curry bread [カレーパン] Pt. 1: curry filling

I know, I know... I've been AWOL for the past few weeks. I'm so sorry! >_<;; This speech class I'm taking has been taking it's toll on me. It's really pushing me out of my comfort zone. But then again... it's only through that discomfort that we grow and become mentally stronger. So I suppose I'll have to bite the bullet and just get it over with. Just five more classes~

On the topic of going out of comfort zones... let's talk about frying and bread making. I'm just terrified of both, but then, out of the blue, bocchan requests that I make curry bread. Bread... filled bread... frying... hot oil... burns... that was pretty much all that ran through my coffee-powered mind at the moment. In the end, I accepted the request with much apprehension and it turned out quite successfully or deliciously, I should say.

Though I had to seriously think out a proper strategy at tackling this bread. I decided on using a yeast-based beignet dough as the bread as it's more suited for frying. As for the curry filling, rather than bringing out a plethora of spices and mixing my own curry, I just turned toward the ready-made Japanese curry concentrate cubes (they come in boxes and may be found in most Asian supermarkets) and threw in ground beef and mirepiox (celery, carrots, and onion).

It turns out that the hardest part wasn't making the curry bread, but organizing and typing out the recipe as it is quite long. So to save your eyes, I'll be separating it into three parts: the curry filling (recipe below), beignet dough, and how to pull everything together.

Filling for Curry Bread

We'll need:

2tbls oil
1 medium carrot
1 small onion (or 1/2 med onion)
1 celery stalk
3/4lb ground beef (preferably lean)
4 cubes curry concentrate (I like to use the "Vermont Apple" flavored type)
1 cup water
1/2 cup coconut milk (or soy milk/milk)

Utensils:
cutting board
kitchen knife
measuring spoons/cups
frying pan
spatula
medium-sized bowl

~Place oil  in the frying pan and heat over medium. Peel the carrot and onion and remove the tough "veins" from the celery. Then cut the vegetables into small cubes and place into the pan. Sautee for about 2-3mins with 1tsp of water. When soft, add the ground beef and continue cooking for about 3-5mins.

~Next, add the remaining water to the meat/vegetable mixture, allowing it to come to a soft simmer. Then, add in the curry cubes and stir until dissolved. Add the coconut milk and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by about half, about 3-5mins. Pour the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate overnight to allow it to firm up.

Next Post: Beignet Dough