Dinner is solved on a busy weeknight with this easy and delicious Pressure Cooker Japanese Curry using an Instant Pot!
My Instant Pot has been saving me plenty of time cooking for my family’s dinner. It has so many conveniences, but my favorite part is I am also able to cook up complex dishes like this Pressure Cooker Japanese Curry without having to sacrifice the flavors.
The actual pressure cooking time is only 15 minutes, and you don’t even have to be in the kitchen if you use an electric pressure cooker. I simply add the ingredients in the pot, set up the timer, go out for my kids’ activity, and come home for a fabulous dinner ready to eat. Who’s in?
Japanese Curry Rice カレーライス
Have you heard of Japanese curry or Curry Rice (Karē Raisu)? If not, it’s best described as mild and thick curry. Even though curry was originally from Southeast Asia, it has become one of the most popular foods in Japan enjoyed by people of all ages.
Japanese curry is always served with steamed rice, and the common ingredients include a variety of proteins (chicken, beef, pork, seafood), potatoes, onions, and carrots.
To make Thai or Indian curry, you would add the curry spices from the very beginning. However, Japanese curry is seasoned with curry roux toward the end of cooking. Until then it’s just a plain soup/stew.
What is Japanese Curry Roux?
As I mentioned earlier, Japanese curry is seasoned with curry roux. Typically made from fat and flour, roux is a type of thickening agent used for thickening soups and sauces.
Most Japanese make curry with a boxed Japanese curry roux like this (picture above). You can find different spice levels and various brands of curry roux at Japanese or Asian grocery stores. These days I can even find it in the Asian aisle at American supermarkets.
If you prefer to make curry roux from scratch and have an additional 30 minutes to spare, check out my Homemade Curry Roux recipe. All you need is flour, butter, curry powder, and additional spice.
Personalize the Store-Bought Curry with Additional Seasonings
Growing up in Japan, curry rice was a “fast food” for my family; the food that my mom made ahead of time or the previous day when she knew that she couldn’t prepare dinner in time.
I always saw my mom adding grated apples and different condiments to the curry while she was making them. She said, “If you put just the boxed curry roux, your curry will always taste the same. It will not be different from your neighbor’s curry.”
So she taught me two tricks. Use two different brands of curry roux (sometimes mix the spice level, like mild and medium spicy) and use additional seasonings.
My mom and I would use the combination of the following ingredients.
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Butter
- Yogurt
- Grated apple
- Honey
- Red wine or sake
- Oyster sauce
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Tonkatsu sauce
- Soy sauce (used in this recipe)
- Ketchup (used in this recipe)
Other ingredients that my mom or I haven’t added in our curry include peanut butter, marmalade, and banana. Do you add any additional flavoring to your Japanese curry?
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Pressure Cooker Japanese Curry
Video
Ingredients
- 3 onions (large; 2¼ lb, 1,005 g)
- 1½ carrots (5 oz, 143 g)
- 3 Yukon gold potatoes (15 oz, 432 g)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp ginger (grated, with juice)
- 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see Notes for substitutions)
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the Curry Sauce
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (for cooking)
- 3 cups chicken stock/broth (for lower sodium, use water only or half stock and half water)
- 1 package Japanese curry roux (7–8 oz or 200–230 g; or make my Japanese Curry Roux)
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
For Serving
- 6 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables) (optional; or make my Homemade Fukujinzuke)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Please read my blog post about options for add-on condiments to season the curry sauce.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Cut 3 onions in half and cut each half into 5 wedges.
- Peel 1½ carrots and cut into bite-sized pieces. I use a Japanese cutting technique called rangiri. This cut creates more surface area, which helps the carrots absorb more flavor and cook faster. Tip: You can cut the vegetables slightly bigger to avoid a mushy texture.
- Peel 3 Yukon gold potatoes and cut them into quarters. Soak them in water for 15 minutes to remove the excess starch. Tip: Do not use russet potatoes since they would break down too easily.
- Mince 2 cloves garlic (I like this garlic press). Then, grate the ginger with a microplane zester or ceramic grater and reserve 1 tsp ginger (grated, with juice).
- Cut 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. I use the sogigiri Japanese cutting technique to create more surface area and flatten each piece so it cooks faster. Season with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
To Cook the Curry
- Press the Sauté button on your Instant Pot (I use a 6 QT Instant Pot) or preheat a stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat. When the inner pot is hot, add 1 Tbsp neutral oil.
- Then, add the onion wedges, minced garlic, and grated ginger with juice.
- Add the chicken pieces to the pot and mix until just coated with the oil.
