Grilled Cheese with Curry Rice
intro
Crispy, buttery grilled cheese oozing with melted cheddar pairs with fragrant, savory Japanese curry rice for the ultimate cozy fusion comfort meal.
Ingredients
Steps
Dice Curry Vegetables
Place the whole onion, carrot, and potato on the beech wood cutting board. Using the chef knife, peel the carrot and potato, then dice all three vegetables into uniform 1cm cubes. Uniform sizing ensures all veggies cook evenly in the curry, with no undercooked hard chunks or overcooked mushy pieces.
Sauté Curry Vegetables
Place the 2L brushed stainless steel sauce pot on the stovetop over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon of neutral canola oil. Once the oil shimmers (about 30 seconds), add all the diced vegetables. Sauté for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally with the beech wood stirring spoon, until the onion turns translucent and the edges of the potato and carrot start to soften slightly.
Simmer Curry Sauce
Pour 1.5 cups of water from the glass measuring cup into the sauce pot with the sautéed vegetables, bring to a gentle rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with the glass lid, and simmer for 10 minutes until the potato and carrot are fork-tender. Turn off the heat, add the 1.5 curry roux blocks, stir gently with the wooden spoon until the roux fully melts and the sauce thickens to a smooth, glossy golden consistency, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked short-grain rice, mixing until every grain is evenly coated in curry sauce.
Assemble Grilled Cheese
Lay the 4 slices of sourdough bread flat on the clean section of the beech wood cutting board. Use the small stainless steel butter knife to spread the softened unsalted butter evenly across one outer side of each bread slice, about 1.5 teaspoons of butter per slice. Divide the sliced sharp cheddar evenly between two slices of bread, placing the cheese on the unbuttered side, then top with the remaining two bread slices, buttered side facing out, to form two sandwiches. Press gently on the top of each sandwich to help the bread adhere.
Grill Until Crisp
Place the 10-inch matte charcoal non-stick skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Once the pan is warm (about 1 minute), add both assembled sandwiches to the dry pan (no extra butter needed, as the bread is already buttered). Cook for 3 minutes on the first side, then use the thin stainless steel spatula to flip the sandwiches. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on the second side, until both sides are deep golden brown and crispy, and the cheddar cheese in the center is fully melted and oozing slightly at the edges.
Plate and Serve Warm
Remove the cooked grilled cheese sandwiches from the skillet with the stainless steel spatula, place on the clean section of the beech wood cutting board, and cut each diagonally into two triangular halves using the chef knife. Divide the warm curry rice evenly between the two matte off-white dinner plates, mounding it slightly on one half of each plate. Lean two grilled cheese triangle halves against the curry rice mound on each plate, garnish with a tiny sprig of fresh thyme, and serve immediately while warm and crispy.
Tips
2.Keep the stovetop heat at medium-low when grilling the cheese: higher heat will burn the bread surface before the cheddar in the center fully melts, leading to a bitter, charred crust and un-melted cheese filling.
3.Add the curry roux blocks after turning off the heat: boiling the roux can cause it to clump or develop a grainy texture, while stirring it into hot (but not boiling) liquid creates a perfectly smooth, glossy sauce every time.
OMG y’all, this Grilled Cheese with Curry Rice is a total game changer! I threw this together last minute for my kids’ after school snack and they begged for seconds before they even finished their first bite. The crispy buttery bread paired with the savory curry rice and melty cheese? *Chef’s kiss* Only took me 22 minutes start to finish too, perfect for busy weeknights!
Really solid combo! I was skeptical at first because I’d never thought to stuff curry rice in a grilled cheese, but it hits. Only knock is I added a little too much curry powder my first go, so it was a touch spicier than I expected. Will definitely tone that down next time.
Bro this is so easy even I can’t mess it up. I’m a sophomore in the dorm with just a tiny panini press and a microwave, cooked the rice in the microwave, threw it all together, and it’s better than any of the food trucks near campus. 10/10 will be making this every week for meal prep.
I brought these cut up into little bite sized squares to my neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were hounding me for the recipe all night! I added a little handful of golden raisins to the curry rice for that tiny sweet kick, everyone went crazy for it.
Made this for a quick post-hike lunch yesterday and it was exactly what I needed! Hearty, super flavorful, and didn’t leave me feeling sluggish like a lot of cheesy meals do. I tossed in a handful of spinach to the curry rice for some extra greens, worked like a charm.
SO good! I used jasmine rice because that’s what I keep in the pantry, and it gave the whole thing such a nice fragrant note. Next time I’ll probably add a little extra cheese because I’m a cheese fiend, but otherwise this is going into the regular dinner rotation.
Y’all I cannot believe my super picky 7 year old ate two whole halves of this without complaining about any of the ingredients. He usually picks anything with ‘spices’ out of his food, but the curry is so mild and cozy here he didn’t even notice. Win for mom!
Meal prep win alert! I made a big batch of the curry rice on Sunday, assembled these grilled cheeses for lunch all week, and they held up so much better than I thought they would. I just wrapped them in parchment paper and reheated them in a toaster oven at work, no sogginess at all.
It’s fine, I guess? I love curry and I love grilled cheese, but I felt like the flavors didn’t meld as well as I hoped they would. Maybe I used the wrong kind of curry? I used a spicy Thai curry paste instead of powder, that might’ve been the issue.
Made this for a lazy Sunday brunch with my roommates and we all devoured it! We served it with a side of tomato soup for dipping and it was the coziest rainy day meal ever. 10/10, will be making this every time it rains from now on.
I’ve been making classic grilled cheese for 60 years and I never thought to add curry rice to it! My granddaughter showed me this recipe and I was skeptical, but it’s absolutely delicious. I added a slice of tomato to mine, wonderful crunch and flavor.
Macro-friendly swap alert! I used low-carb bread, light cheddar, and added a scoop of cooked chicken breast to the curry rice to bump up the protein, and it still slapped. Great base recipe, super easy to tweak for whatever your nutrition goals are.
Such a great vegetarian weeknight meal! I used coconut rice instead of plain white rice to pair with the curry, and it gave the whole sandwich such a rich, tropical vibe that was next level. Super easy, minimal cleanup, what more could you ask for?