Curry is a Japanese comfort food and a favorite for children. Mild in flavor, this Kid-Friendly Japanese Curry is the perfect family meal for picky eaters and busy parents alike.
This easy Japanese curry recipe is designed for kids, with simple ingredients and a naturally sweet, savory taste that little ones love—no spicy heat required. In this post, you’ll also find tips and tricks to sneak in vegetables, plus smart tricks to help even the pickiest eaters enjoy a well balanced meal.
What is Japanese Curry?
Japanese curry is a comforting and mildly sweet and savory curry stew made a thick curry roux, vegetables, and protein. Unlike spicier Indian or Thai curries, Japanese curry is rich and smooth with not as much heat, making it especially popular with families and kids. It’s typically served over steamed rice and is a staple home-cooked meal in Japan. Simple, cozy, and customizable, Japanese curry is often considered the ultimate Japanese comfort food.
How to serve Japanese Curry
Japanese curry is typically served over steamed rice. It is simple, easy and delicious.
There are also other delicious ways to enjoy Japanese curry:
- Curry Udon
- Curry Pot Pie
- Curry Pan
- Curry Fries
Types of Kid-Friendly Japanese Curry
While you can find some curry that are specifically made for children, you can also just find a mild spiciness for regular Japanese curry and typically that is mild enough. As each curry type/brand has unique flavoring, I recommend House Vermont Curry in Mild since that is a little on the sweeter side and is very mild. It is usually very popular among kids. (See the Shop My Post section below)
Veggies that go great in Japanese Curry
The best thing is that Japanese curry is totally customizable to you and your child’s tastes, but here are some vegetables that go great in Japanese curry:
- potatoes
- carrots
- onion
- corn
- broccoli
- spinach
- mushrooms
- zucchini
- bell peppers
- bok choy
Tips for sneaking in veggies
Kids picky with vegetables? Japanese curry is great for sneaking in extra veggies that your child may not normally like since the veggies are covered in sauce and most everything will taste like curry – which is delicious.
- When making curry for smaller children, I often will cut the veggies pretty small so it will be easy to fit in their mouths. Just remember that the veggies do shrink/melt in the cooking process so you can cut them slightly bigger than you would like them to end up.
- If your kids really hate veggies, you can also use an immersion blender and blend them right into the curry so it becomes a smooth, thick curry. Restaurants sometimes do this with their vegetables in their curries. They definitely will not think there are any veggies in there.
Other kid-friendly tips
- I have never done this but I know some kids have a hard time with proteins. You can try using the immersion blender to also blend in your proteins (tofu, meat, etc) into the curry until smooth. Then no texture issues!
- If the curry is still too strong or spicy, you can always mellow out the flavor more with yogurt.
- If your child really likes sweet foods, you can always add a little grated apple or a drizzle of honey to sweeten the curry more.
If you have any tips for Kid-Friendly Curry, please leave them in the comments!
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Kid-Friendly Japanese Curry / お子さまカレー
Ingredients
- 1 box Japanese curry roux
- water amount according to the box (approx 5.5 cups)
- olive or neutral oil
- 1/2 lb ground beef or protein of choice
- 1/2 onion sliced
- 1 large russett potato skinned and cut
- 1/2 zucchini cut small
- 1 large carrot cut small
- corn kernels
- spinach
- Add anything else you would like
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables.
- In a large pot, heat olive/neutral oil. Once heated, put in your ground beef (or protein of choice) and cook until lightly browned.
- Add in the vegetables and mix (if you are including spinach or broccoli, I recommend adding those at the end).
- Add water according to the curry roux box instructions (usually about 5.5 cups). It should just cover all the ingredients in the pot.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure to skim off any impurities that bubble up. (If you are adding in spinach and broccoli, I add them in the last 3-5 minutes before the 15 minutes are up.)
- Remove from heat and break off the curry blocks and place into the pot. Mix very well. The stew should thicken fairly quickly.
- If it is still a bit thin, simmer for 5 more minutes, uncovered.
- If you want to blend your ingredients, this is the time to do it.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
Notes
Shop this post:
Vermicular Oven Pot 2.0
Anpanman Sectioned Plate
Golden Curry
Vermont Curry (Mild)
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