Cream stew is a popular type of stew in Japan made with hearty ingredients. It has a milky soup base that will help you overcome any harsh winter. This is how to make the quickest and easiest homemade Japanese Cream Stew in under 15 minutes!
Do I have to make everything from scratch?
If you don’t want to make your own soup base, you can purchase store-made roux cubes similar to roux when making Japanese curry. Then, all you’ll need to make a semi-homemade cream stew are vegetables, water, and roux cubes. I made cream stew using this roux a lot growing up and is a staple in many Japanese households. However, using your own ingredients is always tastier and cleaner. Plus it is really easy to make!
Ingredients:
- Napa cabbage – I like using Napa cabbage because it adds sweetness to the soup and it cooks really quickly. It only takes about 10 minutes for Napa cabbage to cook down.
- Chicken – Chicken works really well with this soup because it isn’t too overpowering. If I have bacon, I like to add it because it brings a lot of flavor to the soup as well.
- Whole milk – Using whole milk adds a lot of creaminess. You can use milk alternatives but I would make sure it is unsweetened and unflavored.
- Chicken stock – Chicken Stock brings a lot of flavor to the soup. If you don’t have chicken stock, you can use chicken soup powder diluted in water.
- Butter – Using butter to cook chicken adds extra creaminess and umami to the soup.
- All purpose flour – This is the thickening agent for the soup. You don’t need a lot of it because the soup isn’t supposed to be super thick.
Popular ingredients:
Because this is a quick and easy soup recipe, I am not adding a lot of root vegetables since those take longer to cook. However, more commonly used ingredients in Japanese cream stew are:
- Potato
- Carrot
- Onion
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
Tips on making Cream Stew
- Cook chicken until 75% done before adding other ingredients. This will not only help brown the chicken which will enhance the flavor, but it will also ensure the chicken is cooked through when it is done.
- Add vegetables in order of cook time. Since we are only using Napa cabbage here and Napa cooks quickly we don’t need to worry about this. If you are using root vegetables that take longer to cook, make sure to put those in first.
- When you put in the flour, mix well so does not clump. I never had an issue with clumping, but you want to make sure it’s evenly coated so the soup can thicken up evenly.
- Mix flour in well and cook until it is transparent. The flour should blend seamlessly with the other ingredients before pouring in the milk and chicken stock.
Cream Stew leftovers
My favorite way of enjoying cream stew the next day is by making Doria. Doria is similar to gratin but made from rice, béchamel sauce, and cheese. In an oven safe-dish, put rice, then layer on cream stew, and then cheese. Bake in the oven until everything is heated up and the cheese is melted. You can make this in the microwave as well. If you are not a fan of second-day food, try this out because it becomes a whole new dish!
Cream Stew (Japanese style)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1/6 head Napa cabbage
- 2 Chicken thigh (cut in bite sized pieces)
- 200 ml Chicken stock (you can use water + chicken powder)
- 300 ml Whole Milk
- 1.5 tbsp Flour
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a pot on medium heat, melt butter
- Throw in bite sized chicken and cook until all sides are lightly browned
- Then put in Napa cabbage
- Add flour and mix thoroughly until flour is no longer visible
- Put chicken stock and stir
- Then add milk and let the soup come to a simmer
- Cook for about 10-15 minutes until cabbage and chicken is cooked through
- Serve hot and enjoy!
