There are nights when cooking fatigue kicks in. Even turning on the stove feels like too much to ask. On those nights, I think of my dad’s Japanese curry and how he prepares the roux in batches, freezes it in ice cube trays, and uses the cubes at his leisure.
Though my dad makes killer curry rice from scratch, these days I don’t have the patience to hover over a pot of curry for hours for the stew to thicken. Fortunately, there’s a shelf-stable version that I can find at most grocery stores and online—and that’s been a life- and time-saver when it comes to quick and easy weeknight meals. Japanese curry roux is a staple of many Japanese households, and you should consider making it a staple in your home too.