- Add the carrots and potatoes to the pot and mix well.
- Add 3 cups chicken stock/broth and use a spatula to press down the meat and vegetables into the liquid. Then, place the cubes from 1 package Japanese curry roux (I combine half mild and half medium spicy packaged roux) on top of the other ingredients. DO NOT MIX! Otherwise, the roux may sink to the bottom of the pot and burn while cooking. For solidified homemade roux, place the cubes on top of the ingredients and do not mix. For non-solidified homemade roux (that you just made), add it after pressure cooking is done.
- Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the Instant Pot‘s steam release handle points to Sealing and not Venting. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button on the Instant Pot to stop sautéing. Then, press the Meat/Stew button to switch to pressure cooking. Press the “minus“ button to change the cooking time to 15 minutes.
- For a Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Close and lock the lid. Set the pressure level to high. Heat the pot on the stovetop over medium-high heat until you‘ve reached high pressure. Then, reduce the heat to medium low to maintain high pressure, and cook for 15 minutes.
- When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the Keep Warm mode. Slide the steam release handle to Venting to let out steam until the float valve drops down, OR let the pressure release naturally (this takes about 15 minutes).
- Unlock the lid. (If you‘re using homemade curry roux, add it to the pot now and heat on Sauté mode for an additional 5 minutes until well blended into the stew.) Add 1 Tbsp ketchup and 1 Tbsp soy sauce now. Mix well, stirring to dissolve the curry roux and checking one last time that there are no undissolved chunks left. Tip: If you use my unsalted homemade curry roux, taste the curry sauce now and add salt to your liking. I recommend adding 2–4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, but this will vary based on the brand of the chicken broth and condiments you added.
To Serve
- Portion 6 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice on individual plates and serve the curry on top. Serve with optional fukujinzuke (Japanese red pickled vegetables) on the side.
To Store
- Keep the leftovers in a glass airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month. The texture of the potatoes will change in the freezer, so remove them before freezing. Defrost the frozen curry in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you want to reheat it.
To Reheat
- Leftover curry sauce will thicken into a paste as it cools, so it tends to burn while reheating. To avoid this, stir ½ cup (120 ml) water or more into the leftover sauce until loosened. Then, gently reheat it on low heat. If the sauce seems thin, continue heating with the lid off to reduce the sauce.
I used to make this on the slow cooker, but I have recently migrateed to using the Instant Pot, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Everything is WONDERFUL.
Hi Michelle, We are glad to hear you enjoyed the Instant Pot recipe!
Nami has many Instant Pot recipes here. Please check it out! https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/pressure-cooker/
Happy Cooking!
Thank you for this recipe! This is my go-to curry recipe. I’ve made it many times (along with the homemade roux). I was wondering, how would the cook time change if I substitute in chicken drumsticks instead of thighs?
Hi Jeanie, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe! We are glad to hear you enjoyed homemade roux and curry!
If you are using chicken drumsticks, we recommend brown the meat first and follow the same cooking time.
We hope this helps!
I just got a 2nd hand instant pot 2 days ago and I knew I would find great resources within your recipes! I made it vegetarian (with butternut, carrot, sweet potato, parsnip and leek) with brown rice and your curry roux! Everybody loved it, me included. We added a side of home made kimchi. Thank you for the step by step instructions and the good dinner 🙂
Hi Bee, We are glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us.
Can I use red potatoes for this recipe?
Hi D R, Yes, you can use red potatoes! Thank you for trying this recipe!
Keep getting a “burned” message on the Instant Pot. Had to pour contents onto a pot on the stove to continue cooking.
Hi Lee, Thank you very much for trying this recipe! Please keep the curry roux blocks on top and do NOT mix. And if you use a homemade roux, Please add it after pressure cooking is done. Otherwise, the Homemade roux goes to the bottom of the pot easily and can burn while cooking. (Noted at Step 11)
We hope this helps!
We’ve made this twice, once following the recipe to a T and the other with chuck roast (cut into 1.5-2” cubes takes 45 mins- so less convenient but delicious) and they’ve been SO GOOD!!! but I’m getting more adventurous and wondering, if we were to add chocolate, apple or banana- how much would we add and when do you suggest we add it?? Before pressure cooking or after? Also, for yogurt, do you think Greek is okay? Or stick with traditional?
Hi Mia, Thank you very much for trying this recipe! You may add 1Tbsp each of personalized additional seasoning at the end of cooking (Step 15). If you plan to add an apple or banana, we recommend puree them first and then add to the curry. Greek yogurt would work well too. Have fun!
