Learn how to make Japanese Curry Roux from scratch. Only five ingredients! This easy recipe will help you cook up many delicious pots of Japanese curry.
Japanese curry (also known as Curry Rice/Kare Raisu/カレーライス) is the ultimate comfort dish. It is the staple meal for many Japanese households because it’s so easy to make at home.
The convenience comes from the readily made Japanese Curry Sauce Mix or curry roux (カレールー), which allows you to cook up the stew-like curry consisting of meat & vegetables in the shortest time.
What is Japanese Curry Roux?
The curry roux in block form was first introduced by S&B Foods in 1956. It refers to a solidified mixture of sauce, made with fat, flour, and curry spices as the base flavor.
These days we can even find many varieties of instant Japanese curry roux in the Asian aisle at American supermarkets.
The boxed curry roux often comes in a distinctive block that resembles a thick chocolate bar, where you break off individual cubes for the portion you need to make. Some of the common brands include S&B’s Golden Curry, House’s Vermont Curry, Java Curry, and Torokeru Curry.
Homemade Japanese Curry Roux
Although the boxed stuff may spare you some time in the kitchen, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make your own Japanese Curry Roux at home. And just like all curries, curry roux is best made from scratch. The other good reasons for homemade roux?
- No chemical seasonings, preservatives, artificial flavors, and other food additives, which are commonly found in boxed mixes.
- You can customize the flavor, spice level, and thickness to your preferred taste each time you make it.
How to Make Japanese Curry Roux
Ingredients You’ll Need
My recipe for Japanese curry roux requires only five ingredients that you will have in the pantry. They are:
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose/plain flour
- S&B Japanese curry powder
- Garam masala
- Cayenne pepper (optional for spice)
You can use salted butter for making the curry roux. If you do, adjust the amount of salt in the curry recipe you’re making. I use unsalted butter and add salt to taste as I cook.
Why Do We Combine Curry Powder and Garam Masala?
I have made homemade curry roux with just the S&B Japanese curry powder in the past, and it works great.
However, I wanted to make my own curry roux blend without having to buy all kinds of spices that I won’t necessarily use for my daily cooking. One day in my pantry, I found a bag of garam masala I purchased from my local Indian grocery store and I just mixed that into my curry roux. Garam masala added a wonderful fragrance and depth to the roux!
Since then (for the past 10 years), I’ve been using these two spice blends as my base for my curry roux. You can play around with the spices I listed on my pantry page for Japanese curry powder. Make your own blend for fun!
You’re probably wondering about the curry powder and garam masala, so I’ll cover these topics later in the post.
Overview: Cooking Steps
The roux is made with butter and flour that helps to thicken the broth. For the curry roux, we start by cooking the butter and flour mixture for a long time until it turns brown, somewhat chocolate color, for about 25-30 minutes.
When you add the curry powder, garam masala, and cayenne pepper to the roux, you’ll get delicious homemade curry roux.
The butter gives a rich sweet flavor and the toasted flour brings nuttiness. Feel free to modify the amount of the spices to your preference.
How to Store Homemade Japanese Curry Roux
The roux can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for a month or in the freezer for 3-4 months. I recommend cutting the block of roux into cubes. Then, you can add pieces as you need in your curry recipe.
Japanese Curry Powder
The most notable Japanese curry powder is the S&B brand that comes in a tiny red can. It has a slightly sweet and rounded flavor, and it is the most common curry powder that many Japanese homes and restaurants use in making their curry dishes.
You can use other brands of curry powder. However, to achieve the authentic Japanese flavor, I strongly recommend using S&B Curry Powder for making the homemade curry roux. These days you can buy the S&B Curry Powder on Amazon.
Can’t find S&B Curry Powder?
To learn how to make your own Homemade Japanese Curry Powder, visit this pantry page.
What is Garam Masala?
