Japanese Cuisine: Japanese Tomato Sauce with Curry Essence

This Japanese fresh tomato sauce with curry essence is made with fresh tomatoes,onion, and a hint of curry powder. Typically, when it comes to tomato sauce, its application is confined as a sauce for pasta or more traditional dishes such as meat. The applications for this tomato sauce with curry essence can be likened to a type of Mexican salsa, more so than a tomato sauce for Italian style pasta or related dish.

For this recipe, raw tomatoes are very quickly sauted with chopped yellow onions to preserve much of the freshness of the tomato. Rice vinegar and salt add a hint of flavor to the sauce while the addition of curry powder brings it all together.

If you've never experimented with dry curry powder, its good to keep in mind that even the smallest amount of this powder adds just a hint of mysterious flavor. If you prefer bold flavors, by all means add a few pinches or more. Keep in mind that the curry powder adds both flavor and heat (spiciness). The more curry powder that is added to the tomato sauce, the stronger both flavor and spice will be.

This fresh tomato sauce with curry essence may be applied to many different dishes. It may certainly be used to whip up a quick batch of pasta with vegetables. It may also be chilled, and used as a "salsa" to garnish Japanese hiyayako, or chilled tofu. It may also be used to dress-up different proteins, seafood, or vegetables.

Recipe and source: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/Ea.../Japanese-Tomato-Sauce-with-Curry-Essence.htm