Japanese Curry Rice Ball BItes

PREP TIME: 30 minutes COOK TIME: 2 hours YIELDS: 50 Rice Balls (golf ball size)

BY MAX TSIANG ILLUSTRATIONS BY MALIA KEALALUHI

INGREDIENTS

For the curry:

• Curry roux/powder/paste • 500g of beef brisket • ½ a small onion • 1 Carrot • 2 Potatoes • 3 cloves of garlic • 1 knob of ginger • 2 tbsp of tomato paste • ¼ cup of flour • 1 14.5oz can of beef broth (can be replaced with chicken broth or water) • 1 tbsp of grated apple • Salt and pepper • ½ a cup of red wine • 2 tbsp of milk or heavy cream • Grapeseed or any neutral flavored oil

For the rice ball bites:

• White rice • 2 eggs • Panko bread crumbs

CURRY DIRECTIONS

1. Begin by cutting beef brisket into small, bite-sized pieces 2. Pat meat dry and season with ¼ cup of flour, salt, and pepper 3. Brown the meat on medium heat in a heavy-bottomed dutch oven in batches (do not overcrowd the pan, no more than 10 pieces per batch) 4. Remove the meat from the dutch oven and place it on a plate (be sure to keep any resting juices!) 5. Saute the onion on medium heat 6. Once onions are softened and translucent, add in finely chopped garlic and ginger 7. Saute mixture until fragrant (around 30 seconds), then add in 2 tbsp of tomato paste 8. Continue sauteeing for around 2 minutes on medium heat until fond forms (the brown stuff at the bottom of the pan) 9. Add in ½ a cup of red wine and reduce until the alcohol has evaporated, around 1 minute 10. Add in 1 can of beef or chicken broth and enough water to cover the meat, about 1 cup 11. Bring to a boil on high heat, then lower heat to a light simmer and cover the dutch oven tightly with the lid 12. Meanwhile, chop carrots and potatoes into similarly sized bitesized pieces as the beef brisket 13. If you do not have any cooked white rice on hand, start cooking desired amount of white rice (see serving size below for rice balls) 14. Let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, and skim off any scum or fat off the surface 15. Once simmered for 1 hour, add in the carrots and potatoes 16. Simmer for another ½ hour 17. Add in an appropriate amount of curry roux (I used 1.5 blocks of a store-bought curry brick), 2 tbsp of milk or heavy cream, and 1 tbsp of grated apple 18. Season with salt and pepper to taste

RICE BALL BITES DIRECTIONS

(Yields 10 rice balls)

1. Once curry is cooled to room temperature, add 100g to a large bowl 2. Add in 150g of cooked white rice, 1 egg, 40g of panko bread crumbs, and a pinch of salt (no more than 1 tsp) 3. Mix with hands and form small balls similar in size to a golf ball 4. Place rice balls on plate and let firm up in freezer for 20 minutes 5. Beat 1 egg and coat rice balls in egg wash, then in panko bread crumbs 6. Heat oil in a large pan to 350 F and deep-fry the rice balls until golden brown, no more than 5 minutes 7. Remove and drain on paper towels, season with salt, and serve (optionally with lemon, tonkatsu sauce, ketchup, or sauce of choice)

Japanese Curry

Rice Ball Bites