Curry Bread（カレーパン) pt. 3: Pulling it all together!

大変 申し訳ありません、皆様~　お待たせいたしました！My apologies for the wait~  Here's the final installment of the three-part curry bread recipe. It was tough, all that curry-making and dough kneading, but we survived. Phew. Now let's start putting the two together and fry up some curry bread!

Crisp exterior, giving in to cotton soft bread as the burst of curry sets the palate ablaze in a symphony of textures and flavors... it... it's almost too much to handle in one bite. *_*

We'll need:

1 recipe beignet dough
1 recipe curry filling
2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Egg Wash: 2 eggs + 1/4cup milk

Oil for frying

Utensils:
rolling pin
knife (or pizza cutter)
2 shallow dishes
baking sheet/parchment paper
frying spider
heavy pot
paper towel-lined plates or cooling rack

~Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature. Place it on a lightly floured surface and give it 4~5 kneads. Then roll the dough out into a rectangle about 0.5in thick. With the knife or pizza cutter, cut  into 1.5x1.5in pieces. Next, roll out the cut pieces into a circle, until it's about 0.25in thick. Prepare the egg wash by whisking together the eggs and the milk in a shallow dish. Pour out the panko on another dish and set the two aside.

~Place 2~3tbls of the curry filling into the dough and pinch the sides together. Next, dip the filled dough into the egg wash and then cover evenly with the panko. Place it on the parchment or baking sheet and repeat until the dough is used up. Let the curry bread rise on the parchment/baking sheet for 30mins. Fill the heavy pot half-way full with oil and place over medium-high heat, until it reaches 350F. Then, place the dough in and fry until golden (about 10-15mins), turning it halfway through the cooking process. Remove from the oil with the spider and let drain on the paper-towel lined plates or on a cooling rack.

*Note: The curry bread can be baked instead of fried. Just omit the panko and brush with egg wash. Place in a pre-heated 350F oven and bake until golden (about 25-30mins).

**Worry not if you've some left-over filling~ I'll have a recipe up for curry croquettes next.

curry bread (カレーパン) pt.2: dough

Here's the second part to this three part recipe: the dough. You can totally use this recipe as is to make beignets, just increase the sugar to 1/2c, cut into pieces, fry until golden, and dust with powdered sugar. You can also fill the fritters with jam, peanut butter.. etc. But in this case, we'll be using this to make the "bread" part of the curry buns.

Beignet Dough for Curry Bread

We'll need:
                                        

                                        
















1 envelope dried yeast (2tbls)
3/4 cup tepid water (110F)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 1/2-3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2tbls softened butter or shortening

Utensils:
large mixing bowl
measuring spoons/cups
hands


~Combine yeast, water, and sugar in the bowl. Let stand for 5mins. Then, add the salt, beaten egg, and evaporated milk to the yeast mixture and combine well. Add half of the flour(about 1 1/2c.) until it begins to come together, forming a very loose dough. Next, add the softened butter or shortening. When incorporated, add the remaining flour (about 1 1/4c) in small amounts. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until it becomes smooth and is without lumps (about 5-15mins).

~When the dough is ready, place it back in the bowl and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.



Next Post:  Making the Curry Bread (finally).

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