Curry Recipe in Rice Cooker

Curry is typically made with ground meats and minced vegetables stirred-fried in various aromatics and spices. You may be more familiar with Japanese curry, where thick curry sauce is poured over a bed of hot rice. This recipe is more of a dry curry as all the ingredients are cooked in the rice cooker. The word “dry” in dry curry comes from the minimal use of liquids when cooking meat and vegetables, resulting in a flavor-packed mixture served with rice, flatbreads, naans, etc. The meat and vegetables in dry curry are typically made separately and then mixed with cooked white rice. However, we are making it all together in this recipe to save time and effort. This recipe is a dry curry-style dish easily made in the rice cooker for a delicious and time-effective meal.

Ingredients for Curry

• Washed and drained rice – I am using Japanese medium grain rice. Japanese short grain rice is perfect for this recipe as well. You can use your choice of rice. If you want to make onigiri out of it, I recommend short/medium-grain rice as it is sticky.
• Carrot
• Onion
• Potato
• Beef – I am using ground beef because I had some in my fridge. However, thinly sliced beef is a great option. Other alternatives like ground chicken, pork, and lamb are good, too. I would ensure the meat is ground or thinly sliced so it will cook thoroughly in the rice cooker.
• Curry roux – I am using Japanese curry roux mix for a quick and easy meal. You can make your own curry sauce using curry powder. If you are using curry powder, I like using curry powder from the S&B brand.
• Grated garlic

Ingredients without using Curry roux

• 1 tbsp Curry powder – You can make your own curry sauce using curry powder. If you are using curry powder, I like using curry powder from the S&B brand.
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce – I am using Japanese soy sauce from Kikkoman. But any soy sauce will work.
• 1 tbsp Grated ginger
• 1 tbsp Grated garlic
• 2 cups Beef stock – any stock and brand works. If you don’t have any stock on hand, you can use water, but the flavor will be different.
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Additional topping

• Tonkatsu sauce (optional) – I’ve always enjoyed drizzling tonkatsu sauce on my curry. You may think, “tonkatsu sauce on curry?” but it’s a common thing to do in Japan.  If you have yet to try that, see how you like it! My favorite is the Bulldog brand.
• Fukujinzuke (optional) – fukujinzuke is sweet pickled vegetables usually served with Japanese curry.

Tips on making Curry in Rice Cooker:

This recipe for Dry curry is so easy there are not many tips and tricks, as it is straightforward and foolproof. All you have to do is add all the ingredients and touch the “start” button on the rice cooker. However, the one thing to keep in mind is to mince meat and vegetables as small as possible. Dry curry typically uses minced meat and vegetables, but it is also easier to cook and eat without big chunks of ingredients in the dish. 

Additional products used for this recipe

If you are looking for a new rice cooker, Zojirushi brand is my tried and true. They have many different models you can chose from but here is the one I have currently.

This onigiri mold is a game changer! I bought mine from Daiso (Japanese dollar store), but you can also find one similar here. You can also look for one at Japanese grocery stores if you have one near you.

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