Serves 2 | Difficulty: Medium
Here’s how to creatively repurpose your leftover Japanese curry into delicious meals that can shine on their own!
Japanese curry is my ultimate go-to comfort meal—it’s like a heartier beef stew with a flavorful kick! If you love making it regularly but want new ways to keep it exciting, this meal plan is for you.
Start the week with a big batch of Japanese curry, then enjoy it throughout the week with two of my favorite twists: Tonkatsu Curry and Curry Omurice!
These recipes not only help clear out your fridge but also turn your curry into something new and delicious every time. I love the convenience of leftovers, but I also get bored of them easily. That’s why this meal plan is perfect for me.
In fact, pairing tonkatsu with curry is even more exciting than Japanese curry alone. You get the best of both worlds: crispy, crunchy pork chops drizzled with savory, silky curry sauce with beef. And having two kinds of meat in one dish? Luxurious.
This isn’t just a mish-mash of leftovers thrown together—it’s a carefully planned building block for each day’s meal.
For detailed tips on cooking, shopping, and substitutions, I’ve provided write-ups for each recipe in their respective posts. You can find the links in the “meal” section below for your convenience.
I hope you enjoy these curry-inspired meals as much as I did!
Check out my Getting Started guide to learn how to use this meal plan.
Meal 2:
Air Fryer Tonkatsu Curry
Meal 3:
Easy Leftover Curry Omurice
Blanching vegetables serves 2 purposes: (1) It prevents loss of flavor, color, and texture—extending the “life” of the vegetable throughout the week, and (2) it gives us a head start in the cooking process for stir-fries. Stir-frying generally only takes 5 minutes. If you start from raw, some pieces won’t cook as evenly as others (especially hardy vegetables like broccoli). Blanching pre-cooks each piece of veggie so you will have a consistent tasting stir-fry every time. This is a well-known technique used in many Chinese restaurants!
Here’s how:
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge to keep maximum freshness. Use them within 7-10 days. If you suspect it has gone bad – the color has changed (e.g. turns brown), there is visible mold, the texture is mushy – toss them. Always err on the side of caution to avoid food poisoning.
Store in meal prep containers or in the bags they come with in the crisper drawer. If a vegetable has a high-water content and tends to go limp quick, wrap it with a paper towel before storing it in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs excess liquid that will prevent it from wilting or turning mushy.
As a general guideline, try to use seafood within 2 days of purchase. For this reason, I always place recipes with seafood earlier in the Meal Plan Menu. Meat can typically last 4-5 days. If you won’t be using meat and seafood, best to freeze them right away. Vacuum seal before freezing to prevent freezer burn.
Properly frozen foods are good for up to 6 months before their flavor and texture start to lessen.
If you do not have a vacuum sealer, wrap fish and meat tightly with saran wrap, then wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Store in a Ziploc bag, squeezing as much air out as possible. Date them and pop them in the freezer for later use.
When thawing vacuum sealed food, especially fish, puncture a hole or cut a slit in the bag to prevent the risk of botulism. Botulism thrives in low oxygen environment, which is what vacuum sealing does. (Note: when botulism grows, the smell and texture of the fish will not change, but the toxins it produces can be deadly.)
Use different cutting boards for your proteins and veggies. Always wash and disinfect knives when switching from meat to veggies to prevent cross-contamination. It goes without saying that you should clean your produce before consumption and preparation.
During prep, always start with food cooked at the lowest temperature first, working your way up. For example, chopped scallions are often used as garnish and will be consumed raw, so chop them before potatoes (which you will cook so the risk is lower). Likewise, you would prepare salad greens first.
The same principle applies when keeping them in the fridge. Don’t stack raw chicken above fish – any juices from the chicken that trickle into the fish would pose a risk. Should the chicken be contaminated with salmonella, the time and temperature at which you would cook fish to perfection is not enough to kill the bacteria.
This meal plan serves 2 per meal, but this Japanese Beef Curry recipe makes 6-8 servings. This is intentional since the leftovers will be incorporated into the following week’s meals. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days and reheat in the microwave as needed. Freeze the leftover beef broth or save some to thin out the curry as it thickens over the next few days! See the full recipe post with tips, tricks, and substitutions here: Easy Instant Pot Japanese Beef Curry.
See the full recipe post with tips, tricks, and substitutions here: Air Fryer Tonkatsu Curry.
Pro tip:
Toast the panko breadcrumbs ahead of time on meal prep day to save some extra minutes the day of! Store toasted panko in an airtight bag or container in the freezer until needed. It stays good for up to 6 months (or longer if there’s no sign of spoilage).
Running low on beef? No worries! This recipe works fine with just leftover curry sauce. If you notice the sauce has gotten too thick, simply add a little leftover beef broth to thin it out before reheating. See the full recipe post with tips, tricks, and substitutions here: Easy Leftover Curry Omurice.
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| check | ingredient | quantity | unit | category | notes | list type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cayenne pepper | 1 | tsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| honey | 2 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| ketchup | 2 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| kewpie mayo | 1 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| soy sauce | 1 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| sugar | 0.25 | tsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| worcestershire sauce | 1 | Tbsp | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| bay leaves | 2 | large | condiments and spices | pantry | ||
| butter | 2 | Tbsp | dairy and misc. refrigerated items | pantry | ||
| unsalted butter | 2 | Tbsp | dairy and misc. refrigerated items | pantry | ||
| medium grain rice | 2 | cup | grains | pantry | ||
| cornstarch | 1 | Tbsp | misc. dry goods | pantry | ||
| panko breadcrumbs | 1.5 | cup | misc. dry goods | pantry | ||
| dark cocoa powder (hershey’s) | 1 | tsp | baking | shopping | ||
| japanese curry roux | 5 | cube | condiments and spices | shopping | ||
| egg | 5 | large | dairy and misc. refrigerated items | shopping | ||
| frozen peas and carrots | 0.25 | cup | frozen foods | shopping | ||
| 1/2-inch pork chop | 3 | piece | meat and seafood | about 4-6 oz per piece | shopping | |
| well-marbled beef chuck steak | 2 | lb | meat and seafood | shopping | ||
| carrot | 1.25 | lb | produce | shopping | ||
| cremini mushroom | 4 | oz | produce | shopping | ||
| garlic | 7 | clove | produce | shopping | ||
| onion | 3.25 | medium | produce | shopping | ||
| chopped parsley | 2 | tsp | produce | optional | shopping | |
| low sodium beef stock | 1.5 | cup | stock or broth | shopping |
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
I’m a foodie with a simple philosophy: why should amazing food be reserved for the weekends alone? I’m all about making every meal delicious because, let’s face it, we only have so many meals in our lifetime.
My mission? To take the stress out of cooking with easy-to-use meal plans so you can enjoy mouthwatering recipes any day of week. Join me on this tasty journey and let’s savor “more taste, less waste” in every bite!
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