Japanese Curry Chicken Pot Pie
Mini versions of the Japanese Curry Pot Pie!
Japanese Curry Chicken Pot Pie
If there’s one dish that brings together my love for bold flavors and hearty comfort food, it’s this Japanese Curry Chicken Pot Pie.
Inspired by Samin Nosrat’s iconic Chicken Pot Pie recipe from her Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat cookbook, I decided to give it a twist with the bold, umami-packed flavors of Japanese curry.
The idea came to me after making a traditional chicken pot pie for my husband, Elliott. He loved it so much that he devoured half the pie in one sitting! Naturally, I thought, “What if I swapped the filling for Japanese curry?”
This recipe is a delightful mash-up of my old favorite neighborhood curry spot’s chicken katsu curry (shout out to Volcano in San Francisco!) and the buttery, flaky crust that makes pot pies so irresistible.
It’s a cozy, satisfying dish that’s perfect for chilly nights, holiday gatherings, or whenever you’re craving something truly special.
A Note on the Filling: Gather all the ingredients, this recipe does call for a bit of preparation, so ensure you have everything you need.
You can make Japanese Curry roux from scratch or use a box Japanese Curry mix. I like the S&B brand in the hottest flavor (it’s not that spicy) and you can always kick it up a notch with some cayenne or ghost pepper.
Ingredients for Japanese Curry Pot Pie Filling
Prep Time for Filling: 20 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour
1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
4-5 garlic cloves (minced)
1 thumb-sized knob of freshly grated ginger
1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (substitute with a protein of your choice)
2-3 carrots (chopped in bite sized chunks)
1-2 large potatoes or 5-6 small potatoes
1 Fuji apple (peeled and grated)
1 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of ketchup
1-2 tbsp of soy sauce (I usually only use one if using box curry mix)
4 cups of chicken broth (water to replace if you don’t have enough chicken broth)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions for Japanese Curry Pot Pie:
A Note on the Pie Crust: I recommend Samin Nosrat’s pie crust recipe. Instead of using a stand mixer, I use my hands or a grater to crumble the butter. Recipe for that is here. Start with the pie crust first, so that it has time to rest and it’s ready to go when your filling is done.
1. Add olive oil to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the chopped onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant and soft, 7-8 minutes.
2. Thoroughly dry and salt the chicken. Add in chicken to the onion mixture. Cook the chicken until it gets light in color on the outside. It doesn’t need to be cooked all the way as it will continue to cook in the broth.
3. Add in the chopped carrots and potatoes. Pour in the chicken broth/stock. Option to use water if you don’t have stock/broth on hand. Ensure the ingredients are covered, bring to a boil and simmer for ~15-20 minutes. While it’s boiling, make your home made curry mix**.
**If using boxed curry mix, add it in once the broth or water has come to a boil. Once boiling, skim any fat off the top. Cut your curry mix into 4-6 smaller pieces. Put a few blocks at a time in a bowl with broth from your pot. Mix up up so it becomes like a paste and then add it into the pot. Stir well and skip to step 5. If you’re not making pie, you are almost done! Follow step 5 and let it simmer for about 15-20 more minutes until it’s thick and then serve over rice.
Instructions for Homemade Japanese Curry roux:
Ingredients: Flour, butter, curry powder, garam masala, cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Note: If you’re making regular chicken curry, cut down on the flour by 2 tbsp (1:1 ratio of butter to flour).
Melt 5 tbsp of butter and then add 7 tbsp of flour into the butter and mix it. Let this cook down for about 15-20 minutes until it turns dark brown. Make sure to continuously stir or else the bottom can burn.
Add in 2 tbsp of curry powder, 2 tbsp of garam masala and 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper.
Stir for 30 seconds and then remove from the heat, add in salt and pepper to taste.
For a regular curry roux (not for pot pie) - Use 3 tbsp of butter and 3 tbsp of flour and only 1 tbsp each of curry powder, garam masala and cayenne pepper to taste.
Japanese Curry Roux Ingredients
4. Return to your pot. Skim out any fat that’s come up to the top. Add 1coarsely grated Fuji apple. Take a large spoonful of the broth and mix it into the curry roux until the texture is smooth. Once smooth, add to the chicken mixture.
6. Preheat your oven to 400° degrees.
7. Enhance the flavor by adding 1 tbsp of ketchup, a dash of honey and 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Adjust the seasonings to your liking. If you’re using a box mix and skipped step 4, add in your 1/2 to whole coarsely grated apple (optional). Let this simmer for ~5 more minutes until thick and resembles pie crust filling.
8. Prepare your pie crust in a baking glass pie pan, poke a few holes with a fork in the bottom. Scoop in the filling so that it’s heaping full. Add the pie crust on top and pinch the ends together. Make a few knife lines on the top to prevent overflow while baking. Optional: brush the top with egg white wash!
8. Bake the pie for 30-35 minutes. The pie crust should be golden brown. Serve while it’s hot!
