You might not associate Japanese cooking and curry, but one of the most popular home-style dishes in Japan is curry rice (karee raisu). Curry was brought there in the late 19th century, courtesy of the British, who found it in India. As is the case when an unknown ingredient is introduced into a culture, curry had to be adapted to suit the new hosts. Thus the birth of curry roux, a packaged blend of spices, flour, fat, and sometimes fruit, which comes in varying degrees of heat. It melts in a steaming pot of stew and creates a thick and flavorful sauce. Another popular bed for curry in Japan is thick udon noodles. The Tokyo restaurant chain, Konaya, serves only this dish along with paper bibs, as the hot, stain-inducing yellow curry can dribble on your clothes.