My Simple Cream Stew recipe makes a fast and comforting dinner on a busy weeknight. Right here, I take advantage of store-bought Japanese cream stew combine for a easy but satisfying one-pot meal with tender rooster thighs and colourful greens.
If you wish to make a fast and scrumptious dinner on a busy weeknight, look no additional than my Simple Cream Stew (クリームシチュー) recipe. Like many residence cooks in Japan, I take advantage of boxed cream stew combine for a fuss-free shortcut that delivers layers of taste. This one-pot recipe is chock filled with tender rooster, colourful veggies, and savory mushrooms for a nourishing and comforting meal that your complete household will love.
If you happen to love Japanese stews, attempt my Japanese Rooster Curry, Nikujaga, and Hayashi Rice recipes subsequent!
What’s Cream Stew?
Cream stew first debuted in Japan in 1947 when the US authorities started supplying powdered milk to fight youngsters’s malnutrition after World Warfare II. The Japanese used the dry milk to create a yoshoku or Western-style white stew (ホワイトシチュー) with rooster and greens. It quickly turned a well-liked providing in Japan’s college lunches. Within the mid-Sixties, Home Meals launched boxed cream stew combine in order that residence cooks might rapidly and simply make this beloved and comforting meal at residence.
Why I Love This Recipe
- It’s so easy: Prepare dinner the components in a pot and dissolve the creamy roux into the stew. That’s it!
- Silky and lightweight: The creamy béchamel sauce with butter and milk provides richness with out heaviness.
- Simple clear up: This recipe cooks up in only one pot, so there are fewer dishes to clean!
Substances for Simple Cream Stew
- Boxed cream stew combine
- Rooster thighs
- Salt and black pepper
- Onion
- Potato – I used Yukon gold
- Carrot
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Oil – for sautéing
- Water
- Milk
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Substitutions
- Boxed cream stew combine – The Japanese usually use packaged creamy white sauce roux for comfort. If you happen to can’t discover it or choose do-it-yourself, try my Japanese Cream Stew or Immediate Pot Cream Stew recipes for a from-scratch model.
- Rooster thighs – Rooster is the traditional protein for this dish, and flavorful thighs keep moist and tender. You may substitute breast (with much less cooking time) or skip the meat and add extra mushrooms or greens.
- Potato – I take advantage of Yukon Gold potatoes for his or her easy, barely waxy, and agency texture. You need to use russets, however their starchy, crumbly texture doesn’t maintain its form effectively.
- Mushrooms – I take advantage of crimini mushrooms, however white button, shimeji, or maitake work too. I don’t suggest shiitake, as their sturdy taste overpowers the dish.
- Milk – This provides creaminess to the stew, however you’ll be able to substitute it with water when you choose.
The way to Make Simple Cream Stew
Preparation
Step 1 – Chop the carrot and potato into chunks. Soak the potato chunks in water till prepared to make use of.
Step 2 – Slice the onion and mushrooms. I minimize the onion into wedges and the mushrooms into skinny slices.
Step 3 – Prep the broccoli and rooster. Blanch the broccoli items in boiling water and drain. Lower the rooster thighs into bite-size items and season with salt and pepper.
Cooking
Step 4 – Sauté the components. In the identical pot, cook dinner the onion and the rooster till not pink. Add the carrot, potato, mushrooms, and water. Deliver it to a boil and simmer till tender.
Step 5 – Stir within the creamy roux. Dissolve the roux cubes in a ladleful of scorching broth, then stir it into the stew. Add the milk and simmer to thicken and warmth by means of, stirring sometimes.
Step 6 – End the cream stew. Add the blanched broccoli to the thickened stew, briefly reheat, then flip off the warmth.
Assemble
Step 7 – Plate and serve. Portion scorching Japanese rice on one half of a person bowl or plate, then ladle on the cream stew. Alternatively, it’s scrumptious served with crusty bread.
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
- Utterly dissolve the roux cubes – I put one or two cubes in a ladleful of scorching cooking liquid and stir it with chopsticks to dissolve absolutely. Then, I launch the béchamel sauce to the stew. If you happen to add the cubes on to the pot, you would find yourself with chunks of undissolved roux.
- Don’t overcook the potato – Set a timer as a result of the potato can simply overcook. As soon as boiling, simmer the stew for 10 minutes. A skewer ought to simply pierce the tender potato. If cooked too lengthy, the potato will break simply and collapse.
- Add the blanched broccoli on the finish – This can assist retain the attractive inexperienced coloration and maintain it from overcooking.
Variations and Customizations
Japanese cream stew is extremely customizable together with your favourite components or what you will have within the fridge. Under are my favourite options.
- Use pork or seafood. Skinny slices of pork are a typical substitute for the rooster. Shrimp or a seafood combination additionally work superbly.
- Add candy corn. Corn kernels add a stunning candy style, crisp texture, and shiny coloration.
- Make it additional creamy. Swap heavy cream for the milk for extra richness and silkiness.
- Attempt different greens. As an alternative of broccoli, you would swap inexperienced peas, blanched inexperienced beans, snap peas, or snow peas. Kabocha squash is one other common addition.
- Skip the protein. Add extra mushrooms or hearty greens rather than the rooster.
- Make rice gratin. Repurpose the leftovers to make doria (ドリア), a comforting Japanese rice casserole. Easy ladle the white stew over a mattress of steamed rice, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella or your favourite cheese, then broil it within the oven till melty and golden brown on high. See how in my Seafood Doria and Curry Doria recipes.
What to Serve with Cream Stew
Japanese cream stew with a aspect of crusty French bread is a whole meal by itself. You may additionally serve it with dishes that I like to recommend beneath.
Storage and Reheating Ideas
To retailer: Switch the leftovers to an hermetic container and maintain it within the fridge for as much as 2 days. If you happen to plan to freeze it, take away the potatoes (their texture will change) and freeze for as much as a month.
Often Requested Questions
Sure, you’ll be able to! The truth is, you’ll be able to enhance the flavour by letting it relaxation after it’s cooked. I extremely encourage you to let the stew sit, uncovered, on the range or countertop and funky to room temperature. The stew will naturally thicken because the moisture evaporates and the flavors will meld because the stew cools. You may reheat it once more to serve, or retailer it within the fridge to serve over the following day or two.
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
To Put together the Greens and Rooster
To Add the Roux
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Pierce a potato with a bamboo skewer to see if it goes in simply. If it does, flip off the warmth and add 4 cubes Japanese Cream Stew Combine. Add 1–2 roux cubes to a ladleful of scorching broth, combine it with chopsticks to dissolve fully, and stir it in to the inventory. Repeat with the remaining roux cubes.
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Activate the warmth once more and add ⅓ cup milk. Stir and cook dinner for an additional 5 minutes.
To Retailer
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You may retailer the leftovers in an hermetic container and maintain it within the fridge for as much as 2 days. If you happen to plan to freeze it, take away the potatoes (their texture will change) and freeze for as much as a month.