Dragon Ash's Makoto Sakurai Makes Two Curries: "Machi-Chuka Nasu Keema" and a No-Knife South Indian-Style Chicken Curry

The first dish was "Machi-Chuka Nasu Keema," an eggplant keema in the style of a neighborhood Chinese diner. Sakurai explained that "machi-chuka" and "nasu keema" make a light rhyme. The ingredients are ground pork, eggplant, Japanese leek, garlic, and ginger, along with soy sauce, oyster sauce, curry powder, chicken bouillon, and sansho pepper as an accent. The curry powder is made by Indian, and Sakurai said any supermarket product is fine. Ryuji mentioned that he had also recently switched to this curry powder, and the two confirmed that it is sold at Kaldi and supermarkets. Sakurai said they designed the recipe to use as few ingredients as possible.

Behind Sakurai's choice of this dish was some research into Ryuji. By watching old videos, Sakurai learned that Ryuji loves eggplant and also likes spicy dishes such as mapo tofu. Ryuji responded that this was "really, really appreciated." Sakurai also mentioned that BOTS, the band's DJ, had made Ryuji's "Ultimate Carbonara" and was moved, saying it was the best thing they had ever eaten.

The eggplant is cut into rolling wedges slightly larger than bite-size and soaked in salted water. Ryuji said that he usually rubs salt directly into eggplant. Sakurai said that method isn't bad either, but explained that rubbing salt in directly can make the eggplant too salty, making the seasoning hard to get right. That's why Sakurai's approach is to draw out the moisture "gently" with salt water. The soaked eggplant is lightly squeezed before stir-frying.

The frying oil is 2 tablespoons of rice bran oil. Once the eggplant has been fried slowly until browned, it is removed from the pan. Ryuji pointed out that this is a method where salt keeps the eggplant from absorbing much oil, and Sakurai replied that it's because the eggplant gets coated by the salt. Indeed, plenty of oil remained in the pan after the eggplant was removed, and Sakurai used that oil as-is for the next step. The idea is that home cooks often end up with leftover oil they can't use up, and Sakurai doesn't want it to go to waste.

Into the remaining oil go about 10g each of grated garlic and ginger. Next comes 1 teaspoon of doubanjiang. Because it burns if the heat is too high, Sakurai turns off the heat once when removing the eggplant and uses only the residual heat to bring out the aroma. Ground pork is then added and stir-fried, and Sakurai described it as something like a curry-flavored version of the stamina bowl served at Chinese restaurants.

Once the meat is cooked through, the heat is lowered and the curry powder is added. The amount is 1 tablespoon, but Sakurai heaped it as "a little extra." After mixing and cooking it, 250cc of water is poured in and brought to a boil, then 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce are added. Ryuji remarked that it was close to a stamina-style curry he had made before.

Once it comes to a boil, the fried eggplant goes back in to soak up the curry. At this point it is still very thin, so a potato starch slurry is added in several batches while checking the consistency, until it is thick enough to drape smoothly over rice. The two agreed that curry thickened with potato starch is delicious without being heavy. Finally, about half a tablespoon of sesame oil is drizzled in. According to Sakurai, this instantly gives it a Chinese character.

After the curry was poured over rice, Ryuji noticed that the Japanese leek hadn't been used yet. Sakurai planned to pile it on generously at the end as a garnish, saying the leek "does a great job." Sakurai chose Japanese leek over onion in order to use it as a topping. A sprinkle of sansho completes the dish. Ryuji was surprised, saying he had "never seen" curry topped with sansho.

Ryuji's first words after tasting were that the leek should definitely be included. He was surprised that Japanese leek goes so well with curry, and praised the eggplant as silky and not oily. Sakurai's aim was texture. Eggplant and keema alone lack texture, so Sakurai wanted to add crunch with the leek at the end. There is also the approach of adding onion to make it silky, but for this combination Sakurai chose leek. Ryuji said there could be even more leek, comparing it to a jun-reba (liver and chive) rice bowl.

The staff also tasted it, and everyone said it was delicious. Joking, "Can I get a whiteboard?", Ryuji said that Sakurai uses aromatics skillfully and that it doesn't seem like one of his own recipes. Ryuji said it was light and smooth, the kind of flavor that keeps you eating rice, and that learning how well leek and curry go together felt like it might open a new door. Sakurai revealed having come up with about 10 candidate dishes for the day.

Between cooking steps, the conversation turned to the "festival food" Sakurai serves at music festivals. When Ryuji brought up that festival food is difficult, Sakurai replied that there are quite a few restrictions and that it requires more care than regular work. Since you can't stir-fry or cut with a knife on site, curry, which can be prepared in advance and stocked, is well suited. Hearing that even knives aren't allowed, Ryuji laughed, "It's like an airport."

