Is Japanese Curry Healthy? (A Low Carb Japanese Curry Recipe)

Japanese curry is such a comforting dish on a cold day -- the warm curry mixed with the juicy chicken makes it irresistible. When it comes to eating clean though, Japanese curry is probably not what is top of mind for most people. So even though it's delicious, is Japanese curry healthy?

Japanese curry is usually not very healthy, as the sauce is made primarily of fats and carbs with the protein source often deep fried. A single serving of Japanese curry can be upwards of 500 calories, consisting mainly of fats and carbs. This makes it a less than ideal food choice for those trying to stay fit. So imagine how excited I got when I realized I figured out to make a low carb version of this recipe at only 400 calories with 37 grams of protein. With a few tweaks to make it protein style, I created a healthy instant pot Japanese curry -- a healthy way for me to enjoy Japanese curry when I'm craving it!

Jump to:

• 🍎 Calories and Nutrition – Is Japanese Curry Healthy?
• 🍏 How to Make It Healthy – The Fitsian Method
• 💡Tips and Tricks
• 📋 Ingredient Notes
• 🔪 Step by Step Instructions
• 🍳 Recipe

🍎 Calories and Nutrition – Is Japanese Curry Healthy?

Given the wide variations of ways to make Japanese curry, it’s useful to look at the core ingredients that make up Japanese curry. Japanese is made of four main components: protein, vegetables, curry sauce, and the base.

• Protein: Japanese curry is often served with chicken or pork, and can be fried or unfried. 1 serving of fried pork can be upwards of 300 calories and contain high amounts of fat and calories. It's best to use stir fried chicken here to keep calorie and fat content low.
• Sauce: 1 standard serving of curry block is 90 calories, but is more often than not enhanced with additional mix-ins. Mix-ins can include cream, yogurt, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, etc.
• Vegetables: The vegetables are not going to add a significant amount of calories to the dish except for potatoes, which Japanese curry is often served with.
• Base: Japanese curry is often paired with rice or noodles, which is fine in moderation. But on days when I need to amp up the protein and cut down carbs, there are other substitutes available

Looking at each component, it’s easy to see that Japanese curry can easily be made to be a high calorie and high fat dish if not portioned correctly, making it less than ideal for dieting purposes. However, it’s not hard to make it low calorie and macro conscious — this recipe will show you some tweaks that will make Japanese curry easy to fit into your everyday diet.

🍏 How to Make It Healthy – The Fitsian Method

By putting the curry over an egg omelette instead of carbs, using a lean protein source, and by choosing lower calorie mix-ins for the sauce, I get a delicious protein packed meal with minimal calories. Here are the key steps I took to make this low calorie and low carb:

• Used 2 eggs, dashi and a tablespoon of cheese to make an omelette for a low carb base for the curry
• Weighed out 4oz of Chicken thigh -- I used boneless and skinless for maximum calorie and protein optimization (lower calorie, higher protein content)
• Portioned sauce ingredients in the amounts below to make the sauce minimal calories

For a detailed breakdown of each ingredients, their portioning, and how they make up the nutrition profile of this low calorie Japanese curry recipe, you may refer to the table below:

💡Tips and Tricks

What if I don't have an instant pot?

You don't have to cook this with Instant Pot -- in that case, follow the directions on the curry package, which will instruct you to follow similar steps as below in a saucepan and mix the curry block with hot water. I personally prefer using the instant pot method since it cooks the carrot to a super soft texture, so if you do decide to use a saucepan and want to replicate that, make sure you cook the carrots and vegetables for a long enough time.

What kind of Japanese curry should I use?

For best results, use your favorite brand and flavor of Japanese curry, which you can get at your local Asian grocery store or Amazon. I used Kokumaro Medium Hot for this recipe.

Is Japanese Curry Healthy?

If used in moderation and consumed with enough protein, then yes. One block of Japanese curry is about 90 calories, with most of the macros coming from carbs and fats. By pairing it here with chicken and an omelette, I'm able to make sure I get enough protein as well.

If you liked this recipe, check out the Japanese Curry Recipe I made with Udon noodles.

For more protein style recipes, see my Protein Squared Recipes collection.

📋 Ingredient Notes

Curry and Stir Fry

• Cooking spray
• 4 oz Chicken thigh (skinless, boneless)
• 1 block Japanese Curry of Choice
• 1-2 Mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• ¼ Onion
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ Carrot
• ⅓ cup water
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Ketchup
• Salt, pepper, and paprika (To season)

Omelette

• 2 Eggs
• 1 tablespoon Cheese
• 1 scallion (For garnish and to mix into omelette)

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🔪 Step by Step Instructions

1. Turn the instant pot to sauté mode and sauté the garlic, ginger and onions.
2. When soft and golden, add in chicken pieces seasoned in salt and pepper and sear.
3. Add carrots, mushrooms, curry block, and water into the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook via stovetop as well per the instruction on the Japanese curry block label.
4. In the meantime, we can begin preparing the omelette. Break 2 eggs in a bowl and stir, mixing green onions and seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. In a skillet, spray cooking spray and pour in egg mixture. Cook and stir the egg mixture until it starts to set. Sprinkle on the cheese if you are using it, then fold the omelette over and transfer it to a plate.
6. Once the curry has finished cooking, open the Instant Pot. At this point, it will likely look like the curry is not mixed in — don’t panic! Change the Instant Pot to sauté mode and add in the ketchup and soy sauce, then stir the mixture thoroughly until everything is smoothly mixed together.
7. Pour the curry over the omelette and enjoy your new favorite protein shake replacement!

🍳 Recipe