This is it, Dungeon Meshi Maniacs. One of the most famous dishes in all of Dungeon Meshi. It's taken over 90 entries but we made it! I'm sure DMMs that read this blog but aren't familiar with the story are looking at the title and saying, "Rabbit? Seriously? That's not a monster as I see them on a frequent basis." I mean, not to you or I but imagine how a farmer feels about the rabbit! They based entire cartoons on the terror of rabbits! Giant rabbits destroyed an entire Australian hamlet in a documentary I saw once! Believe or not the rabbits the gang eats are far deadlier. Let's take a closer look of what goes into Head Hunting Rabbit Curry!
I know that I tend to mock Laios more than I should, DMMs, especially sine the guy has an impressive talent for empathy. The gang is trying to think of a way to...well...kill Falin and Laios thinks of a unique problem that may help them.
Falin has to be starving, DMMs! As Laios points out, her monster form isn't designed well enough to feed her. That enormous body would require a large amount of nourishment. However, look at that dainty mouth. I'm sure Marcille has many times. It's not big enough to eat the amounts Draco-Chicken Falin would need. Laios is a good brother, DMMs! Always looking out for his sister. So Laios busts out one of the oldest methods to deal with a monster.
Feed her and get her drunk at the same time thus making her very sleepy. Seriously, so many heroes from around the world have used this technique to deal with all sorts of huge monsters. And it always works! Monsters love food and booze even though they typically can't hold their liquor. Thus the gang has a plan, but what do they feed Draco-Chicken Falin? The dungeon provides, DMMs.
Rabbit! One of the more delicious wild animals! The gang couldn't have asked for better luck. Of course nothing is normal in the dungeon, DMMs. Laios finds that out real quick.
What's a little necromancy between friends? Marcille and her growing unholy army of the night...or day...I'm not sure the time, DMMs. Either way Marcille comes through in a clutch and saves the day! Once she crams everyone's souls back into their bodies it's time to cook up some curry! Enough to feed a Draco-Chicken!
But what is a curry, exactly? That's a question that has both an easy and a complicated answer, DMMs. Basically, a curry is a sauce that usually contains a meat and is served with rice. Of course, nothing is that simple. In my opinion, curry is the truly global dish. In that all hemispheres came together to create the modern curry. Don't believe me? Check this food history out, DMMs. To start, curry is an ancient dish that is a staple of Indiana cuisine. Seriously, we think it dates back to 2500 BC! It wasn't until the New World opened up that chilis and other now curry staples were introduced. Once Great Britain came a colonizing they found something other than forcing their culture onto other peoples to love. The Brits took curry, and their Indiana chefs, everywhere they went. Which in turn meant curry became what the "upper crust" ate. No joke! In face the curry we will be cooking is actually the Japanese version which itself is only about 150 years old after English sailors brought it! For the longest time it was only served to the richie rich people in Japan as a fancy Western dish. Now do you see my point? The world itself came together to bring modern curry! But what's the difference Japanese and Indiana curry? Waaaaay less spice. It's milder and a bit sweeter. So how is it made? Simple.
Use this and following the directions on the back. See you all next week!
Okay, okay. You got me, DMMs. We will be making a curry from scratch. I will say that is NOTHING wrong with using box curry. Obviously I love the stuff since I have two different types in my pantry at all times. Curry has become a comfort food for me! I'm sure you'll see why. Before we get started there is a slight problem. The main ingredient is hard to find this time of year. None of my local butchers had solid rabbit meat for sale. Why? Simple.
I'm not kidding. Remember the Duck Confit we made? The stores were lousy with duck. Rabbit? Nowhere to be found. That doesn't mean I'm out of options, DMMs. Thankfully my favorite butcher had my back.
Rabbit in sausage form! Granted this means it'll have spices I hadn't intended to use in the curry but I think this will work better. Rabbit is easy to over cook and becomes tough. Sausage can take a beating which is great when it comes to curries. We split the cooking into two phases: the stew and the roux. That rhymes! And you know it rhymes, DMMs, admit it! We'll start with the stew which contains your veggies and meat. The veggies should seem very familiar by now.
The classic stew trio; carrots, onion and potatoes! You just need to give these a good chop. They will be boiled until soft and then simmered so don't make them too thin. Start with the onions. Put a tablespoon of oil into a large pot and cook the hell out of your onions.
I'm not kidding, DMMs. These onions are evil incarnate. They threatened some orphans and were rude to a puppy. Show them no mercy. Sweat them? NO. Translucent? NO! You have no prayers to offer these onions. Once you think you've gone to far wait another minute.
I find this really helps the onions stand up during the stewing process and keep their flavor. Once the onions have been pacified add your meat and cook.
Normally I'd say just brown the meat but this is rabbit, DMMs. It's a game meat, even if it's in sausage form, so you want to make sure it is cooked all the way through. The odds of catching something from farmed rabbit should be lower than if you shot it yourself but don't take that chance. Trust me, it'll be fine. Once the meat has been cooked it's time to stew things up. Add the carrots, potatoes and four cups of liquid. I used two cups of chicken broth and two cups of water. Like a thicker stew? Use less. What is a bit runnier? Use more. Feel free to use what you like as long as it covers all of your ingredients.
Half a cup of butter, half a cup of flour. Easy peasy! Once again, half a cup of butter is a WHOLE STICK!
Sorry, I just love sharing that fact when I can. Melt the butter over a low heat and add the flour. You are going to be shooting for a blond roux, yes there are different color stages used for different dishes. We get that by mixing the flour and butter together over low heat by about 12 minutes. Here is the starting color.
After 12 minutes it will start to thicken and lighten up. Kind of a light yellow, like a baby chick.
Pretty sure my expert photography isn't doing the color difference justice, DMMs. Trust me, you'll see the difference in person. Now time for the spices. This is another "your mileage will vary" situation. But you will want a curry powder of some kind and Garam Masala. These are a must for any curry. Then add whatever else you like. Since I'm making a Japanese Curry I'm going to keep it simple.
Garam Masala, S&B Curry Powder and Chinese Five Spice! I told you Five Spice was important, DMMs. Measurements are also simple. A tablespoon of each. I also put in a tablespoon of Tonkastu Sauce and Rice Wine Vinegar. Some also add in soy sauce but I wanted to keep the salt down for this one. Give it a good mix.
Gross! Don't worry, it will taste great. Take about a half cup of water from your stew pot and pour into the skillet. This will make it easier for the roux to transfer and you'll be less likely to have chunks of it in the curry. Once it is a bit more liquid just pour it into the stew pot and give it a good stir. Let that simmer for at least 5 minutes. If you have time let it simmer longer to allow the flavors to really mix together.
This was pretty THICK, DMMs. That's how I like my curry so that's what I wanted. If it's too thick for you just add water until it gets to the level you want. Serve this with rice and you have the an almost perfect dinner.
Not going to lie, DMMs, I wish I was eating this right now. The rabbit sausage was a blessing in disguise. It wasn't overcooked allowing for the rabbit subtle flavors to shine through. Remember, you don't have to use rabbit. Any meat will do! Heck, you don't even need meat. Tofu works just as well. Whether you use a boxed version of make it yourself go ahead and treat yourself to some curry this week. It's a reward you deserve! Speaking of rewards I think I deserve one. This update involved killer rabbits and I managed to not make a single Holy Grail reference! That has to be a record. What? You want one? Oh...okay...just one. We are the knights who say....wait....how does the rest of that go?
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