Curry rice with a roux filled with rumbling meat and vegetables poured over rice is a taste of Japanese home cooking. And it is popular not only among Japanese but also among many foreign tourists. However, such delicious Curry rice is not suitable for dieting.
So this time, we will introduce restaurants where you can enjoy Japanese curry rice without feeling guilty even if you are on a diet!
Is Curry rice Fattening?
For Japanese people on a diet, curry rice is perceived as “fattening”.
The reasons are
- The amount of rice is higher than usual (high carbohydrate)
- Commercial curry roux is high in both fat and sugar.
- High carbohydrate vegetables such as potatoes and carrots are plentiful.
- Fatty beef and pork are used.
Also, when you eat it, you tend to swallow it because you eat the curry roux and rice together. If you eat carbohydrates on an empty stomach, your blood sugar levels will rise rapidly, leading to fat accumulation. Also, chewing is reduced and the satiety center is not stimulated, leading to overeating.
Curry rice is a high-calorie dish, but even if you are on a diet, you still want to eat curry for its spicy kick.
There is a curry rice restaurant in Japan that can fulfill your desire.
Low-carb Curry available in Japan
For those who want to eat healthy Curry in Japan, I recommend ”Curry House CoCo Ichibanya(CoCo壱番屋)”, a Curry chain restaurant that is popular among foreigners, with stores in the U.S., China, England, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other foreign countries.
“CoCo Ichi” in Japan has an original menu item for those on a low-carb diet. It is a “Low-carb Curry” in which chopped cauliflower is used in place of rice. At first glance, it looks no different from regular curry rice, but it actually contains no white rice. The 180g of cauliflower used in this dish contains only 16.5g of carbohydrates, compared to 83.3g in a regular pork curry (200g of rice), a difference of approximately five times the amount. This is truly a curry that even those on a low-carb diet can eat without feeling guilty.
The Low-carb Curry can be changed to a large serving (225g) or a small serving (135g), so you can adjust the amount according to how hungry you are.
Recommended combination
Here are recommended combinations of low-carb curries that will fill your stomach, nourish your body, and make you feel satisfied.
For those who are unfamiliar with the CoCo Ichibanya system, let me first explain the CoCo Ichibanya menu. You can customize your curry to your liking.
First, choose your curry roux. There are Pork, Sweet Pork, Beef, Vegetable, and Hashed beef roux. Next, choose the amount of rice. The usual amount is 300g, but you can choose from 150g to 600g (or more), and the price varies depending on the amount of rice. Next, choose the spiciness of the curry roux. CoCoichi’s curry is full of spices, and this spiciness is one of the reasons for its popularity.
Finally, choose your favorite toppings and complete your order. All you have to do now is wait excitedly for your favorite curry to be delivered.
Here are my recommendations for custom low-carb curry.
Curry sauce: Vegetable
Rice: Changed to cauliflower
Spiciness: I always choose 3 spiciness
Toppings: Spinach and Stewed chicken
Calories 364kcal
Protein 23.9g
Fat 20.1g
Carbohydrates 27g
Adding spinach and low-fat chicken provides both vegetable nutrition and protein.
Other toppings such as mushrooms, seafood, and boiled eggs are also recommended. Choose your vegetables and protein according to your mood of the day.
As for the taste of cauliflower rice, you may be interested in it, but since it is actually rice-grained cauliflower, it tastes just like cauliflower. However, it has a crunchy texture and does not become soggy over time. Perhaps because they use cauliflower that has less flavor, it blends in with the curry like rice without interfering with the flavor of the curry. The smell is not that bothersome, and the smell of curry is more perceptible. Of course, you may like it or dislike it, but it is a recommended dish for those who want to eat curry with less carb.
If you want to eat healthy curry in Japan, be sure to try CoCo Ichibanya’s low-carb curry. It is sold at any store in Japan.
Click here for the CoCo Ichibanya menu!
https://www.ichibanya.co.jp/menu/pdf/menubook_en.pdf
