S&B, Japanese Curry Powder, 85g
The spice behind Japanese curry, from the company that first made curry powder in Japan.
S&B Japanese Curry Powder is a fragrant blend built for the Japanese style of curry: warm and aromatic with a gentle sweetness rather than sharp heat. Use it to make a roux from scratch, to freshen a ready-made curry sauce, or as a seasoning for marinades, batters and roast vegetables. 85g tin.
Why Chefs Choose This
- Japanese profile: rounded and aromatic, made for curry rice rather than Indian or Thai dishes.
- Your own roux: cook it into butter and flour and control the salt, thickness and depth yourself.
- Fine powder: blends smoothly into sauces, batters and rubs with no grit.
- Lidded tin: keeps out light and air, so the aroma lasts.
How to Use
- Japanese curry roux: cook into butter and flour, then whisk into stock for curry rice or katsu curry.
- Lift a block roux: a teaspoon stirred into a roux-based curry such as Golden Curry adds fresh aroma.
- Seasoning: into a karaage marinade, tempura batter or a curry udon broth.
- Beyond Japanese food: on roast vegetables and popcorn, in devilled eggs or a curried mayonnaise.
Karē (カレー) reached Japan in the Meiji era by way of the British, which is why Japanese curry has more in common with an old-fashioned British curry sauce than with anything from India: thickened with a flour roux, gently spiced and served over rice as karē raisu (カレーライス, curry rice). It is now one of Japan's best-loved everyday dishes. S&B (エスビー食品) began in Tokyo in 1923, when its founder, Minejiro Yamazaki, became the first to succeed in producing curry powder in Japan. Curry powder is where the company started, a century before this tin.
Learn more: Japanese Spices & Seasonings
Pairs with: S&B Golden Curry Medium Hot 1kg and S&B Shichimi Togarashi 15g
What does Japanese curry powder taste like?
Warm, rounded and aromatic rather than hot. The first impression is earthy and slightly sweet, with a golden colour and a toasty spice depth; then comes a gentle warmth and a fragrant, slightly bittersweet finish. It is milder and mellower than most Indian curry powders, which is the point: Japanese curry is meant to be comforting, built on a thick, glossy sauce rather than on heat. Cooked into butter and flour it turns nutty and deep; sprinkled raw it is more perfumed and sharper, so it is best cooked briefly before liquid goes in.
Product Details
| Type | Karē ko カレー粉 (Japanese curry powder) |
| Brand | S&B (founded in Tokyo, 1923) |
| Origin | Japan |
| Net Weight and Format | 85g tin |
| Best Used As | The spice base for Japanese curry roux, and a seasoning for marinades and batters |
What is the difference between curry powder and curry roux?
Curry powder is the spice blend on its own. A curry roux, such as S&B Golden Curry, is a ready-made block of spices cooked with fat and flour, so it thickens and seasons the sauce in one step. Powder gives you control: make your own roux with butter and flour, set the salt and thickness yourself, and adjust the spice to the dish. Many chefs use both, building the sauce on a roux block for body and consistency and finishing with a spoonful of powder for fresh aroma.
How do I make Japanese curry from scratch with curry powder?
Melt butter, stir in plain flour and cook gently until it smells nutty and turns light brown. Add two or three tablespoons of curry powder and cook for a minute more, then take it off the heat. In a separate pan, soften onion, carrot and potato with your meat, add stock and simmer until tender. Whisk the roux in a little at a time until the sauce is thick and glossy, then season with soy sauce, a little honey or grated apple, and salt to taste. Serve over rice.
How should I store curry powder?
Keep the lid tight and store the tin in a cool, dry cupboard away from the stove, steam and sunlight. Ground spices lose aroma faster than whole ones, and heat and moisture speed that up. Use a dry spoon rather than shaking the tin over a steaming pan, which lets moisture in and makes the powder clump. If it has lost its smell, it has lost most of its flavour too. Use within the date on the tin, and sooner after opening for the best fragrance.
SKU : S0208