5 ms·

The Katsuification of Britain

111 points by colinprince 2y ago

parl_match 2y ago
>The katsu curry craze is a specifically British phenomenon; it isn’t derived from a larger international trend. American supermarket shelves are not laden with katsu curry products. I can think of a few grocery stores here that have "Katsu Curry" at the to-go section - definitely not the finest example of the art, but still pretty good. It has been pretty popular in San Francisco for a long time. Although, the post-pandemic era, I've definitely noticed a large uptick in places that serve it. I can think of a few reasons why that is, due to SF's history and culture. I have very fond memories of my last job circa 2015 or so: waiting in line for Muraccis on Kearny. It doesn't seem anything like what's going on in the UK at the moment, though. I hope that larger trend takes hold here, it really is one of my favorite comfort foods. Golden Curry is a staple in my home. Also, I've not often seen it called Katsu Curry in the US. That is definitely a name that would be considered accurate, but more common I've heard might be "Japanese Curry" (an important distinction) or "curry rice". It is definitely the same food, though.
- gyomu 2y ago
  SF is probably the city with the strongest Japanese influence in the continental US though. Idk if your observations would hold in Houston, Chicago, or Miami.
  - parl_match 2y ago
    > I can think of a few reasons why that is, due to SF's history and culture. Yeah, you'll find it in Hawaii or New York as well
  - ipsum2 2y ago
    Hawaii or Seattle arguably have a larger Japanese influence.
    - Klonoar 2y ago
      Seattle as of late has priced so many places out to the point where I have Japanese friends here who disagree on this point. I was surprised to hear it but the more I look around the more I can kind of see it. Regionally yes, there’s influence and history - but Seattle doesn’t do enough to protect subcultures.
- mc32 2y ago
  From the article, what is available in SF is nothing like the phenom in the UK. It's not the fast-food stuff or the Japanese restaurants --it's a spice/flavor added to everything, soon coming to soda pop. I think it's more like if the Korean BBQ stuff were 100x what it is in the US plus the halapeno flavor sprinkled on everything --or, in other parts if the US dill-pickle flavoring on things. In essence they out katsu-curry the Japanese in Japan because in Japan they have many more flavors to pick from, so aren't stuck on one.
  - ethbr1 2y ago
    Or the Korean taco? chef's kiss
  - parl_match 2y ago
    > It doesn't seem anything like what's going on in the UK at the moment, though. Yeah, it's definitely crazy there.
- fsckboy 2y ago
  In America, we have to go to Japan to import our Vermont Curry! though, the Torokeru and Kokumaro are in some quarters considered better, with Java the spiciest, Vermont the sweetest, and Golden the least remarkable https://www.seriouseats.com/taste-test-japanese-curry-roux-mixes-golden-torukero-vermont-java-kokumaro https://www.seriouseats.com/taste-test-japanese-curry-roux-m...
  - dzhiurgis 2y ago
    In NZ pretty much every supermarket has Golden (a lot of them even have okonomi sauce). I have to stock up on Vermont in Japan marts tho. Premade S&B pouches is awesome camping/boating hack. It lasts ages and all you need to do is warm it up for few mins. My favourite recent “discovery” (even if I visited Japan 4 times) is tonkatsu.
  - parl_match 2y ago
    Fwiw I've seen vermont curry in my local grocery.
    - bigstrat2003 2y ago
      Also if one lives near an H-Mart, they have it as well.
      - fsckboy 2y ago
        all i meant was, in those cases it has been imported from Japan and when I said go to Japan to get it I was referring it was not imported from the State of Vermont in the US
- ralferoo 2y ago
  I don't think it's fair to say that Katsu is particularly a British fad. When I lived in London, we'd go to the Japan Centre, or a local Japanese takeaway that had much better sauce but less generous meat portions. But these were pretty much the only 2 options within about 10 minutes walk from Piccadilly. Last time I was in Hong Kong, I stayed in a hotel near Yau Ma Tei station. There were probably 5 or 6 Japanese fast-food restaurants mostly focussed on Katsu curry dishes within a few blocks walk down Nathan Road towards Mong Kok. Despite loving Chinese food, I actually had Katsu curry 3 nights in a row, it was so good there!
