Having been back two weeks following a fortnights holiday in Tokyo I realised it was time to make a curry.
The purpose of cooking this one was to be sure I was right about the food I?d had at Curry House CoCo an eatery which has a similar conveyor belt operational style to many traditional Japanese caf?/bar restaurants, something I had not been looking for or had expected to find in Japan.

One thing I realised while there is I?m not big on Sushi or Sashimi probably due to my indifference when it comes to rice (which makes up 90% of each mouthful of raw fish,) so I took the opportunity to try two eat-in dishes (Cuttlefish and a Mixed Seafood Curry) from this company which according to its English version website:

https://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/info/profile.html

has been around since 1978 and has curry houses in 10 other countries.
This is the direct link to its menu:

https://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/info/pdf/multilingual_1603.pdf

For me both meals tasted almost the same as what I have been making for years now (ie. Fresh tasting curry completely lacking a real BIR flavour.)

Not that I was expecting BIR at all as the Japanese aren?t familiar with it but what I did find interesting that all dishes use the same final curry (pre-made offsite according to their website) regardless of what meat/fish is added although unlike their few competitors CoCo allow you to choose the heat level (1-10) of any dish, only serving you a 5-10 after you?ve managed an entire level 5 previously. I found level 3 to be similar to a typical Madras back here.

So if you find yourself in Japan its worth a look if only for the seafood angle.

Here is a link to a few photos for those interested as in my view anything curry is interesting (The file host is Russian but quick so click the button on the left then the link that appears ignoring/closing any adverts, its just a zip file with JPG images.

http://sendfile.su/1232210

OK. So I have now officially given up waiting for Happy Chris?s eBook!

For the record I believe that Chris is making genuine BIR curry due to what appears to be a genuine friendship with Sam who appears to be a genuine TA owner.

I?m not saying he will never release this eBook but when? A year, 3 years? 8 years? There has to be some kind of realistic date that short of a world catastrophe it couldn?t take any longer to finish. The reality I think is that Chris isn?t a bad bloke but figures a lifetime of detail is what a decent BIR publication needs and although that may not be wrong it doesn?t help if we?re all dead when it comes out, so although I?ve no interest in the personal stand offs that have occurred prior to his leaving my opinion is that he will probably release it precisely when he feels in the mood, even if he finishes it tomorrow but announcing it only takes his fancy on New Years Eve 2030.

Also worth noting is that money surely is no motivation based on the time and resources the videos alone must be taking and for all we know he may of fallen out with Sam or Sam may be objecting to how the eBook is being written etc etc.

A while back I paid the owner of my new local TA to come to my kitchen and show me how to make a Madras/Vindaloo (which I wrote about on here at the time.) From this I did learn about the importance of Tandoori Masala, but that was all and the more I think back to it the more I see how I was easy money because restaurant/TA staff either don?t like the food they make for the masses personally or don?t like us enough to actually WANT US to reproduce it faithfully (this is where I think Chris is a rare example of someone succeeding.)

However I?m going to go one further and say:

The only way I think we will make the same food as our favourite TAs is to actually work in one regularly for a good while. I am well aware that this isn?t practical but just out of frustration I felt I needed to say it as every time I login here so little has changed and seeing as there are so many members wanting the same thing it?s sad we can?t throw our combined resources at convincing some gifted BIR chef to make it his No.1 priority in teaching precise methods, in the same mould a driving instructor truly wants his students to pass as his rating/reputation is at stake.


Or we could just wait for Chris?

Hi
Are you sure you weren't given curry sauce ?
Regards

It was definitely base gravy as I couldn't detect any particularly prominent spices, it was just lumpier and more mature than what I've seen before.

When I order king prawn from my local ( and wonderful ) Indian takeaway they are HUGE! Chunky and very meaty. When I buy king prawns from the supermarket in my endeavours to make my own BIR curry they are a lot smaller and taste nothing like the king prawns from the takeaway. Why is this? Are they not real king prawns from the takeaway? If not what are they and where can I get them? Truly they must be five times the size of the ones from the supermarket.

I asked the very same question to my local TA owner some time ago. He said they use U5 prawns (under 5 per pound.) Other than that they are just cut for effect.

I realise there are some members who absolutely despise supermarket curry and for good reason as most of it is terrible let alone BIR.

However having had a few of these now I thought I would make a quick post to say it's actually the only ready meal curry I rate, its made with whole spices as I've managed to pick some out of it and the prawns are decent any plentiful.

It says unavailable on the website but I always find it in my local store.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=259391755

Ignoring the rice it's still worth ?3.50.