Top 5 Mouthwatering Curries You Can Buy at Japanese Convenience Stores
It can be fun to indulge in gourmet masterpieces at a great restaurant, but grabbing a curry to take away from a convenience store can be just the thing after a busy day of sightseeing, too. Curry rice is a popular dish in Japan, and you can even purchase authentic, restaurant-quality curry rice at Japanese convenience stores. Read on for our picks of the bunch, all of which retail for under 600 JPY!
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1. Butter Chicken Curry (FamilyMart)
Many Indian curries are spicy, but butter chicken is known for its distinctively mild taste that highlights the richness and sweetness of butter.
The flavor of FamilyMart’s Butter Chicken Curry certainly lives up to this reputation. This curry has the deliciously fragrant aroma of authentic spices, with butter and coconut milk adding to the richness. The chicken, flavored with garam masala and garlic, lends some spice to the mix. The cream sauce on top also contributes to the overall mild flavor. This is the perfect curry for people who prefer umami flavors and rich textures over something very spicy.
Price: 460 JPY (incl. tax)
2. Specialty Beef Curry (FamilyMart)
At first glance, this one looks like it’s just curry sauce without any rice, but the package is actually separated into a top layer of curry sauce and a bottom layer of rice. You can either pour the sauce over the rice, or dip the rice bit by bit into the sauce as you eat.
The sauce contains more than 20 different spices for a real depth of flavor. These spices don\'t add too much heat, though, so even people who can\'t deal with spicy food will be able to enjoy this one. The beef is cooked in the sauce until tender, and is packed with umami flavor.
Price: 450 JPY (incl. tax)
3. Chicken Katsu Curry (Lawson)
One of the things 2018 US Open winner, Naomi Osaka, said she wanted to eat when visiting Japan was “katsu curry”. This dish is simply curry and rice with topped with deep fried pork or chicken cutlet (katsu).
Lawson\'s Chicken Katsu Curry comes with a moderately hot and spicy curry topped with a chicken katsu cutlet. This curry is a bit spicier than our previous picks, but it makes a great match for fried food!
Price: 480 JPY (incl. tax)
4. The Seven Beef Curry with Angus Beef (7-Eleven)
Angus is a brand of beef best known for its tender meat. This curry is made by blending the umami flavor of Angus beef with acidic tomato, slightly sweet onions, and vegetables. A little apple and banana are the secret ingredients that round out the flavors. The rustic cut of the beef pieces creates a satisfying texture, resulting in a curry rich with all the umami flavor you\'d expect from Angus beef.
Price: 496 JPY (incl. tax)
5. Daal Curry & Coconut Chicken Curry (Natural Lawson)
Natural Lawson is a premium convenience store that offers a lineup of products made in consideration of health and beauty. Newly-introduced in March is the salt and chemical seasoning-free Daal Curry & Coconut Chicken Curry. As you can tell from the photos, this product comes with two kinds of curry in one!
Supervised in its production by a Michelin-starred Japanese chef, this masterpiece of a curry was a year and a half in the making. You wouldn\'t expect to find a curry made with such expert use of herbs and spices in a convenience store!
Price: 550 JPY (incl. tax)
Amazingly, you can enjoy all of these curries for under 600 JPY. Try one next time you go to a convenience store!
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
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