For our final meeting of the year, the World Spice Cookbook Club is taking on recipes from The Flavour Principle: Enticing Your Senses With Food And Drink. This cookbook, containing recipes from around the world, focuses on the fundamentals of flavor and suggests pairings to complement the unique tastes of each dish. For our first preview recipe, we selected this Japanese curry recipe which balances sweet and spicy flavors for a wonderful, balanced taste.

From the Author: “You can buy Japanese curry powder but it’s just as easy to make your own with our recipe. Serve the curry with rice or udon noodles and Japanese pickles (recipes follow). The grated apple gives sweetness to the sauce.This curry powder gets its traditional deep yellow colour from the turmeric. It is not a hot curry; it is more textured, with layered flavour.”

Japanese Chicken Curry

Ingredients

• 1½ lb (675 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• ½ cup coarsely grated peeled apple
• 2 tbsp Japanese curry powder (page 248)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Cut chicken thighs into 2-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and sear for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until lightly golden. Reserve.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 2 tbsp oil and onions to skillet and sauté for 2 minutes or until onions are softened. Add apple, curry powder, ginger and garlic and sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant.
3. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes to cook out floury taste. Stir in stock a little at a time until well combined. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes to thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Return chicken and any juices to skillet and cook in sauce for 10 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Stir in spinach and cook for 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Garnish with cilantro just before serving.

© 2026 World Spice Merchants https://www.worldspice.com

Japanese Curry Powder

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground fennel

Instructions

1. Combine all spices in a small bowl and stir until uniform. Curry powder keeps well in a sealed container.

© 2026 World Spice Merchants https://www.worldspice.com

The Flavour Principle: Enticing Your Senses With Food And Drink is the November 2016 selection for the World Spice Cookbook Club. The Flavour Principle is currently available for purchase at amazon.com.

Recipes from The Flavour Principle © 2013 by Lucy Waverman and Beppi Crosariol. Photography © Ryan Szulc. Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. All rights reserved.