As for upcoming plans, Sakurai said that Kyoto Daisakusen was the day after the recording, and that this month Sakurai would also be appearing at the OGA ROCK festival in Oga, Akita. Sakurai said the Oga festival draws more tattooed people than anywhere else in Japan, and that, without any tattoos, Sakurai is the minority there. Sakurai will serve festival food there and also perform. When Ryuji asked whether Sakurai also stands while performing, Sakurai got a laugh by saying they sit while playing.

Another topic that came up was that band drummers tend to become the life of the party at banquets, and if they act aloof, no one notices them at all.

The second dish uses the "South Indian-Style Chicken Curry" spice set supervised by Sakurai. It is modeled on the first festival food Sakurai ever made. Ryuji said he noticed that this set is made by Indian, the same company as the curry powder from earlier.

Its biggest feature is ease. It uses neither onion nor tomato, and no knife is needed. You can simply buy boneless chicken thigh pre-cut for karaage. 300g of chicken goes into a bowl, and the marinade spices and a small amount of water are added and massaged in. The marinade spices contain dried onion, which provides savoriness in place of fresh onion. Garlic and ginger, considered essential in curry, are also included in powdered form, so there's no need to chop them. Sakurai explained that gathering spices one by one is a hassle, so they were bundled together, but Sakurai still wants people to enjoy the cooking process.

To give a sense of actually cooking with spices, the set includes mustard seeds. Putting them in 2 tablespoons of rice bran oil over heat is what's called tempering in curry-making. When they start popping and bubbling, the heat is lowered from medium to low and they are cooked slowly. They eventually turn whitish, and according to Sakurai, mustard seeds don't so much infuse the oil with aroma as become strongly aromatic themselves. When a popcorn-like smell appears, that's the signal to add the chicken, and Ryuji reacted, "It smells like Disneyland."

The chicken is cooked skin-side down, and once the surface is crisp, 150cc of tomato juice (additive-free) is added. Sakurai chose tomato juice because fresh tomatoes vary in flavor depending on the season and sweetness. Sakurai recommended it for camping too, since chicken is the only fresh ingredient. Ryuji agreed, saying tomato juice these days isn't sour and is rich and delicious.

The tomato juice is reduced to about the consistency of shrimp chili sauce to concentrate the savoriness. Here the heat is turned off and the special spice blend is added. The amount is generous, and this makes about 3 servings. Since the heat is off, there's no rush when mixing; the tomato absorbs the spices and becomes a roux-like gravy. Sakurai explained that the chicken also takes on savoriness at this stage.

After that, a total of 400cc of water is added in two 200cc portions, thoroughly mixing it in each time. Once it boils, the heat is lowered and it is simmered. The simmering time is about 10 minutes.

The finished curry is quite thin. Sakurai likes watery curry and said that, if making one with a spice kit, they wanted to make a curry that makes people think, "It's this thin, yet it's delicious." Ryuji also said he hadn't eaten many curries of this consistency, because most are thickened with vegetables by adding lots of tomato or melting down onions.

Partway through this process, a story came up about asking an acquaintance who often travels to India whether Indian or Japanese biryani is better. The answer was "hard to say," and the acquaintance reportedly said the Japanese versions are pretty good too.

After splashing it generously over rice and tasting it, Ryuji was surprised that so much flavor could develop in such a short time, and said the aroma is completely different. The result is deep, with plenty of chicken flavor coming through. Ryuji said it's light yet deep, so it doesn't feel lacking, and that it's the kind of thin curry you want to scarf down in summer. The two confirmed that because the approach differs from the first dish, the flavor is completely different too, and Ryuji said it's a taste that would satisfy curry lovers. The staff also said it was "totally restaurant-like" and "there are definitely shops that serve curry like this," and praised how well the chicken had absorbed the flavor.

The recipe is posted on Sakurai's Instagram and X. Ryuji recommended that anyone who wants to eat spice curry should try it, because it shows that, unlike the aroma of curry powder, this is what spice curry is and this is how you can make it.

At the end, it was revealed that the two had met for the first time that day. It started when one of Ryuji's fans visited Sakurai's festival food stand and took it upon themselves to say they would show it to Ryuji. Afterward, word reached Sakurai that Ryuji had said he'd love to do something with Sakurai, and Sakurai responded with something like a video letter. Ryuji, figuring that if Sakurai was willing to go that far, asked to collaborate.

Ryuji wrapped up by giving the first dish a rating of "Sプ." Next time, Ryuji says he is preparing his own curry for Sakurai to try.