Japanese Curry Nabe for Two - To Make It Even Better? Top It with an Egg

Curry is one of my all time comfort food. My mom once told me that I even ate it for 7 days straight when I was a kid, never get sick of it. My appetite for this Japanese food keeps expanding and now to a point where a plate of curry rice can only scratch the surface. 

How can I enjoy more curry sauce in one meal? Nabe/hot pot it is! One whole pot of curry sauce all for myself! Oops, I mean for two people.

Japanese curry nabe for two -

Ingredients (for two)?

Soup base:

• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 4 curry cubes 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Others (mix and match per your likings):

• 2 packs instant udon
• 1 egg
• Some bac choy
• Some lettuce
• Some triangle shaped fried tofu
• Some maitake mushroom
• Some lamb slices

How?

Drizzle enough olive oil to evenly coat the bottom of the stock pot. Turn to medium high heat and add in peeled, sliced onion. Sprinkle some salt and pepper then give it a quick stir. 

Cook till the edges of the onion slices turned slightly burned. Add in peeled, cubed carrot and cook for another 15 minutes using medium heat. I specially diced the carrot into smaller cubes so it gets cooked through and softened faster.

Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil then turn to medium heat to keep it at a light bubbling condition, cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. Add in the curry cubes and keep stirring gently till the cubes have been fully melted with no lumps present. 

Use another pot that will be brought to the dining table. Scoop enough curry stock for two people to the serving pot and turn to medium heat.

Carefully arrange the hot pot ingredients around. Usually I would put leafy greens along the edge with harder texture items such as mushrooms and tofu in the inner layer. Add the udon to the center then arrange the meat slices around. 

Cover with lid or not, cook for about 2 minutes. Separate the udon gently. 

Break one egg and add to the center of the pot. Cover with lid and cook for another 30 seconds before serving. Scoop more stock into the pot if desired.

Pay attention here, if using beef slices, it might be better adding the meat to the pot when the egg goes in. That way the beef slices will be semi-cooked through while the egg is ready. By the time you start eating, the beef will be at a perfect tender stage with slightly pinkish color in the center. 

Meat is always good, but the tofu that soaked up all the curry juice is the best.


Other Japanese food recipes:

• Japanese egg salad sandwich topped with smoked salmon (tamago sando)
• Quick fix meal - instant udon with mentaiko, panko, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Light meal recipe - Japanese style corn and ham sandwich
• Beef shabu with a touch of sesame dressing and homemade spicy oil
• Japanese style dan dan noodles - 日式担担麵