Easy! Kare Pan (Japanese Curry Bread)

Easy! Kare Pan (Japanese Curry Bread)! Kare Pan (カレーパン, karē pan) is a popular Japanese-style curry-stuffed bread. It gets a crunchy crust and chewy inside from deep frying and making them at home is very easy, you don’t even need an oven.

Easy! Kare Pan (Japanese Curry Bread)!

Kare Pan (カレーパン, karē pan) is a popular Japanese-style curry stuffed bread.  It gets a crunchy crust and chewy inside from deep frying. You can find Kare Pan in bakeries and convenience stores all over Japan. However, making them at home is very easy, and you don’t even need an oven.

Here is an easy-to-follow recipe with step-by-step pictures, helpful info plus tips that will help you make it in an easy way at home. Do try them out and let me know how it went in the comment section below!

What Is Kare Pan?

Kare Pan is a type of stuffed bread or bun. It consists of soft bread filled with Japanese curry, which is then coated in panko breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until golden brown. Deep frying is the most common method of cooking though it can be also baked.

In Japanese, ‘kare’ or ‘karē’ means ‘curry’ and ‘pan’ means ‘bread’
So, ‘kare pan’ literally means ‘curry bread’

What Is Japanese Curry?

Japanese curry was influenced by British and Indian cuisine and developed during the Meiji period (1868–1912). The typical Japanese curry is thicker in texture and tastes sweeter but less spicy as it is adapted to Japanese tastes. Despite its foreign origins, it has become a staple meal of the Japanese and is enjoyed by people of all ages.

The sauce is typically made with curry roux. Roux is a combination of a mix of spices, flour, and fat that is cooked and used as a base to thicken and flavor sauces.

The roux is added to stewed meat and vegetables and then simmered until thickened. The usual ingredients added to Japanese curry include potatoes, carrots, onions, and meat, more often pork or beef, but you can also use chicken.

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How to Make the Curry Filling

You can make the curry filling either with ready-made Japanese curry* or homemade Japanese curry. However, If your curry is on the thinner side, you need to thinner it before making a kare pan; otherwise, the filling will leak out.

In this recipe, I used some mashed potatoes as an added ingredient to make a thick curry. Peel and cut potatoes into cubes, and place them in a heat-safe bowl with one tablespoon of water and microwave (500W) for 5 minutes, then mash while hot. Or you can also boil them.

In a pan, simmer the curry and mashed potato over low heat until it thickens. If there are large pieces of vegetables or meat, break them into smaller pieces. Allow to cool and keep it in the fridge as it is easier to work with refrigerated curry.

*Ready-made Japanese curry is available in Asian grocery stores.

Tips for Making Curry Bread

• Bread recipes require multiple rises, so you need to plan your baking ahead of time and then you’ll be ready to eat when the kare pan is fresh out of the frying pan.
• If using active dry yeast, in a small bowl, combine milk with active dry yeast and whisk briefly. Bubbles should form within a couple of minutes. If using instant yeast, you can skip this step and add it to the rest of the dough ingredients.
• To avoid filling spilling out of the curry bread, make sure to tightly seal them by pinching the edges together tightly. I didn’t do but you can flip the bun seam-side down and roll it back and forth over the work surface to seal.
• After egg washing, make sure to use your fingers to press the panko into the bread dough gently to help the breadcrumbs stick to the curry bread otherwise the breadcrumbs will float off into the oil when you deep-fry the bread.
• Don’t fry too many buns at once. As it will bring the temperature down and the curry bread won’t fry properly.
• A freshly-fried Kare pan is the best, but if you have leftovers, you can reheat them in the oven, in a toaster, or in a microwave oven.

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Japanese Curry Bread (Kare Pan)
Step-by-Step Recipe

Prep Time 2 and a half hrs
Cook Time 20 mins
Servings 6

Ingredients

Dough
215 g bread flour
25 g sugar
8 g milk powder
2 g salt
2 g instant yeast
15 g butter, melted
120 ml water

Filling
200g Japanese curry (Homemade or ready-made)
150g mashed potato

Coating
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp water
2 to 4 tbsp cornflakes, crushed
Bread crumbs, as needed

For Frying
Oil for deep frying

Instruction

Prepare the filling

In a small pan, simmer the ready-made curry and mashed potato over low heat until it thickens. If there are large pieces of vegetables or meat, break them into smaller pieces. Allow to cool and chill in the fridge before using.

Prepare the Coating

I used Japanese panko (breadcrumbs) with some crushed unsweetened cornflakes as they bring a crunchy burst to curry buns. Using cornflakes is optional.

Put the cornflakes into a freezer bag and roll them over with a rolling pin, or a bottle. You can crush the cornflakes by hand.

Mix the breadcrumbs with crushed cornflakes.

Make the bread dough

Gather the ingredients; flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and butter.

Using a Bread Machine

Making the dough is very easy if you have a bread machine. Following the instruction manual, prepare the dough using the ingredients listed.

By Hand

Place the flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix all ingredients well.

Add the melted butter and water to the flour mixture and mix until forms a shaggy dough. And then knead the dough for a few minutes in the bowl to form a ball, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and then again knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic for about 10 minutes.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and clean tea towel. Keep in a warm place and let rise until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.

After about 1 hour the dough should become double the size.

Making the Curry Bread

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch it down to remove the air bubbles.

Divide the dough into six equal portions. Shape each dough portion into a ball. Shaping your hand into a claw, roll each dough ball around the floured surface until smooth.

Cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a circle about ¼ inch thick.

Place about 2 tablespoons of curry filling in the center of each dough circle.

Bring the edges of the dough up to meet each other, forming a football shape. Pinch tightly to seal. You can also make a bun-shaped kare pan if you like it that way.

Brush with egg wash on all sides.

And coat with bread crumbs pressing the breadcrumbs into the dough to adhere.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to double in a warm place for about 30-40 minutes.

Deep Frying

Heat the oil in a deep pan. Check if the oil is ready for frying with a couple of breadcrumbs. Drop a couple of breadcrumbs into the oil. If they sink, the oil is not hot enough. If they quickly burn up, the oil is too hot. But if they bubble and float to the top, the oil is just right and it’s time to fry.

Working in batches, fry the kare pan until golden brown and crispy, about 2 minutes per side.

Turn the bread over a few times and cook until golden brown.

Let drain on paper towels or a wire rack.

Serve hot & Enjoy!

Japanese Curry Bread (Kare Pan)
Step-by-Step Recipe

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