Cream stew (クリームシチュー) is a classic winter dish of Western influenced Japanese food "yōshoku"
Traditionally, it's made with chicken. But why not adding some bacon in it?
There is no law that says you can only use 1 meat!! It brings the dish to the next level!! So have a try!!
Is cream stew a Japanese food?
These kind of foods are categorised as yōshoku (洋食), which means the dishes influenced by western countries cuisines, but we still recognise it's part of Japanese cuisine. Cream stew is one of the most popular winter comfort food in Japan.
It's usually cooked with chicken and lots of vegetables. And serve with either rice or bread.
This is usually a home cooking meal, and not a restaurant dish.
It's because it doesn't last long in a fridge because it contains milk.
And it's hard to keep the vibrant colour of the vegetables for long hours or days. But it takes time to cook. So most restaurants think it's too much work for just one dish.
But few restaurants sells in winter.
So if you visit Japan in winter, and found this dish in a restaurant, you can see the chef is willing to put lot of effort to keep this dish on the menu, which means it's gonna be delicious!
[Serving] 3-4
[Prep time] 20 mins (Does not include time to soak Kombu)
[Cook time] 1 hour
[Storage] 2-3 days in a fridge
[Difficulty] C *(A=Hard E=Easy)
[Ingredients] (GRAM)
-Chicken thigh 400g
-Salt 1tsp (5g)
-Water 400ml
-Kombu (Dried kelp) 4g
-Bacon 80g
-Onion 1 (190-200g)
-Carrot 1 (160-170g)
-Potato 1 (130-140g)
-Garlic 20g (as peeled)
-Broccoli 1/2 each
-Mushroom 150g
-Butter 30g
-Salt 1/4 tsp (1.25g)
-Soy sauce 1tsp (5ml)
-Black pepper
(Roux)
-Milk 400ml
-Unsalted butter 50g
-All purpose flour 40g
(*The flour was 30g in the video but it should be 40g. Sorry for mistake!!)
[Ingredients] (OUNCE)
-Chicken thigh 0.88lb
-Salt 1tsp (0.2oz)
-Water 14.1oz
-Kombu (Dried kelp) 0.15oz
-Bacon 2.8oz
-Onion 1 (6.7 - 7oz)
-Carrot 1 (5.6 - 6oz)
-Potato 1(4.6 - 5oz)
-Garlic 0.7oz (as peeled)
-Broccoli 1/2 each
-Mushroom 5.3oz
-Butter 1oz
-Salt 1/4 tsp (0.04oz)
-Soy sauce 1tsp (0.2oz)
-Black pepper
(Roux)
-Milk 14.1oz
-Unsalted butter 1.76oz
-All purpose flour 1.4oz
(*The flour was 1oz in the video but it should be 1.4oz. Sorry for mistake!!)
[Recipe video]
(Chapter)
0:00 Prepare ingredients
2:31 Tips for broccoli
3:13 Cook veggies
5:06 Cook Mushroom
6:17 Cook chicken
7:24 Set up the pot
7:48 Make a roux
8:13 Finishing touch
[Instruction]
[Chapter 1: Prepare ingredients]
Soak water and kombu for 1 hour.
Cut Chicken into chunks, then massage with 1 tsp salt.
Cut: Bacon=dice, Onion=slice, Carrot=Rangiri, Potato=chunks, Garlic=grate, Broccoli=florets (Stem=dice)
[Chapter 2: Tips for broccoli ]
When you parboil broccoli, add salt and a bit of bi-carb soda to the water. It keeps green.
Once cooked, chill in a strainer. Chill in iced water makes it watery
[Chapter 3: Cook veggies]
Cook garlic on low heat. Cold pan start.
Once smells good, add onion and pinch of salt. Medium heat.
When it's lightly soft, add carrot and potato. Cook 3-4 mins.
Add bacon and broccoli stem, bit of black pepper. Cook 1-2 mins
Put everything in a pot. Add splash of water to the pan, scrape the remaining bits, then add to the pot too.
[Chapter 4: Cook Mushroom]
Melt butter (30g) on high heat. Add mushroom, bit of salt.
Shake the pan to coat it with butter. If it looks dry, add more vege oil.
Once looks brown, shake it, cook the other side. Then add to the pot.
Scrape the pan with water again, add to the pot.
[Chapter 5: Cook chicken]
Hot pan. High heat. Vege oil. Add the chicken. Skin side down. Bit of black pepper too.
Once the skin looks brown, gas off. flip the chicken, then add to the pot ASAP
Scrape the pan with water again, add to the pot.
[Chapter 6: Set up the pot]
Add the kombu water (Kombu dashi) and salt (1/4 tsp) to the pot. Give it a mix.
Lid on. boil on Medium high heat. Then simmer for 25-30 mins.
[Chapter 7: Make a roux]
[Chapter 8: Finishing touch]
Once the potato is soft, add the roux to the pot. Boil on Medium high heat.
Keep stirring. It'll be boiling within 4-5 mins. So do not move away.
Add the soy sauce and broccoli. then done!! Serve with bread or rice!
[FAQ]
Q: Any substitute for Bacon?
A: You can use chicken sausage