toasted sesame oil in curry.... is this a mistake?

I started frying up some onion and tofu for a quick stir-fry. Now I am jones-ing for curry.... Is that bad combo - toasted sesame oil and curry flavors? I am using the Japanese curry powder in the little can by S&B THANKS!

Sadassa_Ulna
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4 Comments

Lost_in_NYC June 27, 2018
Amen CV
 
702551 June 23, 2018
If you like the flavor that the toasted sesame oil imparts and you believe your dinner guests will also enjoy, just add it.

While Japanese style curry ("karé raisu") does not include toasted sesame oil as a standard and commonly expected ingredient:

https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/06/big-in-japan-kare-raisu-japanese-curry-rice.html

this dish isn't exactly haute cuisine. It's Japanese comfort food -- home cooking -- so there are invariably many personalized versions of this dish just as there's no one way to make American-style spaghetti and meatballs.

Ultimately, the goal of making sure your diners enjoy it should be the guiding light for your cooking decisions. If you like it, make it and enjoy it. We don't know who will be sitting at your dinner table, but for something as informal as Japanese-style curry, you have plenty of leeward in creating something personal that still is recognizable as "karé raisu". And even if you deviate to the point where it might be unrecognizable, the most important thing is that you and your dinner guests enjoy it, not asking the opinion of a handful of random commenters of an anonymous Q&A forum.

Best of luck.
 
Sadassa_Ulna June 24, 2018
To clarify, I was the sole diner, and asking for the opinions of a handful of random commenters on an anonymous Q&A forum was precisely my intent. I wonder if you are linking to an article you wrote yourself?
 
702551 June 24, 2018
Nope, I am not Aya Tanaka so I did not write that Serious Eats article. In fact, I do not publish food articles at all, whether it be at Serious Eats or anywhere else.

Especially since you are the sole diner, that's even more reason why you should do exactly as you please. We're not dining at your table and eating this dish with you (nor do we understand your particular likes and dislikes), so there is even less reason for you to ask us.

Just make your curry the way you like it.

If you are uncertain whether you will like it or not with the toasted sesame oil, your best course of action would be to make it without that ingredient, then set aside a small portion of the finished dish and add the sesame oil to that. That way, if you don't like it, you won't have squandered an entire batch.

And best of luck!

:o)
 
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