Food: London’s Curries of the World

India and Thailand might rule the curry kingdom but there are so many other kinds across the globe. Felix Magazine is here to introduce you to the lesser-known curries from over-looked countries that have a lot to offer your tastebuds.

Japan

If you haven’t heard of Katsu Curry you must be new to London. Japan’s unusual take has run rampant through the capital with Wasabi calling it “London’s favourite lunch”.

Daring claims aside, it’s clear that Japanese cuisine is invading our city and stomachs and it’s using a great British favourite to do so.

You’d think Japanese curry originated from south-east Asia or India given its proximity but it’s not the case – it actually came from us.

Brits brought curry to Japan around the turn of the 20th Century so Katsu Curry is actually based on a Western-style sauce. Unlike Indian sauces that are made with thick pastes from simmering multiple fragrant ingredients, Western curries cheated with a French roux – a base for thickening sauce. Westerners simply mixed flour, oil and pre-made curry powder before adding stewed meat and vegetables. It’s not exactly haute cuisine.

The Japanese loved it and while British curry has evolved, Japan’s has stayed exactly the same.

Nowadays its simply made from stock cube blocks that just need water – it makes the price tag on that Wasabi takeaway seem a little steep.

You can buy the cubes yourself from the Japan Centre, though you’d have to make the katsu (fried cutlet) yourself.

If you want one cooked for you then Wagamama (left) is definitely the place to go. Unlike the rest, Wagamama makes it’s own sauce from scratch in an Indian style – it’s totally inauthentic Japanese curry but it’s a hundred times better than the real deal.

The Caribbean

When European colonialists brought their Indian slaves to the West Indies they inadvertently brought curry recipes too.

No surprise that the dish was as popular there as it is across the world and it remains a Caribbean staple as it fits so well with the spicy indigenous cuisine. This Indian influence is why Jamaican food is now known for its heat.

Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are the Caribbean’s top curry countries. In Jamaica curried goat is often served at celebrations and parties, with specialists and experts called in to cook for big island events and weddings.

Jamaican curry is similar to Indian ones but uses large Caribbean Scotch bonnet chillies instead of thinner Asian ones. Curry is still served with rice and a roti flatbread but some restaurants add a Caribbean touch with fried plantain.

Trinidad and Tobago is so curry mad that curried local veg is actually eaten at breakfast. The islands are famed for their curry rotis filled with chicken, duck or goat as well as some of the weirder and wilder meats: opossum, agouti and iguana. Thankfully you don’t find those in London.

Notting Hill Carnival is the most entertaining place to indulge in Caribbean curry but if you can’t wait that long then try Cotton’s curried mutton with fried plantain or Ital vegetable curry with peanut sauce, Rudie’s curried goat or the Rum Kitchen’s cauliflower curry.

Roti Joupa in Clapham may not look like fine dining but the Trinidadian owner has put it on the map as the best Trinidadian curry roti maker in London.

 

Malaysia

Rendang is arguably the best dish on earth – those who disagree simply haven’t tried it yet. It’s topped world cuisine lists for years, easily knocking challengers out of the way with its rich medley of Asian spices. Malaysia has been influenced by so many countries that the result is an unmistakable cuisine of which rendang is the crowning glory.

The dry brown curry is not much to look at butyou’ll be in love the moment the beef falls apart on your fork.

Cooked for hours in ginger, cinnamon, ground spice, galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, garlic and chilli and constantly topped up with creamy coconut milk, this meat is succulent, sweet, spicy and sensational.

It’s nearly impossible to choose a best beef rendang in London but by God it’s worth tasting them all to try and find it.

If you don’t have the time or money we’ve selflessly done the legwork for you and the winner is either The Banana Tree or Champor-Champor in London Bridge. You won’t be disappointed by either and you’ll definitely be back for more.

Rendang might be the best Malaysian dish but it’s by no means the country’s only mouth-watering offering. Check out Felix’s guide to Malaysian cuisine here for more enticing bites.

by Jo Davey

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