- wrp 2y ago
  I thought that as a heritage of the British Raj, that curry was already much more popular in the UK than in Europe or America. So I'd expect any variations to catch on faster in the UK.
  - mrob 2y ago
    There are two different British curry traditions. The oldest is Anglo-Indian cuisine, which did originate with the British Raj. This is the one that inspired Japanese curry, because it was served on British Navy ships and the Imperial Japanese Navy copied them. Anglo-Indian cuisine includes things like coronation chicken and the curry sauce served at fish-and-chip shops. The newer tradition is British Indian Restaurant cuisine, which is mostly based on Bangladeshi cuisine adapted to British tastes by Bangladeshi immigrants. It's called "Indian" for marketing purposes. British Indian Restaurant cuisine is what most British people will think of if you just say "curry". Unlike Anglo-Indian and Japanese curry, it is not thickened with roux, instead using pureed onions as the main thickener. This is the one that includes chicken tikka masala.
    - axus 2y ago
      Where did the "long naan" come from?
- mcshicks 2y ago
  I'm a little confused by your comment For me are three distinct things Japanese curry Japanese style of the Indian dish often made from an instant roux package and usually served over Japanese style white rice Katsu Curry the same dish with a deep fried pork or chicken cutlet put on the the rice before the curry is poured over Curry rice - no cutlet, the curry is mixed in with the rice before it's served.
0xbadcafebee 2y ago
'Katsu' is short for Katsudon, which is short for Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) Donburi (rice dish). If there's no pork cutlet it's not Katsu. The curry is just 'kare'. If you haven't had a Japanese curry in Japan, and you didn't make it from scratch, whatever you get will be a poor imitation. Real Japanese curry tastes both fresh, simple, vegetal and clean, and artificial, at the same time. If you care deeply about food and you haven't been to Japan, I can't recommend it enough. As a tourist I've never been anywhere else that's so easy to have a great meal. It used to be dirt cheap to fly there if you booked in advance, but I guess inflation and time has upped the price a bit. (cheapest east coast round-trip is JFK-NRT @ $709, with Alaskan & JAL. if you want more bang for your buck, check Skiplagged; for $823 you can spend 14 hours in Atlanta and 23 hours in Vancouver, or for $1,100 spend 21 hours in Istanbul, or 23 hours in Seoul, or for $1,231 spend 21 hours in Honolulu, or for $1,334 spend 23 hours in Honolulu and 20 hours in Osaka)
- theothertimcook 2y ago
  Word.
- metaphor 2y ago
  > 'Katsu' is short for Katsudon Don't you mean short for katsuretsu (カツレツ), katakana for cutlet as adopted from the French? > If you haven't had a Japanese curry in Japan, and you didn't make it from scratch, whatever you get will be a poor imitation. Real Japanese curry tastes both fresh, simple, vegetal and clean, and artificial, at the same time. Meh. There are tons of diasporas across the world that would beg to differ; at the end of the day, it's inexpensive comfort food to this demographic. Personally, I'm more picky with the panko and quality of pork. It's easy to mask imperfection with curry, and almost as easy to make something distinctly tasty on the cheap.
- fsckboy 2y ago
  >'Katsu' is short for Katsudon katsu is cutlet, tonkatsu is pork cutlet katsu is short for katsuretsu, which shows every sign of being transliterated from English "cutlet" and especially pleasureable, the two "su"s are this guy ツ
3np 2y ago
So we can see katsu curry as an example of the Pizza Effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_effect
ethbr1 2y ago
I think we can all admit that chip (aka crisp) flavors have jumped the shark and are no longer representative of any trend other than random mashings from a crayon box of flavors trickling out of the industrial flavor chemical factory. E.g. https://www.publix.com/pd/publix-potato-chips-kettle-cooked-baby-back-ribs/RIO-PCI-601973 https://www.publix.com/pd/publix-potato-chips-kettle-cooked-... (one of the things pictured is in the bag; the other is not)
