Stews in Japan

[torakris]

So what is your favorite Japanese style stew?

[torakris]

I made my favorite cream stew last week and even had a picture of it, but my finger slipped on the keyboard and I lost it.....

I really don't like cream stew and didn't make it for years because I found it so bland, then I figured out a way to make it good and flavorful. I use a box of the Japanese cream stew roux, sort of like their curry roux block but for stew.

I saute some onions and potatoes then I add the water and scoop out the flesh of about 1/4 of a kabocha that I heated in the microwave until very soft and add that as well. This just melts into the stew giving it a gorgeous color and adding great flavor. I simmer this until the potatoes are almost tender then I add the roux, bring it back to a simmer and add chunked fresh salmon and cook a couple minutes until it is heated through. Finally I add some blanched broccoli and it is ready to be served.

My family all eat it over rice but I prefer mine with bread.

[torakris]

there is even a corn cream stew roux

we all know about the Japanese love of corn

[easternsun]

i have a great cream stew receipe! i will look for it today

my first attempt at cream stew was after dh requested it. it turned out pretty good but hubby had one comment - four stars (out of five), next time add corn

[torakris]

How do you eat your stew?

bread or rice?

In Japan even beef stew is often eaten with rice

I am a bread girl all the way but my husband and 3 kids insist on rice.....

[Hiroyuki]

I usually eat stew (white or beef) with rice, in the same way as I eat curry with rice, i.e., put rice on one side of a plate and pour stew on the other. My wife also eat stew with rice, but insists on serving them in different bowls.

[easternsun]

How do you eat your stew?

bread or rice?

In Japan even beef stew is often eaten with rice

I am a bread girl all the way but my husband and 3 kids insist on rice.....

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i cant find my recipe! will have to re-create it again from memory before posting it.

hubby likes rice but i am with you on the bread thing!

[yunnermeier]

I made cream stew last night without a recipe. I cubed the beef and marinated it with salt. Diluted some chicken stock into the water . First I sauted the onions and then added in the potatos and carrots. Then I added the water and left it to simmer until the potatos were soft (if you add the beef before the potatos get soft, the potatoes will stay hard because of the salt).

Finally it was time for the beef and then the roux and ta-da. It's stupid but I'm incredibly proud (for someone who's never actually cooked anything except instant noodles before...) and it tasted great :-D

[torakris]

Congratulations!!

I have never tried a cream stew with beef before. I usually do salmon but a little whil ago I used chicken.

[torakris]

I just noticed this thread has no pictures!!

A recent cream stew of salmon, potatoes, onions and spinach.

and for those that are unfamiliar, this is what the roux looks like

[helenjp]

Funnily enough I just made a "cream stew" with salmon and scallops over the weekend. The box had "chowder" on it too, and sure enough it was sort of soupy and chowdery. More flavorful than the ordinary cream stew type, but also a little salty.

We had ours with May Queen potatoes simmered in milk in the rice cooker!

[smallworld]

OK, what is cream stew exactly? Does it have a western equivalent or is it a made-in-Japan food? And can it be made without the store-bought roux?

[torakris]

I think we just had a discussion about this in my most recent blog (when the previous picture was taken). Many people thought it was a kind of chowder, but I am not sure I would call most of these cream stews I have eaten here chowders...

[easternsun]

OK, what is cream stew exactly? Does it have a western equivalent or is it a made-in-Japan food? And can it be made without the store-bought roux?

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Cream Stew is a manzai act

I always thought cream stew was the Japanese take on Vicchyssoise or Bisque.

Smallworld, you can make it without the roux cubes - I do it all the time. I use 100% cream and add creamcheese to the salmon version I prefer to make it with salmon or chicken. Oyster stew is very nice too.....(yeay! oysters are back in season).

Should we have a　stew cook off? MIL keeps gifting me with onions and potatoes so I am already to go

[AzianBrewer]

Niku jaga!!

[BarbaraY]

I just checked my two favorite mail-order places in SF Bay Area.and found a white sauce mix at one of them. It is called Nissin-Mama. Is this the same thing or do I have to search further? Sauce source Scroll down.

[helenjp]

No, that's definitely white sauce.

[Hiroyuki]

OK, what is cream stew exactly? Does it have a western equivalent or is it a made-in-Japan food? And can it be made without the store-bought roux?

