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Kare pan
Curry beef buns
Japanese curry buns with a beef mince filling, baked or fried
Kare pan (カレーパン) is the best-selling savoury bun in Japanese bakeries and convenience stores: a soft, slightly sweet bread dough wrapped around thick, mild Japanese curry made with beef mince (pork mince works too), coated in panko and fried or baked until crunchy. Office workers in Tokyo eat one hot for lunch, and children love them after school. The outside is crisp, the bread soft and the curry rich and gently spiced. For a vegetarian version, fill them with diced potato, carrot and mushroom cooked in the same homemade roux; ready-made curry blocks often contain animal fat, so check the label. Runny filling is the usual mistake, because it bursts the seam, so cook it thick and chill it. Chef's tip: dampen the dough edges and pinch the seam twice, then place the buns seam-side down to rest.
- Total time
- 125 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz strong white bread flour
- ⅔ oz sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup warm milk
- ⅔ oz buttersoft
For the curry filling
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 carrotsmall, finely diced
- 9 oz beef minceor pork mince
- ⅔ oz butter
- ⅔ oz plain flour
- 1 ½ tbsp curry powdermild Japanese-style or any mild curry powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ¾ cup water or stock
- ½ applegrated
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp honey
For the coating (baked)
- 1 eggbeaten; or milk for an egg-free coating
- 2 ⅛ oz panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
To fry instead (optional)
- 1 litre vegetable oil (optional)for deep-frying
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What you'll need
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Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Mix 10 ½ oz strong white bread flour, ⅔ oz sugar, 1 tsp salt and ⅛ oz fast-action dried yeast. Add ¾ cup warm milk and knead for 5 minutes, then knead in ⅔ oz butter for 5 minutes more, until smooth and stretchy. Cover and leave for 1 hour, until doubled.
60 minStep 2: Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook 1 onion and 1 carrot for 8 minutes, until soft and lightly golden.
8 minStep 3: Add 9 oz beef mince and cook over medium-high heat, breaking it up, for 6–8 minutes, until browned all through; it should reach 160°F on a probe thermometer.
8 minStep 4: Push the mince to one side, melt ⅔ oz butter in the space, stir in ⅔ oz plain flour, 1 ½ tbsp curry powder and ½ tsp garam masala and cook for 1 minute. Stir in ¾ cup water or stock, ½ apple, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp tomato ketchup and 1 tsp honey.
2 minStep 5: Simmer, stirring, for 8–10 minutes, until very thick and a spoon drawn through leaves a clear trail. Spread on a plate, cool, then chill for 30 minutes until firm.
10 minStep 6: Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll into balls. Flatten each into a 12 cm round, thinner at the edges.
Step 7: Put a heaped tablespoon of cold filling in the middle, fold the dough over into a half-moon and pinch the edge firmly to seal, then pinch it again.
Step 8: Brush each bun with 1 egg, then roll it in 2 ⅛ oz panko breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tbsp vegetable oil, pressing the crumbs on. Place seam-side down on a lined tray and leave for 30 minutes, until puffy.
30 minStep 9: To bake: heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan) and bake for 15–18 minutes, until the crumbs are deep golden and the buns sound hollow when tapped underneath.
17 minStep 10: To fry instead: coat with egg and plain panko (skip the oil in the crumbs), heat 1 litre vegetable oil to 350°F and fry two or three at a time for 3–4 minutes, turning, until deep golden. Drain on a rack.
Step 11: Cool for 5 minutes before eating; the curry inside stays very hot. They reheat well in a 350°F (325°F fan) oven for 8 minutes.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kare pan take?
- About 125 minutes in total: 95 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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