I’d never even heard of Japanese curry until a coworker brought some in for lunch. I made this in my instant pot and it was outrageously good! Can’t wait to make it again.
Hi Neil, We are glad to hear you enjoyed Japanese Curry!👏🏻 Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your feedback!
Hi Nami-San
Can I double the recipe I have 8qt ip
Thanks.
Do I need to double the stock/water?
Hi Chiemi, If you have an 8qt instant pot, you can double the recipe or make one batch. The minimum liquid amount for an 8qt instant pot is 2 cups, and you can keep the cooking time the same. We hope this helps!
Thank you!
You are welcome, Chiemi! We hope you enjoyed this Japanese Curry!
Hi! If I were to use pork roast, would it still be the same amount of cooking time? And would I need to saute by itself before adding? thank you!
Hi mymy, If you are cutting the meat into bite-size pieces, the cooking time can be the same, and you do not need to saute by itself. We hope this helps!
If we use beef, do we use beef stock or keep with the chicken?
Hi Fumi, We prefer using beef stock for beef curry, but it’s up to your preference.🙂
Hello! I see you use Vermont brand curry blocks, and the whole package (8oz). I am only able to buy S&B brand curry blocks which is only a 3.2oz package… do i still use one package for the recipe? Or do I need to use two packages to match the amount of the Vermont curry?
For what it’s worth, the directions on the S&B box say to cook it with 1-1.3lb of protein, and 2.5 cup water.
Any advice? Thank you!
Hi Jeanne, Thank you very much for trying this recipe! If you are using S&B curry blocks, please follow the package instruction’s water: roux ratio based on the water amount. So the package said for 2.5 cup water, you can adjust this recipe to make a smaller portion or add a little more curry rox to this recipe, which uses 3 cups water. The difference is the curry’s consistency, and if you add more roux, it will be thicker curry. You can also add more S&B curry roux at Step 15 as you like as well. We hope this helps!
Hi, have you tried using the pressure cooker to make Hamabgu? I think it could work and turn out great by using the saute then the pressure cook function. If you have a recipe I would like to see it.
Hi TK,
We have never tried using a pressure cooker for making Hambagu. If you try, please let us know how it goes!😉
We cooked it last night in our Instantpot.
Saute’d for a few minutes each side until browned, removed, poured 1/2 C water and 1/2 C chicken stock. Placed patties back on trivet and pressure cooked for 15 minutes.
Once finished, I did a manual release.
I have been making Japanese hamabgu’s for a while (my wife says they are my specialty), and I must say, these were the best I’ve ever made. They were perfectly juicy and the best part was, evenly cooked through and not dry at all.
The challenge I’ve had in the past in making hamabgus on the frying pan is getting it cooked all the way though. Depending on the thickness of the patties, there would sometimes be some raw meat in the middle of it even if I had tried steaming it for a good amount of time. And oversteaming it can make it a bit dry.
The instantpot method was very easy and fool proof and removed any guessing game for me. Clean up was quick and easy too.
Anyway, I hope you get the chance to try yourself. It was delicious and I highly recommend the instantpot method.
Hi TK!
Wow,🤩 Thank you very much for sharing your cooking experience with us!
We will definitely try this one day.😋
This is the same Recipe my mother in law who grew up outside of Tokyo taught me but I just got an instant pot so I was super excited to try this. my husband likes to freeze this and take it to lunch but the potatoes don’t usually freeze well so this time I used Daikon instead and its really good! thank you for the instructions. the only other thing we add different is blanched green beans yum! wishing you and your family a happy new year! my mother in law made us sukiyaki last night. it was so good.
Hi Lacey,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
We are so glad to hear it turned out great and you and your husband enjoyed it.
Happy New Year!🎍 Sukiyaki sounds yummy!😋
Hi Nami,
Could this be done in a slow cooker?
Also just wanted to say, I absolutely love your recipes!!
Wow, this recipe was simply excellent. It was my first time cooking anything in an instant pot so I really appreciated your thorough instructions.
I went to school in NYC on a campus a couple blocks away from a “Go! Go! Curry”, which quickly became my favorite comfort food spot. I’ve missed eating curry rice a lot since I’ve moved to Ohio (not known for its Japanese food options, lol). This tasted exactly like the curry I ate after long hours in the classroom so many times. I am certain I’ll be returning to this recipe a lot. I just used Golden Curry Extra Hot but I’m excited to try changing up the roux and the additional add-ins you suggested.
Hi Mon,
Thank you very much for following Nami’s instructions and tried this recipe!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed the Curry, which became similar to your favorite comfort food.
Thank you for your kind feedback!