Basic Korean Curry Cooking Steps

Curry is a simple yet flavorful dish. There are some basic steps to making your curry that I will break down. Remember that these steps can vary based on the ingredients or meat cuts you use, but again these are just the basic steps that can apply to your typical Korean curry dish. 

1. Cut your vegetables and proteins into medium or large-sized pieces; it depends on how you want it to look and how long you plan to simmer your ingredients. 
2. Optionally you can cut off the pointed sections of the vegetables after cutting to prevent them from breaking off in the curry sauce. 
3. Now add oil to your pan if you are using a low fat cut of protein; if you are using a higher fat cut of protein, then you do not need to add oil. You want to cook your protein completely before you add your liquid. If you have a more tough cut of meat, you would want to brown the outside in oil, then add the liquid and let the meat simmer until mostly tender (90% done, remember timing) before you add your vegetables or curry powder. If you add your vegetables too early, they will be mushy by the time your tougher cut of meat is tender.
4. If you are using a relatively tender cut of meat (one that does not need extra simmering time), then after cooking it fully in the pot, you can add some diced onion. You can caramelize the onion if you want at this point. 
5. After, you can add your liquid of choice and bring it to a simmer. I would recommend using a broth because it will add more flavor, but if you do not have broth use rice water or water. 
6. Now you can add your root or more dense vegetables that need some cooking time like carrots.
7. Timing is important to consider; after some time, add your curry powder and shorter cooking time ingredients like potatoes.  
8. Let the ingredients simmer together and stir occasionally. When you add this Korean curry powder to the liquid you choose as the base of your curry (broth, water, rice water), make sure you whisk/stir it fully into the liquid to avoid any chunks of powder. Be patient and let the curry powder gradually thicken the liquid as the other ingredients cook.
9. Once your carrots, meat, and potato are at the or near the tenderness you want, you can add more delicate ingredients to the curry. Depending on the texture you want, you may add ingredients like peppers, for example, earlier or later in the cooking process. It is your curry, after all, and you can make your choices depending on whether you like soft/tender, or crisp textures. 
10. Once ready, serve your curry with white rice and green onion in a bowl.