- happyopossum 2y ago
  > one of the things pictured is in the bag; the other is not Do you also believe that gerber should remove pictures of cute babies from their baby food bottles?
  - morsch 2y ago
    Are you meant to feed the potato chips to a serving of baby back ribs?
- askvictor 2y ago
  On the other hand, Japanese Kit Kat flavours are amazingly realistic
- unwind 2y ago
  Wow, a site about potato chips that is region-blocked so that I don't become a web serving cost without being able to buy their product, I guess. Wow.
  - anewhnaccount2 2y ago
    Almost certainly done to avoid the cost of regulatory compliance.
    - ethbr1 2y ago
      There are a lot of words for crunchy potato slices, and people get very angry about which...
msephton 2y ago
I'm so happy they mention "chip shop curry sauce". My current favourite katsu place is Kokoro in Liverpool. Always hits the spot.
- ggm 2y ago
  Chinese take away chips and curry sauce. Chips come in a brown paper bag, curry sauce used to come in a polystyrene cup.
- happymellon 2y ago
  Not to diminish your comment about Kokoro, but it is a chain of over 50 locations unless the Liverpool location has anything unique about it. However it is most excellent.
  - msephton 2y ago
    It's my local, so that makes it unique. It does have a quieter vibe than some of the other branches I've been in. YMMV
- jen729w 2y ago
  Make it at home! https://tradewindsorientalshop.co.uk/products/maykway-mild-curry-sauce-mix-170g https://tradewindsorientalshop.co.uk/products/maykway-mild-c...
  - msephton 2y ago
    I only go when I'm passing, once every month or so. Special meal out, isn't it.
theothertimcook 2y ago
I was under the impression Japanese curry as we know it today was born in the US, as a way of using bruised/soft vegetables or something. There are far superior forms of "katsu" out there, the greatest being the chicken Katsudon or chicken Katsu egg don. I'll fight anyone that disagrees.
- dyauspitr 2y ago
  Japanese curry, is curry from India that was adopted by the British and then the Japanese adopted the British curry.
  - Ekaros 2y ago
    And it is namely British Naval curry. As served on naval ships. Which itself is rather far from what is currently served on the land of Britain...
- djtango 2y ago
  We agree that katsudon is better, but we'll never see eye to eye if you prefer chicken over pork katsu...
tkgally 2y ago
Long-time resident of Japan here. This article was a revelation; I had no idea that the humble katsu curry is now so common in the U.K. A similar phenomenon of culinary appropriation and adaptation might be the Nepali-run Indian restaurants in Japan. In the past twenty years or so, they have spread to nearly every corner of the country. Though independently owned and run, they have largely similar menus, with food that, I've read, would seem out of place in both Nepal and India. A recent book in Japanese [1] does a good job of tracing their origins and their role in giving immigration and employment opportunities to Nepalis. [1] https://shinsho.shueisha.co.jp/kikan/1208-n/ https://shinsho.shueisha.co.jp/kikan/1208-n/ Addendum: After I posted the above, I counted in my head the number of Nepali/Indian restaurants within a twenty-minute walk of my home in Yokohama and came up with six (I’ve eaten at all of them). It turns out that there are several more. Here’s a map of my neighborhood with them marked: https://www.gally.net/temp/20240823_Indian_Nepali_restaurants_in_Yokohama.jpg https://www.gally.net/temp/20240823_Indian_Nepali_restaurant... If anyone wants to see what they look like on Google Street View or search for others, here’s a link: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E6%96%99%E7%90%86/@35.4711808,139.6214515,16z/data=!3m1!4b1?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDgyMC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D https://www.google.com/maps/search/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%... Probably none of them have katsu curry on the menu, though I have been to a few Nepali/Indian restaurants in Japan that did serve it—no doubt to appeal to less-adventurous Japanese tastes.
