknead the dough. The dough has developed too much gluten, causing the dough to be overly firm. When the gluten has been over developed due to too much kneading, it will be tight and have almost no give. So you have to probably let the dough sit and rest, untouched for a while. It should not be too difficult to fold into thirds.
2) You can add more curry filling. If the curry is more solid, it’s a lot easier too. And once you know how to seal the dough tightly, without the curry sauce touch the edges of the dough, you can put as much curry as you like. It’s easier to work with small amount of curry, because like I explained, it’s nightmare if the curry starts spreading and touch the edges of the dough. You won’t be able to close/seal the dough at all.
3) Folding like a brown lunch bag. American kids usually bring lunch in a brown paper bag, so that’s what I meant. It’s like a gift bag, and you fold the top of the bag (open side) 2-3 layers. That’s how you want to fold the edges of the dough. Not about shaping, but it’s more about the way you seal the edges.
Hope I answered your questions!
Hi Nami,
The base recipe seems good, but unfortunately following your recommendations for proofing times and temperatures resulted in badly overproofed kare pan which couldn’t hold its shape for frying. Maybe Norwegian yeast is more active? Will try again with some adjustments.
Hi Sigve! Thanks for trying this recipe! Hmm… also room temperature too. My kitchen/SF is always cool, so my dough don’t overproof fast. It’s summer now and that might affect….
I went to a bakery at the Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa and they have curry donuts and egg donuts. Any idea how you’d make the egg ones? Same dough and just put a ramen egg inside?
Hi Candace! I had never had it before, but sounds delicious! Not sure what type of eggs, but possibly the ramen egg (Ajitsuke Tamago, the seasoned eggs). Deep-fried dough like curry bread, right?
The Kare Pan was a showstopper! It was a lot of work, but boy, so very delicious. The bread had the perfect crunchy exterior and chewy interior. Miraculously none of mine broke open during frying. The tip for turning them as soon as you put them in is really needed. The ones that I was seconds late to turn inflated like a balloon on one side and didn’t want to flip over. As I was making them I was thinking, these are a lot of work, not sure I’ll be making them again. But now I can’t wait to make them again! I am thinking about all kinds of different curry fillings. I used chicken and vegetables for this one, and am thinking of beef or lamb for the future.
Hi Dorothy! Ohhh I’m so happy to hear you tried my Kare Pan. I agree, it’s A LOT OF work, but it’s something about this bread that is so addicting that I want to make a few times every year… I’m sure you pinch and seal the dough correctly. I’m glad! That’s my biggest concern for my readers for this recipe. Honestly, only people who made this will continue making it. Nothing like just out of the fryer Kare Pan. It’s a total win. My gosh, I just drooled imagining that. LOL!!!
I. Love. This. Recipe.
I tried a few other curry bread recipes before this one. The dough Nami makes is superb! It almost makes you feel a little guilty, like you’re eating a donut dough with your curry…
I tend to make my curry chunky, so make sure you dice things a little smaller for the filling. And like she says, don’t let the curry get in the seams! It will make the bread crack open during frying if you do.
Hi Kristine,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you LOVE this Kare Pan! We love it too.😋
Thank you for sharing your cooking experience/tips with us!
Dear Nami,
I made this recipe and it worked perfectly:) a couple popped open in the fryer so transferred to the oven and that worked great too. I need to work on the sealing technique. This is the first time I’ve had these since living in Japan 15 years ago and I couldn’t have been more delighted with the result. Thank you so much! 🤩❤️
Hi Rochelle,
We couldn’t be happier to hear how much joy and excitement my recipe has brought to you!
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.💕
Hi Nami, when I was travelling in Japan last December. I accidentally found this curry bread in one of the bakeries at Fukuoka train station. I had fallen in love with it….it was so yummy 😋 and I ate it every day (I stayed there for 3 days)..haha
Now I am so happy to found your recipe of making my favorite curry bread🥰
But I have a question about the cake flour substitute with AP flour.
1 cup of cake flour =120g
For every 1 cup of all-purpose (AP) flour, remove 2 tablespoons of AP flour.
Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for every 1 cup of AP flour.
However, the recipe is only using 50g cake flour, may I should I substitute it with AP flour?
Thanks and like to hear from you soon. Have a good day😊
Hi Dana,
We are so glad to hear you had a chance to eat Curry bread in Japan! They are so yummy! 😋
To make 50g of cake flour, I recommend to make a half cup of cake flour first and use 50g from it.
1) Prepare 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2) Remove 1 Tbsp from it
3) Add 1 Tbsp cornstarch
4) Sift it well together a few times
5) Measure 50 g
I hope this helps!
Just tried this last night and it was fantastic! That dough is fantastic, glad to see it can be used to make other recipes, which I’m going to be trying out real soon!
Some things that I had to change up:
1. Was step #11 a typo? I didn’t have enough time to let it rise and they still came out fine (after the first time it rose.
2. Had about 30 grams less of flour and used semolina flour.
3. My oven doesn’t go down to 100F, so I turned it to it’s lowest (170F) and then turned it off.
Hi Minh,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
This recipe has first proofing, bench time, and second proofing to make a better texture. The second proofing will help the dough to become more finely and softly. So it can be skipped, but the result will be different.
We hope this helps! 🙂
hi! would it be possible to bake this bread after spraying it with some oil after adding the panko because i dont own a thermometer nor the equipment for frying food… would it also be possible to try to make round breads like how anpan is shaped? thank you!!
I had something like this at a train station in Japan, also one that had melty chocolate inside that was super yum …
Hi Adam!
We are glad to hear you had a chance to try Japanese Kare Pan! Yes! It’s yum!
Hey. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong because no matter how little curry I put in, it comes spilling out the sides when I attempt to bring the edges together. How do I close them without the curry jumping out due to pressure?
Hi Taylor,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
Did you have a chance to read “3 Important Tips” in this post? If you overfill the curry or the curry touches the edge of the dough even a little bit, the pinched dough may pop open, and the curry filling will fall out easily during the proofing and deep-frying stages. So please make sure the edge are clean and pichi it together.
We hope this helps!
I did. I used less than a teaspoon of curry in one and still had it popping out when I went to fold it. There was a good inch between it and any edges when I started, but when I folded it came exploding out. I didn’t even get to seal it before it failed. It seems like the pressure of the folding in the middle pushes it all outward – how do I prevent this from happening?
Hi Taylor,
I see…
When you fold the edges together, did you fold it on the counter table or in your hand?
If you see Step 6 and 7, Nami never lifts the dough from the table, and stretch the edges to seal it.
This will help to seal the edges without touching the curry and no pressure by folding it.
What do you think? Is this helpful?
I left it in the pan. Not sure what is meant by stretching to close it – after doing the pressing to thin out the edges, any more stretching would tear the dough. So I pick up the edges, but it ends up putting pressure on the center…
Hi Taylor,
I meant to say slightly stretch the dough out from the middle and bring it back together to wrap. Therefore it is not pushing the curry.😉
You may also start to tightly pinch/seal from the side first.
We hope this helps.