A blue curry? (sighs) Yes… Ok, Listen, this isn’t one that is normally served in takeaways. But with pouches of blue sonic curry still being sold on sites like eBay for upwards of $30, you can probably save yourself some money by having a crack at our own homemade version. Kids seem to like it, and unlike the imported version, you’ll know exactly what’s in it. Read on to find out what it is all about!
Is Sonic Blue Curry Real?
Unfortunately, yes, it is.
I’m putting my reputation on the line here as this definitely isn’t an authentic Indian dish. In fact, it is invented and manufactured in Japan. It kind of makes sense when you think about it. After all, “Sonic the hedgehog” is a video game created by Sega, who are also Japanese!
If you’ve never heard of it before, sonic the hedgehog curry is a mild ‘boil in the bag’ type curry dish that just happens to be blue. The reason for the colour is that it is supposed to match the colour of the video game character…
A blue curry?
Yes indeed.
While I occasionally like to reheat the odd curry, boil in the bag curries aren’t really the best option. You know for a fact that it has been mass-produced, and to get that ridiculously vivid blue, it is doubtful that there are loads of natural ingredients in there.
As an alternative, we thought that we’d have a go at making something similar, but without the expense, or ‘E-numbers’.
Can You Still Get Sonic Curry?
This dish was first released in 2018 and, for a while, made its way around the world (before the world quickly decided that blue food isn’t visually appealing).
There are two ways that you can enjoy tucking into a plate of blue sonic curry.
1) Go to Japan
2) Make it yourself
While we’d like to visit Japan one day, we’d like to do so for a reason other than trying a bright blue curry, so for us (and hopefully for you), it’s going to be option 2 for sure.
What does Blue Curry Taste Like?
Blue curry doesn’t actually taste that different from regular curry. However, remember the original version is Japanese, which is vastly different from Indian Curries.
Blue Curry achieves its bright blue colour entirely from food colouring, which tends to be neutral in flavour. Just because it is blue doesn’t mean it tastes any different.
And here’s the thing…
Before Sega jumped on the bandwagon, blue curry already existed in japan.
It was called “Nemophila” curry… the reason for this was that it was served by a restaurant in Hitachi Seaside Park. The curry was named after the beautiful blue flowers that grow wild in the park… And this curry was designed to replicate it (Yeah, it looks just like it… Lol).
How do You Make a Sonic Curry?
Reluctantly.
Oh, ok, I’ll tell you.
Our homemade blue sonic curry recipe is just a standard curry with a few minor changes.
We suspect that it might be a younger audience who want to give this a try, so for that reason, we are going to need a mild curry, nothing too spicy.
We are going to be using blue food dye in the dish. This might seem a little obvious, but don’t forget that various curry spices have vibrant colours that mix with any other elements. For that reason, we needed a curry that is pretty neutral in colour.
We have taken a regular curry, the Korma, and adapted it, removing the colourful elements to have a blank canvas to get the blue colour just right.
We start by frying chicken in some seasoned oil. We then add a few subtle spices, along with a little sugar.
Following this, we add some coconut flour. This helps to soak up the spices and the oil and makes a kind of roux. We add a little base gravy, some creamy coconut, and then throw in some cream and butter.
The difference with this recipe is that, unlike Korma, it does not contain turmeric. The reason for this is that turmeric is bright yellow. This will react with the blue colour (which we add later) and give you a green curry.
Anyone like green curry? No, us neither.
You’ll find that without the turmeric, this curry will be very pale in colour.
We add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice, swiftly followed by a few teaspoons of blue food colouring, give it a stir, and then serve… Before throwing it away once everyone realizes how unappetizing blue curry looks.
Hey, look on the bright side… You didn’t pay $30 to have it flown from Japan!
Here’s the recipe: -
Sonic Blue Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1 Green Cardamom Pod
- 1 chicken breast, chopped into small cubes
- 1 teaspoon garlic and ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 Cup curry base gravy heated
- 1 tablespoon creamed coconut
- ½ cup cream
- 1 small pinch bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon blue food colouring (gel)
Method (I can’t believe I’m writing this)
1) in a large frying pan, add your oil, cinnamon, cardamom pod, and place over high heat. Allow the oil to get hot, and once your spices start to sizzle, throw in your chicken chunks along with your garlic and ginger paste.
2) Once the chicken has browned, add your garam masala sugar and coconut flour and give everything a good stir. Cook until all of the oil has been absorbed by the coconut flour and you have a sort of thick paste.
3) Add the base gravy and creamed coconut and simmer until the base gravy reduces and turns really thick.
4) turn the heat down to medium, and add your cream bicarb and butter. Stir until all the ingredients are well mixed and the cream begins to bubble. Then remove from the heat.
5) Add your lemon juice and food colouring, stir until the curry turns uniformly blue… If you want it darker, just add a little more food colouring.
6) Looks delicious (not).
Blue Curry | Hints and Tips
- If you check the ingredients above, you’ll notice I specify blue food colouring gel. This is vital to getting a deep blue colour. I’ve tried this recipe with standard food colouring. You will get a blue curry. But it won’t be as vivid as the original sonic blue curry.
- Why the lemon juice? Well, this is a great way to get a more vivid colour. The acid in the lemon juice reacts with the dye. Dye tends to darken in colour if it is heated. The lemon juice ensures that it stays nice and blue (just like sonic).
- If you haven’t got lemon juice, try a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. This should have a similar effect, just don’t overdo it. It is there to cause a chemical reaction, not to make the curry taste acidic.
- This curry is a prime example of ‘eating with your eyes’. In a blind taste test, it is practically identical to a chicken korma, so don’t be too put off by the colour.
- Be careful when serving this. Blue food dye really stands out… Especially on a nice cream carpet!
Conclusion
Ok, listen. I know sonic curry won’t be for everyone, but if you want something novel to get the kids into curry, it might not be a bad idea. It’s certainly better than some obscure ‘boil in the bag’ concoction bought from overseas! Have you tried the real sonic the hedgehog curry? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
