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–+ servings

Soup Curry (Hokkaido-Sapporo Style)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients  

Soffritto

  • 15 g unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 200 g onion finely minced
  • 100 g celery finely minced
  • 100 g carrot finely minced

Proteins

  • 1 tbsp cooking oil neutral
  • 6 chicken drumsticks
  • 150 g slab skinless pork belly cut into chunks, or spare ribs
  • ½ tsp salt for seasoning proteins
  • 10 shrimp peeled, deveined

Spices/Aromatics

  • 1 tbsp grated garlic or garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
  • 3 tbsp Japanese style curry powder or regular curry powder mix
  • ½ tbsp dried basil
  • ½ tsp ground cumin

Broth & Seasonings

Optional topping ideas

  • eggplants
  • kabocha squash
  • green beans
  • boiled eggs
  • celery leaves

Instructions 

  • Add 15 g unsalted butter and 1 tbsp olive oil to a large pan. Heat on low/medium-low and once the butter has melted, add 200 g onion, 100 g celery, and 100 g carrot, and mix well to make a soffritto base.
    Frying finely diced celery, carrot and onion (Battuto) in a pan to make Soffritto
  • Cover with a lid and gently cook for 30 minutes, mixing occasionally to prevent browning. Use this time to prepare your other ingredients.
    Making Soffrito in a pan covered with a lid
  • Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove the stems of 2 tomatoes and score the bottoms with a cross. Blanch for 10-30 seconds, then transfer to ice water and peel off the skin. Cut into bitesize pieces and set aside for later.
    Cut tomato on a steel prep plate
  • Heat a large pot on medium high with 1 tbsp cooking oil. Sprinkle 6 chicken drumsticks and 150 g slab skinless pork belly with ½ tsp salt, then arrange them in the pot in a single layer.
    Searing chicken drumsticks and cubes of pork bell in a stainless steel pan on the stove top
  • Sear for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Flip and repeat until seared all over, then transfer to a heatproof container.
    Seared chicken drumsticks and pork belly cubes in a steel container
  • Once your soffrito is ready, transfer it to the pot you used to sear the chicken and pork. Add 1 tbsp grated garlic, 1 tbsp grated ginger root, 3 tbsp Japanese style curry powder, ½ tbsp dried basil, ½ tsp ground cumin, and mix well. Set the heat to medium and cook for 60-90 seconds to bloom the spices.
    Curry flavored Soffrito in a stainless steel pan on the stove top
  • Add the cut tomatoes to the pot along with ½ tsp salt. Mix with a spatula while crushing the tomatoes, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until it reduces to a paste-like consistency.
    cut tomatoes and curry infused Soffrito in a stainless steel pan on the stove top
  • Pour 1000 ml dashi stock into the pot, then add ½ tbsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder and 1 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu). Bring to a gentle boil then reduce to a simmer. Preheat your oven to 220 °C (428 °F).
    Japanese soup curry simmering in a pan on the stove top
  • Place the seared chicken drumettes and pork belly in the pot, along with 1 bay leaf. Cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Add 10 shrimp in the last few minutes.
    Japanese soup curry simmering in a pan with a lid on the stove top
  • Arrange sliced eggplants, kabocha squash and while green beans spaced apart in a single layer on a baking tray. Brush with a thin layer of oil and sprinkle with salt. When the oven is preheated, roast the vegetables on the middle shelf for 15 minutes or until lightly caramelized and fork tender.
    Kabocha squash slices, whole French beans and quartered Japanese eggplant on a baking sheet spritzed with oil
  • After the shrimp are cooked through, take the pot off the heat and stir in ¼ tsp instant coffee powder, 1 tsp blueberry jam, and ½ tsp garam masala. Divide the soup into serving bowls with the chicken and pork still visible. Arrange the roasted vegetables on top and garnish with boiled eggs and celery leaves. Enjoy!
    Japanese Soup Curry topped with oven roasted vegetables, boiled eggs and a celery leaf in a cream bowl

Notes

The soffritto's 30 minutes is flexible! Let it cook while you prep everything else, and pull it off the heat whenever your prep is done (whether 22 minutes or 35). If you already have soffritto frozen from Italian cooking, skip this step entirely and use about 150 g instead.
Burnt spices will ruin the entire dish and cannot be fixed. If you smell anything acrid or see darkening during the blooming step, immediately add a splash of stock to cool the pan and prevent bitterness from carrying through.
Awase dashi is the "Japanese soul" of this dish, but unsalted chicken stock works as a substitute for a more rounded, meaty flavor. If using instant dashi granules or pre-seasoned stock, reduce salt elsewhere to avoid oversalting.
Keep it "soup curry," not curry rice: the target is ladleable broth that lightly coats (not spoon-standing), so if it feels weak, reduce briefly uncovered to concentrate instead of thickening.