Three Hokkaido curry experts in Singapore

Hokkaido might be the home of seafood, dairy products and miso ramen. But Japan’s northernmost prefecture is also famed for its curry dishes, namely soup curry and white curry. These regional varieties are just as popular, if not more, than quintessential curry rice (kare raisu).

Soup curry (supu kare) is thinner and broth-like, served with coarsely-cut vegetables and a chicken leg. Invented by a Sapporo café in the 1970s, it was inspired by Chinese medicinal soups and curries from Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India. By the 2000s, the Hokkaido capital had become ground zero for soup curry in Japan. Soup curry is a showcase of regional vegetables while also offering diners a tasty kick, with different spices like curry powder, turmeric and garam masala.

White curry is a newer creation that rode in on Japan’s white food trend in the 1990s and 2000s, which saw a boom in white-coloured food from burgers to tea. It was created by a chef at the Sapporo Prince Hotel, after he became inspired by the snowy cityscape around him. White curry is more similar to curry rice. Chefs use roux thickener along with milk, spices such as pepper, but with zero turmeric. It looks like a creamy stew but tastes like a sweeter, milder yet spicy curry. Like soup curry, vegetables are cut into chunks and flash fried, so their bright colours are set nicely against the dish’s whiteness.

Either way, Hokkaido’s curries are comfort foods not just in winter but throughout the year. Three Hokkaido curry experts in Singapore share their stories of the dish.

Tengawa Hokkaido White Curry

Bubbly and chatty, Kunming-born Zhong Wan Shan might not be your conventional Japanese restaurant manager in Singapore. But her experience running a restaurant in Kyoto for 10 years shines through as she greets curious customers with warmth. Opened three years ago, Tengawa Hokkaido White Curry was started by her Singaporean husband, who works in the food export business. The couple also own a sushi restaurant in Paya Lebar and an izakaya in Kunming.

Zhong, who is fully conversant in Japanese, says: “People are still very curious about this dish, even Japanese people who’ve never seen it before and now have grown to like it. They think it looks like stew but once they try it, it tastes like curry. It’s unusual and nice.”

The first white curry restaurant in Singapore, Tengawa banks on a white food trend that originated in Sapporo and is now popular throughout Japan. Its white curry is similar to conventional Japanese curry but uses milk and lots of pepper. In fact, Zhong hints that a future menu item is on the cards: a twist on another Sapporo speciality, soup curry, although it is not ready at the moment.

What inspired the opening of your restaurant serving white curry?

“My husband tried white curry in Hokkaido a few years ago. The weather was cold but after eating the dish, he felt warm and comfortable. He knew Singapore did not have this dish so he thought he could bring it here. Because he worked in Japan, he knew many Japanese friends. He was introduced to a Hokkaido chef with over 30 years of experience, who helped him create the recipe for our white curry.”

How have you adapted the recipes to suit Singaporeans’ taste buds?

“White curry in Japan tends to be mild, thick and milky, maybe too rich. We thought we could make it more enjoyable for Singaporeans. So we experimented in the kitchen for three months until we found the right recipe with the chef from Hokkaido and two other Japanese chefs in Singapore. We created a stronger curry taste that’s less milky. I also created our white curry ramen, which is unique and quite popular with customers.”

Why do Singaporeans like the taste of white curry?

“In the beginning, not many people accepted the taste, so we refined the recipe even further. Now, our customers really enjoy it, even though white curry in Singapore is still very new. I think it’s left a deep impression. It’s also served warm, not hot, and isn’t so spicy, which is good for families. Children and the elderly alike can enjoy it.”

What’s special about your restaurant?

“We use Hokkaido milk, imported squid, octopus and oysters from Japan. We also cook every dish when it is ordered, so customers get their food freshly cooked. You might need to wait a little if we are crowded, especially at lunchtime, but the wait is worth it.”

“We use fresh, high-quality ingredients and serve our white curry warm, not hot, for customers to enjoy the taste better.”

SAMA

The first taste of Hokkaido soup curry that Nicole Ma had was in Sapporo in 2016 with Japanese friends. A curry lover, she expected the dish to taste like standard Japanese curry on rice. But one spoonful of the thin yet flavour-packed soup, and she was hooked. “It tasted more like soup than curry, but how the ingredients, herbs and spices tasted lighter than laksa made it more interesting,” she says.

Already an aspiring F&B entrepreneur with dim sum restaurants and a buta don eatery, Ma spotted an opportunity as soup curry was barely known in Singapore. Through a Japanese contact, she met Takahashi San, the founder-owner of SAMA soup curry restaurant in Sapporo, which has outlets across Japan and Hong Kong.

