Cream Stew (クリームシチュー) or white stew is a very popular Western-influenced dish served in family restaurants and homes all across Japan.
My cousin Setsuko always comes to mind whenever I think of creamy chicken stew since she is the queen of one pot meals and always made this stew so incredibly yummy!
A simple roux is used as a base for the sauce and takes little time to make, or if you want to save even more time in the kitchen, pre-made cream sauce mix packages are sold in Japanese grocery stores. How convenient!
This cream stew recipe is the type of recipe I like to have around whenever I want easy comfort food. The taste reminds me of the inside of a chicken pot pie or a bowl of cream of chicken soup, but fancier and loaded with veggies.
I’m definitely a stew and hot pot lover whenever the temperature drops outside. If I feel like having a lighter meal, I’ll make yosenabe (Japanese hot pot) or kimchi soup. If I want something with more sustenance, a chicken vegetable stew or beef and ale stew will do the trick.
This cream stew recipe falls in the latter category because of it hearty and comforting properties. With plenty of vegetables to inject you with vitamins and the absence of skin on the chicken breast, you are looking at a bowl of creamy goodness that won’t ruin your diet.
I always feel better knowing that I don’t have to keep count of every single bite I take whenever I eat a little heavier than usual on a particular night.
What to Serve with Cream Stew
There are lots of things you can serve with cream! You can go the classic way and serve it with baguette (is there anything better than dipping fresh warm bread into a stew?) or try these easy Japanese recipe to accompany this hearty winter dish:
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Japanese Cream Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Stews
- Method: Stewing
- Cuisine: Japanese
Description
White cream stew is a classic Japanese dish of chicken and vegetables cooked in a cream and butter based sauce. It’s hearty, comforting and incredibly tasty!
Ingredients
- 1 small onion (roughly chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast (cut bite size)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 green bell pepper (finely chopped)
- 1 medium potato (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 3 medium carrots (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 10 string beans (sliced in half)
- 12 button mushrooms (sliced in half)
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a pot over high heat, add oil, onions and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add chicken and wine and cook for about 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
- Lower heat to medium, add flour and stir for two minutes. It’s okay if the flour clumps a little since we will be adding the broth later.
- Add sliced potatoes, bell pepper, carrots, string beans and mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes while continuously stirring.
- Slowly whisk in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Do not add all the broth at once since the flour will clump. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 25 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
- Turn the heat off and whisk in milk and butter.
- Season with salt and pepper. Add more milk if the sauce is too thick. Serve warm.
Notes
Keep this cream stew refrigerated in a storage container. It will keep for 4-5 days. To reheat, microwave on medium for 2-3 minutes, or in a pot over medium heat.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 318
- Sugar: 7.1 g
- Sodium: 161.3 mg
- Fat: 9.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.6 g
- Fiber: 3.9 g
- Protein: 8.6 g
- Cholesterol: 84.6 mg
I am no longer allowed to pin recipes from your site. Have you blocked Pinterest pins?
Hi KonaGirl! We have taken the pinning option out because it slowed down the loading speed of our pages. But you can repin all of my recipes directly from my Pinterest account – https://www.pinterest.com/pickledplumfood/ 🙂
What kind of white wine would you recommend? Would sake work in this recipe?
Hi Evangeline! You can use any white wine you like to drink (I like to use a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Grigio) 🙂
Reminds me of home!! I will be making this soon! ❤
Made this last night and it was quite delicious! Used rice wine since I didn’t have white wine, and I made the roux separately before adding it altogether. Thanks for sharing! Will definitely be making this again. 🙂
Thank you Kris! 🙂
I’ve made this recipe 3-4 times now and I absolutely love it! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe,
Thank you so much Rebecca, it’s a Japanese classic that I also love 🙂
I made this last night with a couple of additions. I added Shiitake mushrooms and some Bok Choi, used red and yellow bell peppers instead of green, chicken thighs instead of breasts, and white sweet potato instead of regular potato. My wife and I really enjoyed this dish and plan on making it again. It was very satisfying and comfortable. As an experiment, I dusted mine with a bit of Togarashi spice, and it really complimented the flavors. Lovely on a blustery and wet Seattle night!
Thank you Steve for sharing this. And I agree, a sprinkle of togarashi is never a bad thing! 🙂
Great recipe, I have to say!! Saw the dish in an Japanese anime and then I googled it and found your recipe. This is the 2nd time I’m making this dish.
The first time we had it, it was like an orgasm in our mouth 😉 Very tasty!!
Greetings from Germany
Thank you Kaya! 🙂
I feel like there’s some step missing in this recipe. When I added trh flour it clumped up just as a I expected it would and I had to add the milk and water to thin it out while whisking it.
Hi Lisa, it’s okay if the flour clumps up as long as the milk is slowly whisked in during the last step. I’ll add some words to clear it up, I can see why this would be a concern.
Is that bell pepper in one of the photos? i didn’t see that listed in the ingredients or in the recipe. Looks fabulous. Will be cooking this tomorrow to fight off the freezing weather!
Yes Mike it is! Apologies for the missing ingredient, I’ve now added it to the recipe. Thank you for letting me know and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 🙂
Kind of a healthy chicken pot pie without the crust!
That’s correct Rose! 🙂