- pen2l 2y ago
  It’s pretty “popular” in United States also, well at least in my group of peers whenever we’re going for sushi one of us will have ordered katsu curry. My absolute favorite is the curry as it’s made by Yayume sushi in San Ramon.
  - tkgally 2y ago
    That's interesting. In Japan, you might have a hard time finding a place that serves both sushi and katsu curry. Restaurants tend to specialize.
    - 2y ago
gizajob 2y ago
I live in Britain and this katsuification phenomenon has totally passed me by. Indian curry, not so much.
- gadders 2y ago
  Yeah. I've seen it in Wagamamas and other places that serve Japanese-inspired food but not noticed it in many other places.
  - dzhiurgis 2y ago
    My bet of next big thing is malaysian curry.
    - gizajob 2y ago
      I sincerely hope so. Possibly my favourite lunch in the world can be had at Malaysian Laksa House (formerly Coconut House) on Elizabeth street in Melbourne. Their laksa is mind blowing.
- Pulz 2y ago
  It has passed me by as well. I've been living in one of the largest cities for my entire life and have never batted an eye. There's just as much of every other cuisine as there is katsu curry. I could probably make a 'The x-ification of Britain' for quite a lot of food items. Majority of brits in the comments echoing the sentiment. Also, that site should probably do something about the botted comments?
globular-toast 2y ago
I hadn't noticed the katsu curry everywhere thing, but that's probably because I don't eat junk food. I have made it myself. It's not bad as a novelty, mostly because of the breaded protein (tofu in my case). But the gravy is not very exciting if you like Indian food at all. So I was about to dismiss the article but the really interesting part is further down. Katsu curry is really British anyway! This makes sense when you think about it a bit. The British nicked all the delicious food from Indian at a time when British food was "boil vegetables for an hour, discard the veg and drink the water". That's where things like HP sauce, pickles, chutneys etc come from and, of course, "curry powder". There's no such thing as curry powder in India (confusingly there's the unrelated curry leaves). It was just anglicised Indian flavours. Of course they would make a starch thickened sauce with it...
- mgaunard 2y ago
  London resident not eating junk food either, and indeed I hadn't really noticed the "phenomenon". If anything I've seen the fried chicken with panko much more than the katsu curry sauce.
edderly 2y ago
No, not particularly. What I find amusing about Katsu is it reminds of the 1970s curry in a packet type of meal for example https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/food-drink/vesta-curries-2/ https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/food-drink/vesta-cu.... Also school dinners where a curry sauce would have a random sultana and a bit of carrot in it. Wonderfully disgusting. Certainly chicken is increasingly popular, fish and chips is almost a boutique food these days since fish is expensive and also very easy to make badly. Whereas chicken is cheaper and easier https://archive.is/Mu1DL https://archive.is/Mu1DL
robin_reala 2y ago
Just checked, and sure enough our (IKEA) GB stores have a katsu curry on the menu: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/food/salesareas/restaurant/99dedb06-fcab-44c6-84d3-77261687f0fa/ https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/food/salesareas/restaurant/99dedb...
- gizajob 2y ago
  The food at those IKEA stores has gone so so bad. It used to be pleasant but last couple of times I’ve been they’ve got rid of the cream meatball sauce and replaced it with thin, school dinner type gravy. It was awful, not even close to being the same experience.
drumhead 2y ago
I saw a Katsu bake in Greggs this morning....in Greggs....
throw4847285 2y ago
I just got back from my first trip to the UK, and I made sure to try a pub curry while I was there. I knew a bit about the colonial history, but I now understand why that food was so unlike any Indian curry I'd ever had and so similar to Japanese curry. Fascinating stuff.