Garam masala is a warming spice with a sharp and pungent flavor and this spice blend is used to add flavor and color to dishes. Depending on spice shops or home recipes, the blend varies. It typically contains:
- Cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Coriander
- Cumin – nice to add more for curry
- Mace
- Mustard seeds
- Nutmeg
- Peppercorns
- Red chili pepper
Some of the spices overlap with Japanese curry powder and that’s okay. You can always tweak your own homemade curry powder blend as you like through trial and error.
What to Make with Japanese Curry Roux
With the homemade curry roux, you will be eager to start cooking a myriad of Japanese curry dishes at any time. Here are some delicious recipes you can make with homemade curry roux:
- Japanese Chicken Curry
- Instant Pot Japanese Curry
- Soup Curry
- Japanese Beef Curry
- Katsu Curry
- Curry Udon
- Japanese Seafood Curry
- Cold Curry Udon
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How to Make Japanese Curry Roux
Video
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz unsalted butter (7 Tbsp)
- 3.5 oz all-purpose flour (plain flour) (about ¾ cup; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off; use GF flour or rice flour for gluten-free)
- 4 Tbsp Japanese curry powder (I recommend S&B Curry Powder; available on Amazon)
- 1 Tbsp garam masala
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Before You Start: I highly encourage you to weigh your flour and butter using a kitchen scale. If you don‘t have a kitchen scale, please use this “fluff and sprinkle“ method to measure the flour: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may end up scooping more flour than you need.
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Make a Brown Roux
- In a small saucepan, melt 3.5 oz unsalted butter over low to medium-low heat (you can cut the butter into small pieces first).
- When the butter is completely melted, add 3.5 oz all-purpose flour (plain flour). With a blunt-end wooden spatula, stir to combine the butter and flour.
- Soon, the butter and flour will fuse and swell. Cook for 20–25 minutes over low heat. Stir constantly because the roux burns easily. If the roux starts separating, switch to a whisk and mix vigorously.
- The roux will turn golden brown. You can even go for a bit darker color (watch my video).
To Make the Curry Roux
- Add 4 Tbsp Japanese curry powder, 1 Tbsp garam masala, and ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional) to the roux. Tip: If you can‘t find garam masala, you can add more curry powder in its place or try adding the other spices that I suggest in the blog post.
- Cook and stir for 30 seconds and remove from the heat. You can use the roux immediately if you‘d like (see the instructions below).
To Mold into a Block (overnight)
- Transfer the roux to a glass or metal container lined with parchment paper. Let it cool completely on the kitchen counter, then refrigerate to solidify overnight.
- On the following day, take out the curry block from the container. If the curry block gets stuck to the container, release it with a butter knife or an offset spatula.
- With a sharp knife, cut the block into 1- x 1-inch (2.5- x 2.5-cm) squares. I cut my single block into 8 pieces. Transfer the curry roux squares to a glass container.
To Store
- Store in the refrigerator for 1 month or in the freezer for 3–4 months. Use them soon before they lose their flavor and aroma.
To Use in a Curry Recipe
- Very important! Please season your final dish with more salt, as the homemade roux is unsalted. I usually add 2–4 tsp salt per block to the broth, on the recipe. Store-bought roux is quite salty, so you may want to add more salt to your homemade Japanese Curry Roux to achieve a similar taste.
- Add the curry roux mixture (before it solidifies) or the roux cubes to the broth of your curry recipe. Follow the recipe instructions on when to add the roux. Try it in recipes like my Chicken Curry, Instant Pot Curry, Vegetarian Curry, Beef Curry, Keema Curry, and Curry Udon.
- How much roux or how many cubes should we use? Roughly 6–7 cubes of this recipe are equivalent to one box of store-bought curry roux (that requires 4 cups or 1L of broth/water). Simmer over low heat for 5–10 minutes. Heat will thicken the roux.
