Sapporo Soup Curry

1. Before You Start: For this recipe, I use a multi-cooker to steam the rice, stir-fry the ingredients, and pressure cook the soup curry. For Instant Pot instructions, see the end Notes. Alternatively, you can use a pot on the stove to sauté and cook the soup curry. For the steamed rice, you could also cook it in a rice cooker, pot on the stove, donabe, and Instant Pot; please see those recipes for how much water to use. Note that the rice-to-water ratio is 1 to 1.1 (or 1.2) for short-grain white rice.

To Make the Steamed Rice

1. Rinse and wash 1½ cups uncooked Japanese short-grain white rice 3 times and drain well. For step-by-step instructions of how to measure and rinse, see my post on how to make rice. Place the rice in the inner pot of the cooker, then add water up to the 2-cup water line. Close the lid.
2. Select the Rice menu on the multi-cooker, then set the steam time to 8 minutes. Press the Cook button. When cooking is completed, warming will start. Fluff up the rice with a rice scooper. Tip: Adjust the cooking time and water according to your personal taste.

To Prepare the Ingredients

1. Gather all the ingredients. Measure the seasonings ahead of time: 1 cube Japanese curry roux, 1 Tbsp Japanese curry powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1½ Tbsp mango chutney, and 1 Tbsp honey.
2. Dice 1 onion.
3. Peel and cut 1 carrot into small pieces. I use the rangiri Japanese cutting method to increase the surface area so the carrot cooks evenly and faster and absorbs more flavor.
4. Mince 3 cloves garlic and grate 1 knob ginger.
5. Open 1 package shimeji mushrooms and cut off the bottom root end. Separate the mushrooms into small clusters.
6. Pat dry 2.5 lb bone-in skin-on chicken thighs with paper towels to remove any moisture. Season the chicken with 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To Stir-Fry

1. Set the cooker to Browning Fry, level 6 for 30 minutes. You can add more minutes later if you need extra time.
2. Heat ½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and brown the chicken, skin side down, for 5 minutes each side, or until golden brown. Don’t crowd the pot, and brown the chicken in batches, if necessary.
3. After the bottom side is nicely browned, flip to cook the other side. Then, transfer the chicken to a plate and continue with the next batch. Set aside.
4. Add the diced onion and 1 Tbsp unsalted butter. Add ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Sauté until translucent, about 7–8 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and ginger and mix all together.
6. Add the curry roux, curry powder, and garam masala. Give it a quick stir.
7. Add the tomato paste and sauté until fragrant.
8. Add the honey and mango chutney and mix all together.
9. Gradually add half of the 3 cups chicken stock/broth, scraping the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Transfer the chicken back to the pot.
10. Add the carrots, shimeji mushrooms, and rest of the chicken stock.
11. Add 1 Tbsp dry basil and 1 bay leaf. Gently mix all together.

To Pressure Cook

1. Close the lid and set cooker to Multi Cook, level 9 for 35 minutes. For Instant Pot directions, see the end Notes below.
2. Once pressure cooking is done, open the lid and stir. Add 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 1 tsp soy sauce.
3. Taste and adjust the flavor.

To Deep-Fry the Vegetables (optional)

1. Lotus root: Thinly slice 2 inches lotus root (renkon) and soak in water (or ideally in 2 cups water + 1 tsp of rice vinegar) for 10 minutes.
2. Bell pepper: Remove the seeds from ½ red bell pepper and cut into 4 wedges.
3. Okra: Remove the hard top edges from 2 okra and cut in half lengthwise.
4. Kabocha: Thinly slice 2 oz kabocha squash (cut in half if it’s too big). If the kabocha is too hard to cut, microwave first for 30 seconds or more.
5. Potato: Cut 1 russet potato into 6–8 wedges and soak in water for 10 minutes to remove the starch.
6. Eggplant: Right before deep-frying (otherwise it’ll change color), cut 2 Japanese or Chinese eggplants in half lengthwise and score the skin side in a crisscross pattern. This creates a nice design and helps to absorb more flavors.
7. Make sure to remove moisture from all the vegetables with a paper towel or kitchen towel before frying.
8. Add 1 cup neutral oil to a frying pan (I use a cast iron pan) or deep, heavy-bottomed pot. Deep- or shallow-fry the vegetables at 350ºF (175ºC) and drain the excess oil on a paper towel or a wire rack.

To Serve

1. Serve the steamed rice in a small bowl or plate. Serve the soup curry separately in an individual soup bowl. Top the soup with the deep-fried vegetables. To eat, pick up some rice with a spoon, scoop some soup curry, and enjoy!

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.