111 points by colinprince 2y ago

>The katsu curry craze is a specifically British phenomenon; it isn’t derived from a larger international trend. American supermarket shelves are not laden with katsu curry products. I can think of a few grocery stores here that have "Katsu Curry" at the to-go section - definitely not the finest example of the art, but still pretty good. It has been pretty popular in San Francisco for a long time. Although, the post-pandemic era, I've definitely noticed a large uptick in places that serve it. I can think of a few reasons why that is, due to SF's history and culture. I have very fond memories of my last job circa 2015 or so: waiting in line for Muraccis on Kearny. It doesn't seem anything like what's going on in the UK at the moment, though. I hope that larger trend takes hold here, it really is one of my favorite comfort foods. Golden Curry is a staple in my home. Also, I've not often seen it called Katsu Curry in the US. That is definitely a name that would be considered accurate, but more common I've heard might be "Japanese Curry" (an important distinction) or "curry rice". It is definitely the same food, though.

gyomu 2y ago
SF is probably the city with the strongest Japanese influence in the continental US though. Idk if your observations would hold in Houston, Chicago, or Miami.
- parl_match 2y ago
  > I can think of a few reasons why that is, due to SF's history and culture. Yeah, you'll find it in Hawaii or New York as well
- ipsum2 2y ago
  Hawaii or Seattle arguably have a larger Japanese influence.
  - Klonoar 2y ago
    Seattle as of late has priced so many places out to the point where I have Japanese friends here who disagree on this point. I was surprised to hear it but the more I look around the more I can kind of see it. Regionally yes, there’s influence and history - but Seattle doesn’t do enough to protect subcultures.
mc32 2y ago
From the article, what is available in SF is nothing like the phenom in the UK. It's not the fast-food stuff or the Japanese restaurants --it's a spice/flavor added to everything, soon coming to soda pop. I think it's more like if the Korean BBQ stuff were 100x what it is in the US plus the halapeno flavor sprinkled on everything --or, in other parts if the US dill-pickle flavoring on things. In essence they out katsu-curry the Japanese in Japan because in Japan they have many more flavors to pick from, so aren't stuck on one.
- ethbr1 2y ago
  Or the Korean taco? chef's kiss
- parl_match 2y ago
  > It doesn't seem anything like what's going on in the UK at the moment, though. Yeah, it's definitely crazy there.
fsckboy 2y ago
In America, we have to go to Japan to import our Vermont Curry! though, the Torokeru and Kokumaro are in some quarters considered better, with Java the spiciest, Vermont the sweetest, and Golden the least remarkable https://www.seriouseats.com/taste-test-japanese-curry-roux-mixes-golden-torukero-vermont-java-kokumaro https://www.seriouseats.com/taste-test-japanese-curry-roux-m...
- dzhiurgis 2y ago
  In NZ pretty much every supermarket has Golden (a lot of them even have okonomi sauce). I have to stock up on Vermont in Japan marts tho. Premade S&B pouches is awesome camping/boating hack. It lasts ages and all you need to do is warm it up for few mins. My favourite recent “discovery” (even if I visited Japan 4 times) is tonkatsu.
- parl_match 2y ago
  Fwiw I've seen vermont curry in my local grocery.
  - bigstrat2003 2y ago
    Also if one lives near an H-Mart, they have it as well.
    - fsckboy 2y ago
      all i meant was, in those cases it has been imported from Japan and when I said go to Japan to get it I was referring it was not imported from the State of Vermont in the US
ralferoo 2y ago
I don't think it's fair to say that Katsu is particularly a British fad. When I lived in London, we'd go to the Japan Centre, or a local Japanese takeaway that had much better sauce but less generous meat portions. But these were pretty much the only 2 options within about 10 minutes walk from Piccadilly. Last time I was in Hong Kong, I stayed in a hotel near Yau Ma Tei station. There were probably 5 or 6 Japanese fast-food restaurants mostly focussed on Katsu curry dishes within a few blocks walk down Nathan Road towards Mong Kok. Despite loving Chinese food, I actually had Katsu curry 3 nights in a row, it was so good there!
wrp 2y ago
I thought that as a heritage of the British Raj, that curry was already much more popular in the UK than in Europe or America. So I'd expect any variations to catch on faster in the UK.
- mrob 2y ago
  There are two different British curry traditions. The oldest is Anglo-Indian cuisine, which did originate with the British Raj. This is the one that inspired Japanese curry, because it was served on British Navy ships and the Imperial Japanese Navy copied them. Anglo-Indian cuisine includes things like coronation chicken and the curry sauce served at fish-and-chip shops. The newer tradition is British Indian Restaurant cuisine, which is mostly based on Bangladeshi cuisine adapted to British tastes by Bangladeshi immigrants. It's called "Indian" for marketing purposes. British Indian Restaurant cuisine is what most British people will think of if you just say "curry". Unlike Anglo-Indian and Japanese curry, it is not thickened with roux, instead using pureed onions as the main thickener. This is the one that includes chicken tikka masala.
  - axus 2y ago
    Where did the "long naan" come from?
mcshicks 2y ago
I'm a little confused by your comment For me are three distinct things Japanese curry Japanese style of the Indian dish often made from an instant roux package and usually served over Japanese style white rice Katsu Curry the same dish with a deep fried pork or chicken cutlet put on the the rice before the curry is poured over Curry rice - no cutlet, the curry is mixed in with the rice before it's served.

0xbadcafebee 2y ago

'Katsu' is short for Katsudon, which is short for Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) Donburi (rice dish). If there's no pork cutlet it's not Katsu. The curry is just 'kare'. If you haven't had a Japanese curry in Japan, and you didn't make it from scratch, whatever you get will be a poor imitation. Real Japanese curry tastes both fresh, simple, vegetal and clean, and artificial, at the same time. If you care deeply about food and you haven't been to Japan, I can't recommend it enough. As a tourist I've never been anywhere else that's so easy to have a great meal. It used to be dirt cheap to fly there if you booked in advance, but I guess inflation and time has upped the price a bit. (cheapest east coast round-trip is JFK-NRT @ $709, with Alaskan & JAL. if you want more bang for your buck, check Skiplagged; for $823 you can spend 14 hours in Atlanta and 23 hours in Vancouver, or for $1,100 spend 21 hours in Istanbul, or 23 hours in Seoul, or for $1,231 spend 21 hours in Honolulu, or for $1,334 spend 23 hours in Honolulu and 20 hours in Osaka)

