Bean and Vegetable Japanese Curry
Updated March 2, 2026
Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
- Ready In
- 45 min
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
Salt
1 medium globe eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (3- to 4-ounce) brick Japanese curry, such as Golden Curry (see Tips)
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, butter beans or other large, sturdy beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10-ounce) package baby spinach
Basic white rice or cooked fresh udon noodles, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium-high. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Step 2
Add 3 cups of water, scraping the bottom of the pot to pick up any stuck-on bits. Add the eggplant and carrots, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Step 3
Ladle some of the hot liquid from the pot into a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, then add the curry brick. Let it melt, about a minute, before whisking to blend. Stir the curry mixture into the stew.
- Step 4
Add the chickpeas and spinach, bring back to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach is wilted and the curry has thickened but is still brothy, about 5 minutes. Taste and add salt as needed.
- Step 5
Serve over rice or noodles. (See Tip for make-ahead freezing instructions.)
Japanese curry bricks are sold in boxes at many grocery stores these days, though you’ll have the best luck finding them at Asian supermarkets. They come in various sizes and heat levels. For this recipe, hot and extra hot are especially enticing (and not all that hot).
Make Ahead: Leftovers of this curry keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you won’t eat it all in that time frame, freeze the stew in individual containers so you can have curry whenever you want. When ready to eat, just thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and microwave until warmed through.
Private Notes
Comments
It would be great to include a link in this recipe to the NYT Cooking recipe for making your own Japanese curry bricks. The process is simple and the results are delicious and a lot more healthy than the store-bought bricks.
People have been cooking with these bricks for years. My Japanese mother (5 kids) always used these bricks in her curry. I can only imagine the time it saved her. I continue to use these bricks. Granted, I don’t eat curry everyday; and I am a very healthy eater and cook. But, this is my guilty pleasure and it always brings me back home. Lay off the bricks!
I think the Japanese curry bricks are pretty processed and the recommended brand (S&B) has a lead content warning on the back (!). This was enough to keep them out of my shopping cart. There is, however, a One-Pot Japanese Chicken Curry recipe on NYTCooking that starts more or less from scratch. It uses madras curry powder. I imagine you could adapt it for chickpeas. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
Delicious recipe subbed mizuna for spinach since it was in my CSA. Added satay chicken for my husband and kids who insist on meat and everyone loved it
Subbed what was in my fridge - firm tofu (press dry then cubed) lieu of beans and kale instead of spinach and kabocha squash in place of eggplant
Yum! This is easy and delicious. I bought medium hot Golden Curry brand bricks. Spicy but next time I may look for "hot" level. I ended up only using 5 ounces of spinach. Ten ounces just seems like way too much. I used cannellini beans but chickpeas or butter beans (which I couldn't find) might be better. I put this over fresh udon. Pretty darned good!