A former flight attendant who later studied for a year at Le Corden Bleu’s culinary school in Bangkok, Ma took six months to confirm the deal with Takahashi San. Her training included three full days learning about soup curry at a SAMA kitchen in Tokyo. In May 2017, SAMA opened in Singapore here to long queues. Ma, who still helps out in the kitchen if needed, says: “We definitely want to expand and want more Singaporeans to know about soup curry!”

What’s the restaurant’s X factor?

“We have four soup bases — tomato, coconut, Japanese and shrimp — that can be matched with your preferred meat, such as grilled pork or hamburg steak. Our spice level also goes up to 30! Our Japanese trainer came down to test the chilli powder, which is mixed using three types of powder. All ingredients are cooked individually. We steam potato and carrot for a sweeter taste. We fry green pepper first because its strong taste will change the flavour of the soup otherwise. We use Yumepirika rice from Hokkaido. It’s expensive but quality is very important. Our food must taste like it came from Japan.”

How do you innovate the food at your restaurant?

“We’ve tried soya milk as a soup base. We’ve also added udon and ramen. After my Japanese business partner tasted it here, he went on to serve ramen soup curry at his outlets in Japan! I’ve also suggested creating vegetarian soup base and they are working on it. Every two to three months, a trainer comes down from Japan to ensure our food’s quality is consistent.”

What do your customers love most about your food?

“Our most popular dishes are marathon chicken, pork oink oink and cheesy bear. At the start, tomato and coconut were very popular soup bases. Now, all of the soup bases are equally ordered. The soup base is imported from SAMA in Japan and is made with a secret recipe using chicken stock, pork bone and beef.”

“We like to think differently and experiment with the menu.”

Suage Singapore

Ask Kataoka Yasuhiro for his favourite Singaporean foods and he quickly rattles off a list. “I love bak kut teh, laksa, chicken rice, roast duck… even black chicken herbal soup! I like the medicinal taste,” says Kataoka, who is trained in Italian and French cuisines.

He joined Hokkaido soup curry specialist Suage Singapore in April 2019 after a stint as a head chef at a large Japanese food hall here. Previously, he worked in California for five years before setting up his own izakaya in Nagoya for 12 years.

Familiar with spices as he is with European sauces, the 52-year-old seems at home with Suage, which has three outlets in Singapore. He also reveals that the brand is considering opening more stores in Southeast Asia. Suage already has one outlet in Bangkok, as well as more than 300 outlets in its hometown of Sapporo.

Suage opened in Singapore in July 2018. Since then, its most popular menu item is soup curry with kushiyaki (grilled chicken skewers). What’s special is that the meat is grilled over charcoal, so the entire dish has a smoky aroma, “like yakitori”, Kataoka says.

Why open this style of restaurant?

“Everyone here is familiar with Japanese curry rice, but soup curry is still a new concept in Singapore. That’s why our Singapore owner (Girish Pradeep Tewani, COO of Uptron Pte Ltd) wanted to bring it here.”

Tell us about the meaning of Suage.

“The name ‘suage’ comes from the Japanese words for ‘natural’ and ‘deep-frying’. In Hokkaido soup curry, the vegetables are deep-fried without any batter, so that the original taste and colour is preserved.”

How would you describe soup curry to those who’ve never tried it?

“Soup curry from Sapporo has a spicy flavour and aroma, similar to Indian curries. It’s very different from ‘normal’ Japanese curries as we use lots of spices, like cumin, coriander seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Japanese people love this style of curry. It’s like laksa but different. And this is really a complete, balanced meal. It has protein, vegetables and fibre, and isn’t so oily.”

What is Suage’s X-factor?

“The broth-like texture of our soup curry. We don’t use any wheat flour in our soup stock, which is made in and imported from our restaurants in Japan. The stock is a secret recipe but it is made from chicken, bacon, onion and spices. We also use fresh, colourful vegetables like pumpkin, broccoli and carrots.”

Any secret tips to cooking a great soup curry?

“Although I can’t reveal the recipe, I can tell you that we add a lot of sautéed onions to the soup stock from Japan. We cook onions for five or six hours under low heat, so it reduces, becomes thicker and has a sweet aroma. After that, we add water, bacon and seasoning, which takes us another two hours.”

“When it comes to making soup, my best advice is don’t be rushed. Cook it slowly, slowly. Take your time!”