The Joy of Discovering a Food Startup

If you were in Vegas last week, you were very aware of the festival happening at Silverton Casino.  It is afterall, right off the 15 on the way to the strip.  The festival was Las Vegas Foodie Fest, calling upon all foodies to taste the offerings of food trucks originating from Vegas, California and everywhere in between.  I came to try trucks from everywhere except here but got hooked on a local start-up shop.

From across the way, the big yellow sign really caught our eyes.  "Kaba Curry," tugged at our curiosity and we made our way in that direction.  So here we were, finally figuring out they serve the beloved Japanese style curry.  The curry itself comes with the standard bits of beef and veggies(carrots/onions/potatoes?) for $5.50 which can be dressed up with corn, cheese, rakkyo(pickled scallions,) spinach or the traditional pickled ginger, each for less than a dollar.  For protien you have the option of chicken katsu or marinated beef, being a huge fan of katsu curry that's what we went with, even opting for an extra serving of katsu for a buck.






This is what our order came out to look like, a nicely sized bowl with a scoop of rice immersed in curry with katsu pieces floating up top.  For less than $7(because we added extra katsu,) this was a perfect serving.  Before taking my first bite, I had one question to ask..."Is this made from scratch?"  Seems silly but you'd be surprised with the lack of commitment to fresh ingredients these days, luckily this was not a problem for Kaba Curry, the answer was a definitive yes!








The biggest test for me was the curry itself obviously.  The curry sauce did not disappoint, with excellent balance of consistency.  I get turned off when the sauce is too thin, a sign of diluted flavor, or too thick where it's simply overpowering.  With Kaba, you get a great curry flavor from their scratch-made sauce, where garam masala really comes through but not soo much that you're afraid to speak to people after eating because of the smell.  The tender bits of beef and veggies are a nice compliment to the sauce and the little chicken katsu nuggets were tender, playing their role as the meat compliment to the dish.  Overall a definite Success.

After investigating a little more, we talked to Keiko who I am convinced is one of the owners, to find out more about Kaba Curry.  Keiko said that they started out as a clothing design company, taking their Hippoe mascot and talents to the stove.  After much trial and error they found a curry they can call their own and Foodie Fest sprouted their first vending location.  I feel like nothing is more pure than a start-up food spot.  A commitment to fresh ingredients and flavor, not soo jaded over the money side of the food business.  Ever since the fest, I've seen little spots on the internet proclaiming their love for Kaba Curry, and they have every reason too.  I hope they get their truck soon and we will all be able to find them on the streets of Las Vegas to fulfill our curry needs.  Who knows, maybe I'll be nursing that craving with a curry topped with cheese soon!

Kaba Curry
Follow them on Facebook! 
or Follow their TUMBLR 

A Night In: Katsudon

Sometimes I get a little caught up in studying and the way I like to kind of turn my mind off is cook.  So instead of venturing out into the streets of Las Vegas I decided to make an easy dish or dishes rather.  Well I couldn't decide between Chicken and Pork Katsudon so...I made both!  I wish I took more pictures, but like I said, I kind of shut my mind off and when the finished product was ready I then realized "hmm, this probably would have made a good post!"  I'll at least run through the ingredients and quick rundown, but bear with me because I do not measure, everything is to taste!

For the pork i used boneless pork loin and for the chicken i used de-boned chicken thighs.  The meats are first dredged with flour, then coated with an egg wash before being covered by panko crumbs.  The coated meat is then put into hot oil until golden brown and with that you have the Katsu element of the dish done.
Next you gather water, soy sauce, dashi powder(fish stock), sugar and mirin(rice cooking wine.)

You add water to a pan then dashi powder to flavor, remember this is done to taste but be wary that the powder can get salty so add accordingly.  You then add a dash of soy sauce and mirin then finish with a small sprinkle of sugar to sweeten the sauce, all added to taste.  You can now add some sliced onion to the sauce if that is your preference.  You bring this to a boil as you slice your fried Katsu to lay onto the boiling broth which is then covered by a crack egg(yolk broken,) try to keep the slices in order, it's easier to handle that way.  The pan is covered until the egg is cooked to preferred consistency(some like the egg a little more raw than others I go for a little gooey myself.)  Remember the amount of sauce you start with is important because this will cook off in the process and the more sauce you make translates to more broth in your dish, my general rule is the broth be at least halfway up the meat when it starts to boil.  With time you get the hang of the whole process.  Last but not least you put rice in a bowl or plate(I use a bowl-plate :P) and transfer the goodies from pan to top of rice making sure to get all the goodies and sauce as well.  Hopefully it looks something like this...

Pork on the Left Chicken on the right...Can you tell I left a huge fried chicken skin on the plate?? o_O'

As you can see, I go for the "rustic," style of plating but you get the general idea!  Anyways, back to studying, at least until my next craving :)