Chip Shop Curry Sauce

Here I’ll show you the most delicious way to make the classic British Chip Shop Curry Sauce!

Chip shop curry sauce is a British delicacy. I’ve been literally drinking this stuff for many years now and a homemade version is LONG overdue. Follow me…

Chip Shop Curry Sauce

This recipe took a huge amount of trial and error because I really wanted to get it perfect. Curry sauce does differ from chippy to chippy, but I’d say this is the perfect ‘all-rounder’ that ticks all the boxes.

A lot of recipes add in a long list of different spices etc, but I find it doesn’t need too much fuss. Just the basics!

Chip Shop Curry Sauce Ingredients

• Cornflour/Cornstarch – this is to thicken the sauce.
• Chicken Stock – creates the base of the sauce.
• Malt Vinegar – a classic staple in all chip shops and adds a very gentle background flavour to the curry sauce.
• Onion, Carrot & Garlic – adds some savoury depth of flavour to the sauce.
• Butter – adds a lovely richness to the sauce.
• Apple – British curry sauce is often a little fruity and half an apple does a great job of adding a touch of sweetness.
• Curry Powder – what’s a curry sauce without curry powder?!
• Chinese 5 Spice – adds a slightly different flavour dynamic to the curry powder.
• Salt & White Pepper – season the sauce and season well!

A lot of recipes use currants/raisins, but I much prefer the flavour the apple offers. It’s also more likely I’ve got apples on hand!

Making Chip Shop Curry Sauce

This is a very simple method, as you can imagine. We’re just going to fry the fruit/veg in butter, then stir in spices and add the stock.

Simmering the sauce

I like to simmer the sauce in two stages:

1. Before blitzing – to soften veg/fruit and marry flavours.
2. After blitzing – to reduce and thicken the sauce.

It doesn’t take long – only about 5 minutes for each simmer.

Cornflour/Cornstarch

This is used to thicken the sauce. Just mix with equal parts cold water and stir through the sauce. This is important so don’t skip it!

Process shots: fry onion and carrot in butter (photo 1), fry apple and garlic (photo 2), add spices (photo 3), fry (photo 4), simmer with stock (photo 5), blitz then simmer with cornflour slurry (photo 6).

Chip Shop Curry Sauce FAQ

How spicy is chip shop curry sauce?

It should be fairly mild. As such, I recommend using ‘mild’ curry powder. You could go up to ‘medium’ but chip shop curry sauce is notoriously mild, so just keep that in mind.

What is the difference between chip shop curry sauce and Chinese curry sauce?

In my experience, chip shop curry sauce is milder and a little fruitier. I find Chinese curry sauce also has a more complex flavour when it comes to the actual curry flavour, often using things spices garam masala, turmeric and sometimes cumin. Other flavourings can also include soy sauce and ginger. This also applies to other curry sauces like Katsu curry sauce.

How do I store it?

Tightly store in the fridge for 3-5 days and reheat until piping hot when needed.

Serving Chip Shop Curry Sauce

Chip shop curry sauce is of course perfect with Fish and Chips (Page 72 of my cookbook ‘Comfy‘). It’s also great with Salt and Chilli Chicken, albeit not a Chinese Curry Sauce.

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this homemade curry sauce shall we?!

How to make Chip Shop Curry Sauce (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 9 votes

Chip Shop Curry Sauce

By: Chris Collins

Here I'll show you the most delicious way to make the classic British Chip Shop Curry Sauce!

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Equipment

• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Vegetable Peeler
• Jug (for stock)
• Medium Sized Pot & Wooden Spoon
• Hand Blender
• Small Pot/Bowl (for cornflour slurry)

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 1/2 tbsp / 40g Butter
• ▢ 1 medium White Onion, finely diced
• ▢ 1 small Carrot, finely diced
• ▢ 3 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
• ▢ 1/2 small Sweet Red Apple, peeled & finely diced (see notes)
• ▢ 1 tbsp Mild Curry Powder (see notes)
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
• ▢ 480ml / 2 cups Chicken Stock
• ▢ 1/2 tsp Malt Vinegar
• ▢ 1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
• ▢ 1/4 tsp White Pepper
• ▢ 1 tbsp Cornflour/Cornstarch

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Instructions 

• Melt the butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and sweat it down until it softens/begins to colour. Add the apple and garlic and fry for another couple of minutes until the apple softens.
• Stir in the curry powder and Chinese 5 spice and fry for 30 seconds or so, then pour in the chicken stock. Stir in the vinegar, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a hand blender to blitz until smooth.
• In a small pot or bowl to one side, combine the cornflour with 1 tbsp cold water. Stir this into the sauce then turn the heat back to medium.
• Simmer to your desired consistency (approx 5 minutes). Check for seasoning and adjust if needed, then serve up and enjoy. Bear in mind the sauce will thicken more as it cools.

Video

Notes

a) Apple - The whole unpeeled weight should be approx 130g/4.5oz. It must be red/sweet, so don't use something like a Granny Smith. I like using Gala apples.

b) Adjustments - This is a really easy recipe to adjust to your tastebuds. I think the above recipe is perfect, but here's some alterations if you need them:

• Spicier - consider using 'medium' curry powder if you know you want it spicy. I personally don't recommend 'hot' curry powder, not because it's too spicy, but just because chip shop curry sauce isn't supposed to be too spicy.
• Sweeter - add sugar a pinch at a time. Don't use more apple.
• Sourer - add more vinegar a few drops at a time.
• Thicker - continue simmering to reduce and thicken.
• Thinner - thin out the sauce with a splash of stock or water.
• More curry flavour - add in more curry powder 1/4 tsp at a time.

c) Usage - Perfect with Fish and Chips (Page 72 of my cookbook 'Comfy'). Also great with Salt and Chilli Chicken, albeit not a Chinese Curry Sauce.

d) Storage - Allow to completely cool and tightly store in the fridge for 3-5 days. Reheat until piping hot, thinning out with a dash of water if needed.

e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4.

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Nutrition

Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.46g | Protein: 0.95g | Fat: 8.43g | Saturated Fat: 5.186g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.385g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.249g | Trans Fat: 0.328g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 366mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3.5g | Vitamin A: 2348IU | Vitamin C: 4.5mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’