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I was born in 1960, fifteen years after the end of World War II, when most Japanese were still poor. In those days, stew was nothing more than carrots, onions, potatoes, and a small amount of meat stewed, seasoned with salt, and finally thickened with flour.

According to this page of House Foods Corp., this company released Stew Mix (powder form) in 1966, and since then, "white stew" and "cream stew", not found in Western cookery books, have become popular.

P.S. I think the terms "white stew" and "cream stew" are used interchangeably. I think I use "white stew" more often.

[AmyDaniel]

OK, what is cream stew exactly? Does it have a western equivalent or is it a made-in-Japan food? And can it be made without the store-bought roux?

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I was born in 1960, fifteen years after the end of World War II, when most Japanese were still poor. In those days, stew was nothing more than carrots, onions, potatoes, and a small amount of meat stewed, seasoned with salt, and finally thickened with flour.

According to this page of House Foods Corp., this company released Stew Mix (powder form) in 1966, and since then, "white stew" and "cream stew", not found in Western cookery books, have become popular.

P.S. I think the terms "white stew" and "cream stew" are used interchangeably. I think I use "white stew" more often.

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So originally white/cream stew was a basic meat soup, thickened with flour?

What are the seasonings in the boxed cream stew roux?

[Hiroyuki]

So originally white/cream stew was a basic meat soup, thickened with flour?

What are the seasonings in the boxed cream stew roux?

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No!! It's a soup of vegetables and a small amount of meat. In my childhood, meat was kind of a luxury item.

Basically, store-bought roux contains white sauce, stock, and MSG.

[prasantrin]

I was just reminiscing about my childhood Japanese curry experience. When I was a child, my siblings and I used to eat S&B curry, while my parents ate spicier Thai curries. They were always full of carrots, potatoes, and big chunks of beef. Imagine my disappointment when I ordered Japanese curry for the first time at a family restaurant in Japan--there was barely any meat in it at all! And the last time I ordered curry rice from the school cafeteria, there were no carrots, no potatoes, and no meat--only onions! I'm going to have to make my own, I think.

Can Japanese curry be frozen?

[jeniac42]

I was just reminiscing about my childhood Japanese curry experience.  When I was a child, my siblings and I used to eat S&B curry, while my parents ate spicier Thai curries.  They were always full of carrots, potatoes, and big chunks of beef.  Imagine my disappointment when I ordered Japanese curry for the first time at a family restaurant in Japan--there was barely any meat in it at all!  And the last time I ordered curry rice from the school cafeteria, there were no carrots, no potatoes, and no meat--only onions!  I'm going to have to make my own, I think.

Can Japanese curry be frozen?

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I'll let you know tomorrow... I've got some curry in the freezer and I'm planning to eat it for lunch!

[Hiroyuki]

I was just reminiscing about my childhood Japanese curry experience.  When I was a child, my siblings and I used to eat S&B curry, while my parents ate spicier Thai curries.  They were always full of carrots, potatoes, and big chunks of beef.  Imagine my disappointment when I ordered Japanese curry for the first time at a family restaurant in Japan--there was barely any meat in it at all!  And the last time I ordered curry rice from the school cafeteria, there were no carrots, no potatoes, and no meat--only onions!  I'm going to have to make my own, I think.

Can Japanese curry be frozen?

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I'll let you know tomorrow... I've got some curry in the freezer and I'm planning to eat it for lunch!

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Sorry, I'll let you know today. Curry can be frozen, but you are recommended to remove potatoes before you do, because freezing will change the texture of potatoes considerably.

[sanrensho]

Can Japanese curry be frozen?

Absolutely. And not just Japanese curries, but Thai and other curries too.

[anpanman]

OK, what is cream stew exactly? Does it have a western equivalent or is it a made-in-Japan food? And can it be made without the store-bought roux?

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Cream stew is basically a stew thickened with a bechamel (white) sauce. You can make it yourself by cooking butter/oil with flour, then add milk and bring to a boil while stirring. Most all Japanese stews are French-influenced fusion cuisine from the early 20th century. Notice that meat stews you get at good yoshoku restaurants use homemade demi glace, or at least an espagnol sauce. My favorite among these yoshoku stews is tongue stew.