- If the curry flavor is lacking or the curry does not thicken, add more roux. When you add meat and/or veggies, they release more moisture to the broth; therefore, you will need to adjust the amount of roux you use according to what you’re cooking.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on March 18, 2013. The video and new images were added in August 2018. The recipe was revised and the post was updated with new images and blog content in October 2021.
Hello! Noticed the recipe has changed from this:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
To this:
3.5 oz unsalted butter (7 Tbsp)
3.5 oz all-purpose flour (plain flour) (¾ cup)
4 Tbsp Japanese curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Just wondering, why the change? Also, the new recipe seems to make much more roux – is that correct?
Appreciate your great recipe!
Hi Adam! Yes! I’ll be publishing the updated (new) video this Wednesday and will add the new video to the recipe card soon (sorry it’s not the same recipe at the moment).
I have finally revised the recipe after going through readers’ feedback (since 2013) and re-testing multiple times. I will never change my recipe unless I believe it’s a good change, and I’m extremely happy with this updated and improved version as it works so much nicer and more comparable to the store-bought curry roux. The flavor and texture we’re looking for in Japanese curry. Also, it’s almost 1:1 substitution for store-bought curry, which makes it so much easier for readers who decide to choose a store-bought or homemade roux.
So that’s why. It’s been bothering me for the past 2 years, and I finally got it done!
Confession: I make curry about every 6 weeks, using this recipe. I make the roux the night before, so when I started cooking the other night and the recipe had changed, I found myself in a tsukemono: stay with the tried and true or test the new recipe. I’m a creature of habit, but this time I went rouxgue (rolling my eyes at myself). I tried the new version.
Verdict: The new recipe was an instant winner with me and my family. Maybe it’s not too surprising I liked it because it tracks the modifications I make to the original roux and curry recipes, including reducing the garam masala relative to the other ingredients and reducing the chicken stock (to better match the amount of roux for a thickness level close to what we like in our house). With the new recipe, the modifications are unnecessary. I’d take this recipe over the boxed curry blocks any day.
Hi Adam! Thank you for your kind feedback and I’m so glad to hear this new version worked out great! Thank you so much for letting me know. You’ve made my day! 🤗
thank you so very much for taking the time in sharing your recipe on how to make the Japanese curry roux. as i have been looking for this Japanese curry for a very long time and this is now so wonderful that i can now make it at home along on a regular basis along with other Japanese dishes as they are so beautiful to eat once again thank you for sharing your recipes for others to enjoy . Julia may 4 2014
Hi Julie! Thank YOU for reading my blog and following! I hope you enjoy the homemade Japanese curry! If you have any request of recipes, let me know. 🙂
is there a substitute for garam masala in case its not available?
Hi Emilio! If you cannot find garam masala at Asian or regular supermarket, don’t worry. Just add more curry powder. 🙂
Hi Nami, I was looking for ohitashi recipes for our hana mi party today and found your blog. I am super excited to find this recipe too. I love Japanese curry so much and have been very sad to not eat it for years because I didn’t want to make the box stuff for my growing children. Now I can introduce them to this very special Japanese comfort food. Yay. Thank You!!
Hi Audrey! I hope you had a wonderful hanami party! As you know, the roux in the box has lots of stuff that we don’t normally put in the homemade version, the curry texture/flavor won’t be exactly same as the one in the box, but still, I think the homemade curry roux is very delicious and you can customize to your taste easily. I hope you enjoy this recipe! Thank you for your kind comment. 🙂
I made the roux and then followed the recipe to make curry. It turned out well. I can’t believe I have been using the curry blocks all this time. I am glad I was able to try these recipes!
Hi Karrie! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m really glad you enjoyed it too. Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
The garam masala totally kills it. Don’t bother people
it was good! totally going to make it again.
Thank you Bixby! 🙂 xo
Hi Nami, thanks for posting this. Looks easy enough. Will try it soon!
You’re welcome. Enjoy! 🙂
I’ll love you forever for this recipe. I’ve found only one over the internet and the spices were so many and the quantites so complicated I’ve never tried. Be thanked for this (and for all your work too). どうもありがとうございます。今日、やります!
