There used to be a fast food stand called Otafuku Tei in Mitsuwa, Arlington Heights Chicago. I was very attached to their Chicken Pilaf. It was perfect when paired with Chicken Teriyaki. Sadly the place closed. I had been craving for the pilaf. I tried looking for recipes around the net, but just couldn’t find any that would produce the same taste.

Last sunday, I was reminiscing and drooling at the same time. I gave google another try. I found it. The holy gray of the elusive Pilaf recipe. I can’t remember what keywords I used (and too lazy to look it up in my browser history), but I do remember saying: “Damn, curry. Why didn’t I think of that?” Yeah ladies and gents, the key ingredient of the pilaf is Japanese curry blocks. Thank you Two Girls Forking for the Curry Pilaf recipe. My pilaf turned out not too bad for the first try. I cooked it with mushroom and Bali stripped ham. The flavor of the ham didn’t really match, so next time I will use chicken. It would had tasted better with Japanese rice, but we don’t have that at home.