theothertimcook 2y ago
Word.
metaphor 2y ago
> 'Katsu' is short for Katsudon Don't you mean short for katsuretsu (カツレツ), katakana for cutlet as adopted from the French? > If you haven't had a Japanese curry in Japan, and you didn't make it from scratch, whatever you get will be a poor imitation. Real Japanese curry tastes both fresh, simple, vegetal and clean, and artificial, at the same time. Meh. There are tons of diasporas across the world that would beg to differ; at the end of the day, it's inexpensive comfort food to this demographic. Personally, I'm more picky with the panko and quality of pork. It's easy to mask imperfection with curry, and almost as easy to make something distinctly tasty on the cheap.
fsckboy 2y ago
>'Katsu' is short for Katsudon katsu is cutlet, tonkatsu is pork cutlet katsu is short for katsuretsu, which shows every sign of being transliterated from English "cutlet" and especially pleasureable, the two "su"s are this guy ツ

3np 2y ago

So we can see katsu curry as an example of the Pizza Effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_effect

ethbr1 2y ago

I think we can all admit that chip (aka crisp) flavors have jumped the shark and are no longer representative of any trend other than random mashings from a crayon box of flavors trickling out of the industrial flavor chemical factory. E.g. https://www.publix.com/pd/publix-potato-chips-kettle-cooked-baby-back-ribs/RIO-PCI-601973 https://www.publix.com/pd/publix-potato-chips-kettle-cooked-... (one of the things pictured is in the bag; the other is not)

happyopossum 2y ago
> one of the things pictured is in the bag; the other is not Do you also believe that gerber should remove pictures of cute babies from their baby food bottles?
- morsch 2y ago
  Are you meant to feed the potato chips to a serving of baby back ribs?
askvictor 2y ago
On the other hand, Japanese Kit Kat flavours are amazingly realistic
unwind 2y ago
Wow, a site about potato chips that is region-blocked so that I don't become a web serving cost without being able to buy their product, I guess. Wow.
- anewhnaccount2 2y ago
  Almost certainly done to avoid the cost of regulatory compliance.
  - ethbr1 2y ago
    There are a lot of words for crunchy potato slices, and people get very angry about which...

msephton 2y ago

I'm so happy they mention "chip shop curry sauce". My current favourite katsu place is Kokoro in Liverpool. Always hits the spot.

ggm 2y ago
Chinese take away chips and curry sauce. Chips come in a brown paper bag, curry sauce used to come in a polystyrene cup.
happymellon 2y ago
Not to diminish your comment about Kokoro, but it is a chain of over 50 locations unless the Liverpool location has anything unique about it. However it is most excellent.
- msephton 2y ago
  It's my local, so that makes it unique. It does have a quieter vibe than some of the other branches I've been in. YMMV
jen729w 2y ago
Make it at home! https://tradewindsorientalshop.co.uk/products/maykway-mild-curry-sauce-mix-170g https://tradewindsorientalshop.co.uk/products/maykway-mild-c...
- msephton 2y ago
  I only go when I'm passing, once every month or so. Special meal out, isn't it.

theothertimcook 2y ago

I was under the impression Japanese curry as we know it today was born in the US, as a way of using bruised/soft vegetables or something. There are far superior forms of "katsu" out there, the greatest being the chicken Katsudon or chicken Katsu egg don. I'll fight anyone that disagrees.

dyauspitr 2y ago
Japanese curry, is curry from India that was adopted by the British and then the Japanese adopted the British curry.
- Ekaros 2y ago
  And it is namely British Naval curry. As served on naval ships. Which itself is rather far from what is currently served on the land of Britain...
djtango 2y ago
We agree that katsudon is better, but we'll never see eye to eye if you prefer chicken over pork katsu...

