I had the rice going and the vegetables chopped when the captain called me out for another bloody China hat. That was the timing of lunch aboard Aqua Service off Nootka Island on October 30.
Waiting for me in the galley were leftover Jollibee fried chicken and a pot of split pea-and-ham soup. The soup already had the body I wanted for Japanese-style curry. All it needed was the vegetable pan and some curry roux.
Get the rice going
For my Kokuho Rose rice, I brought 2½ cups of water to a boil, added 2 cups of rice and turned the heat down to minimum. I gave it about 20 minutes on low and another 10 minutes off the heat. That last rest left me time to finish the curry and get the plates out.
Turn the soup into curry
I chopped the onions into generous pieces, diced a yellow bell pepper and celery, and sliced the spring onions. Into the pan they went with a little oil and minced garlic. I let the onions soften while the pepper and celery still had some bite.
I warmed the split pea-and-ham soup gently, stirring so it wouldn’t catch, then added the vegetables and Japanese curry roux. The box in the galley was Glico Medium. I usually like mine super spicy. Medium was what we had.
I didn’t measure the soup or write down how many cubes went in. What I was looking for was a thick, chunky curry that would sit alongside the rice.
Two plates on the galley table
I molded the rice on the plates, spooned the curry beside it and added the fried chicken and cucumber. By the time I set the two plates on the table, the deck call was behind me and lunch was ready.
Earlier in the galley: Jollibee-inspired chicken night and Japanese chahan brunch.
Field notes and original photographs by Colin Lee MacLeod, aboard Aqua Service.