Hi Sasha! Haha I’m so glad you like this recipe. I hope you enjoyed this roux too! ありがとう!
Hai nami i’m so Happy finally i found the recipe to make curry roux. It’s difficult for ke to find Japanese roux here in my place. I want to ask you can i Change the butter With margarine? Thank you
Hi Vonny! I’m glad you found this recipe and hope you will like it. Yes, it should work. 🙂
Very simple and perfect. All of the premixes that I find have MSG in them and my wife gets a migraine from the MSG. We LOVE Japanese foods and are actually finding more and more MSG free or MSG not added foods in the Asain markets but prefer to make things from scratch as much as possible. Thanks for all of your recipes.
Hi David! I’m glad to hear you like this recipe! It’s true – I find more MSG-free products when I go to Japan, and really hope they will start appearing in Japanese grocery stores and Asian markets here. Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
thanks for sharing that recipe, i searched a long time to find a recipe for Chicken Curry but i could not find curry roux in a shop ( i live in germany) and now i can finally try it out. yeah
Thank you Anna! Until you can find the Japanese curry roux in a shop, hope this recipe will work out for you. It’s not EXACTLY same, but it’s additive free and healthier. 🙂 Hope you enjoy making curry!
I am so excited to find this recipe! For years I have been looking for a way to make my own version of S&B curry but up until I found this, we thought it was Chinese not Japanese! I kept searching for Chinese curry recipes and none looked right. The only question I have about it, is on the box the ingredient list shows sugar. I read in one of your comments to someone you use some honey and apples but I cannot have either. Does this recipe taste just like the golden curry sauce or does it need some sugar? If it needs some sugar, how much? I’m assuming I prepare my meat/veggetables the same way as for the box stuff then just add this roux. Thanks for any instructions you can give!
Hi Denise! I “tried” my best to make Japanese homemade curry roux. I like S&B too, but just like other curry roux brands, there are some ingredients that we don’t normally put for homemade stuff such as MSG and additives. Therefore, it’s impossible to make it just like S&B curry roux. Some prefer really spicy curry, so for this roux, I didn’t include any sugar/honey in the roux and I sweetened the curry after I added curry roux. Sweetness is up to person’s preference so I recommend you to sweeten as you like by adding 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. at a time. Also, depends on your ingredients, you can adjust sweetness too. I love adding extra onions because they make the curry sweeter. Hope this helps. 🙂
Will try it. Thanks!
Thank you for giving it a try, Sherri! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
THANK YOU!!! Much healthier than the brick ingredients 🙂 yay
Thank you Monica! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi Nami, just had curry rice with chichen for dinner, i followed your receipe and made the curry roux at home, it’ s delicious!! Thank you so much for you ” cookbook” within all the pictures that help me a lot! I’ m italian so your receipe are totally different from my tradional food and meals, but I honestly had yummy Japanese’s meals following your receipe step by step, thanks again for you sharing that make this possible for me too. It wouldn’t possible for me to learn to cook by myself your traditional dishes without your so easily to follow receipe.
Hi Antonella! Thank you for letting me know! I’m really happy to hear that you enjoy my blog, and that you are making Japanese food at home! You made my day! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I have omitted MSG from my family’s diet and I absolutely LOVE S&B curry. I grew up on it and my kids love it. I am so excited to try this and add it to our meal planning weekly. Thank you for the healthy recipes!
Hi Suzan! I’m glad this recipe will work out for you and you can still make curry! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Do I just add chicken broth to the roux to make curry?
Hi Jodie,
Here is a recipe for Japanese Chicken Curry using this curry roux.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/simple-chicken-curry/
You can also use the keywords “Curry” in the search box on top of the blog to find other curry recipes.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/search/?q=curry%20roux
We hope you can find the curry recipe that you like. 😊
Great idea, arrow! Thanks for sharing! 🙂