tkgally 2y ago

Long-time resident of Japan here. This article was a revelation; I had no idea that the humble katsu curry is now so common in the U.K. A similar phenomenon of culinary appropriation and adaptation might be the Nepali-run Indian restaurants in Japan. In the past twenty years or so, they have spread to nearly every corner of the country. Though independently owned and run, they have largely similar menus, with food that, I've read, would seem out of place in both Nepal and India. A recent book in Japanese [1] does a good job of tracing their origins and their role in giving immigration and employment opportunities to Nepalis. [1] https://shinsho.shueisha.co.jp/kikan/1208-n/ https://shinsho.shueisha.co.jp/kikan/1208-n/ Addendum: After I posted the above, I counted in my head the number of Nepali/Indian restaurants within a twenty-minute walk of my home in Yokohama and came up with six (I’ve eaten at all of them). It turns out that there are several more. Here’s a map of my neighborhood with them marked: https://www.gally.net/temp/20240823_Indian_Nepali_restaurants_in_Yokohama.jpg https://www.gally.net/temp/20240823_Indian_Nepali_restaurant... If anyone wants to see what they look like on Google Street View or search for others, here’s a link: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E6%96%99%E7%90%86/@35.4711808,139.6214515,16z/data=!3m1!4b1?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDgyMC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D https://www.google.com/maps/search/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%... Probably none of them have katsu curry on the menu, though I have been to a few Nepali/Indian restaurants in Japan that did serve it—no doubt to appeal to less-adventurous Japanese tastes.

pen2l 2y ago
It’s pretty “popular” in United States also, well at least in my group of peers whenever we’re going for sushi one of us will have ordered katsu curry. My absolute favorite is the curry as it’s made by Yayume sushi in San Ramon.
- tkgally 2y ago
  That's interesting. In Japan, you might have a hard time finding a place that serves both sushi and katsu curry. Restaurants tend to specialize.
  - 2y ago

gizajob 2y ago

I live in Britain and this katsuification phenomenon has totally passed me by. Indian curry, not so much.

gadders 2y ago
Yeah. I've seen it in Wagamamas and other places that serve Japanese-inspired food but not noticed it in many other places.
- dzhiurgis 2y ago
  My bet of next big thing is malaysian curry.
  - gizajob 2y ago
    I sincerely hope so. Possibly my favourite lunch in the world can be had at Malaysian Laksa House (formerly Coconut House) on Elizabeth street in Melbourne. Their laksa is mind blowing.
Pulz 2y ago
It has passed me by as well. I've been living in one of the largest cities for my entire life and have never batted an eye. There's just as much of every other cuisine as there is katsu curry. I could probably make a 'The x-ification of Britain' for quite a lot of food items. Majority of brits in the comments echoing the sentiment. Also, that site should probably do something about the botted comments?

globular-toast 2y ago

I hadn't noticed the katsu curry everywhere thing, but that's probably because I don't eat junk food. I have made it myself. It's not bad as a novelty, mostly because of the breaded protein (tofu in my case). But the gravy is not very exciting if you like Indian food at all. So I was about to dismiss the article but the really interesting part is further down. Katsu curry is really British anyway! This makes sense when you think about it a bit. The British nicked all the delicious food from Indian at a time when British food was "boil vegetables for an hour, discard the veg and drink the water". That's where things like HP sauce, pickles, chutneys etc come from and, of course, "curry powder". There's no such thing as curry powder in India (confusingly there's the unrelated curry leaves). It was just anglicised Indian flavours. Of course they would make a starch thickened sauce with it...

mgaunard 2y ago
London resident not eating junk food either, and indeed I hadn't really noticed the "phenomenon". If anything I've seen the fried chicken with panko much more than the katsu curry sauce.

edderly 2y ago

No, not particularly. What I find amusing about Katsu is it reminds of the 1970s curry in a packet type of meal for example https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/food-drink/vesta-curries-2/ https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/food-drink/vesta-cu.... Also school dinners where a curry sauce would have a random sultana and a bit of carrot in it. Wonderfully disgusting. Certainly chicken is increasingly popular, fish and chips is almost a boutique food these days since fish is expensive and also very easy to make badly. Whereas chicken is cheaper and easier https://archive.is/Mu1DL https://archive.is/Mu1DL

robin_reala 2y ago

Just checked, and sure enough our (IKEA) GB stores have a katsu curry on the menu: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/food/salesareas/restaurant/99dedb06-fcab-44c6-84d3-77261687f0fa/ https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/food/salesareas/restaurant/99dedb...

gizajob 2y ago
The food at those IKEA stores has gone so so bad. It used to be pleasant but last couple of times I’ve been they’ve got rid of the cream meatball sauce and replaced it with thin, school dinner type gravy. It was awful, not even close to being the same experience.

drumhead 2y ago

I saw a Katsu bake in Greggs this morning....in Greggs....

throw4847285 2y ago

I just got back from my first trip to the UK, and I made sure to try a pub curry while I was there. I knew a bit about the colonial history, but I now understand why that food was so unlike any Indian curry I'd ever had and so similar to Japanese curry. Fascinating stuff.