Sushi King - Rio Rancho, NM

Website: Sushi King
For some reason they don't list the location that I went to on their website.

Good spice, ok flavor

Spice:  7 out of 10
Overall:  5 out of 10


The other day I found myself at a Japanese restaurant with some co-workers here in Albuquerque. I had pretty much given up on finding any good Japanese food here, but I was told that they had been here before and that it was good.  I can't judge the entire restaurant because I only had the curry, but I'll say that it probably is the best Japanese restaurant in Albuquerque. However, the bar here is set pretty low.  It actually is run (I think) by Japanese people unlike the other restaurants I've been to here which are run by Koreans and have a lot of Korean food on the menu. Not that there's anything wrong with Korean food, but if you're calling yourself "Sushi Ichiban" I expect yakisoba not bibimbap.  I was surprised to find curry on the menu and thought "It must be a good sign". I had to try the curry.

On the menu it didn't say anything about spice and the waiter didn't ask me if I wanted it mild, medium, or hot so I immediately asked about it. That should have been the first clue that I wasn't about to be blown away. He asked how I wanted it because they could make it as spicy as I wanted. I told him I wanted a lot of kick to it, but not to the point where I start sweating like crazy (I was with co-workers afterall).  I have to say, they got the spice level PERFECT.

The rest of the curry, sadly, was not up to this same standard. For one, it was watery. You can even tell how watery it was from the picture. The beef was well cooked, but it could have used a bit more spice - any spice - when it was cooked.  I also would have liked a little more vegetables to be thrown into the curry, but it was an ok amount.  Overall the curry itself had a decent taste. The disappointment was more that it was so close to being good, but it was just too watery.  I could overlook everything else if the curry had been thicker, and maybe it was just an 'off' day.  I doubt I'll try it again though as I'd prefer to just make my own.

If you live in Albuquerque and want to eat curry in a restaurant then this is probably the place to go. If you want a good curry that doesn't fall short, just make it at home.

Currysan's home made curry recipe #1

My (not so) Spicy Beef Curry

Spice: 6 out of 10 
Rating: 7 out of 10 

I wanted to make some spicy curry because it's something I normally only get in restaurants because my wife does not like spicy food. I'm currently working away from home so it's the perfect time to try some spicy cooking. I thought that if I made some curry with half hot and half medium hot curry stock it would at least have a decent amount of spicyness to it.  Apparently I was wrong and to get it anywhere near the spicy levels of CoCo Ichiban spice level 5 (out of 10 which is the spiciest I would 'like' to go) I'll have to add spices of my own or make the curry completely from scratch, which I don't have the time to do right now.  

I made this curry using two products from House Foods -  Java Curry: Hot and Vermont Curry: Med Hot. I used the Vermont Curry to get the sweetness that comes from the apple and honey.  I did get the hint of sweetness that I wanted, but I was expecting it to be hotter overall. It was disappointing that it wasn't as spicy as I had wanted, but other than that this curry was great.  I used my microwave rice maker again and this time the rice was better.  I actually used too much water this time, I guess I was overcompensating from the hard rice disaster last time! So the rice was a little soggy, but not such a big deal. I will figure it out soon!


As you eat this curry the beef is nice and tender and it has a really good flavor. I can taste the combination of the apple and honey with the faint hint of the ketchup that I mixed in with the normal curry flavor.  It's a sublte thing but it really pulls the whole thing together.  Even though the curry doesn't seem spicy on my tongue I noticed that the longer I ate it the hotter my body became.  So, I guess it's the kind of spicy that grows on you - it's the perfect curry to warm you up on a cold winter night without making you run for a glass of water. 




Ingredients
.6 lbs beef round steak - thin sliced
1 1/4 cup broccoli florets
1 red pepper - chopped
1 yellow onion - minced
2 carrots - sliced
8 baby red potatoes - quartered
2 Tbsp Ketchup
Java curry - Hot
Vermont Curry - Med. Hot
salt and pepper to taste








How I cooked it
Cook beef, broccoli, potatoes, and onion at medium high heat until onions are browned. While these are cooking sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste.  Once the onions start to brown add 5 3/4 cups of water, carrots, and the red pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. 


After 20 minutes remove the pot from heat and stir in the curry stock and 2 tbsp of ketchup. Place the pot back on the burner and cook at medium heat for another 20 minutes stirring infrequently.  A way to know that it is cooked is to make sure that the potatoes are soft to the touch. When it's finished remove from heat and let stand for at least 5 minutes.  Then serve over rice and enjoy!!