White Stew is a classic Japanese-style stew made with chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables. Incredibly comforting, you want to soak up the delicious creamy sauce with steamed rice or crusty bread. A one-pot wonder that your whole family will embrace and love!
What are some of your favorite foods to make when the temperature drops? Do they have to be easy to make and devoured by adults and kids alike? If so, you’d enjoy this beloved Japanese-style White Stew (ホワイトシチュー), an ultimate comfort food that will be your next family favorite!
What is White Stew?
Influenced by the French cuisine, White Stew is essentially a simple dish that marries all the usual ingredients in a homestyle stew: chicken, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and potatoes. What holds them together is a creamy, savory sauce known as Béchamel, made from butter, flour, and milk. It may be hearty, but not heavy, making it an ideal dish to serve for the entire family.
White Stew – A One-Pot Wonder to Cook in Your Dutch Oven
To make White Stew, it’s time to let the kitchen workhorse – Dutch Oven – works its magic. The whole meal comes together in one pot, just like what a weeknight dinner should be. Unlike other stews or braising recipes, there’s no long simmering required either. Just get your ingredients prepared in advance and the actual cooking time can be done under 45 minutes.
In this dish, start off by sauteeing onions and chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, slowly stir in the flour and milk. Then add in your vegetables, canned tuna, bay leaves, and bouillon. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, and then let simmer for 20 minutes. Finally, add in broccoli and heavy whipping cream. Cook for another 5-10 minutes and the coziest dinner will be ready for the table.
Secret Ingredient for the White Stew
I had always made my white stew with chicken and vegetables until a friend of mine shared her secret ingredient with me – a canned tuna! Surprised as I did, I went ahead and added tuna into my original recipe, and boy, was I convinced right away.
Canned tuna may sound like an unusual ingredient to a stew, but you just have to gather up your courage (or trust) and give it a try. You’d be surprised how much complexity it adds to the stew.
Enjoy White Stew with Rice or Toasty Bread
Are you craving this yet? I hope so. Serve the stew with steamed rice or some toasty bread. It will warm your belly right up! For the leftover, remove the potatoes and keep the remaining stew in the freezer and save it for an emergency meal.
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White Stew - A classic Japanese-style stew made with chicken, mushrooms, vegetables, and tuna. It's a one-pot wonder that your whole family will love.
- 5 chicken thighs (5 thighs or 2 breasts)
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt) (or sea salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 onion (halved lengthwise and sliced)
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 3½ cup milk
- 2 potatoes (cut into small pieces)
- 1 carrot (cut into small pieces)
- 1 cup corns (frozen)
- 8 mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 can tuna in oil (drain 90% of oil)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cube vegetable bouillon (optional)
- 2 cup broccoli florets
- ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
- Cut the chicken and season with salt and pepper (I put quite a bit – just a little bit more than usual). If the chicken breasts are thick, follow Kannon-Biraki and Sogigiri cutting techniques.
- Cut vegetables.
- In a Dutch oven (or large pot), heat butter on medium heat and sauté onion and chicken.
- When the chicken is cooked, slowly stir in flour and mix well.
- Slowly stir in milk. During this process, constantly scrape off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to prevent the flour from burning.
- Add potatoes, carrots, corns, mushrooms, tuna, bay leaves, and bouillon. Cover the pot with lid and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low (simmering) and cook for another 20 minutes. Make sure to stir once in a while.
- Add broccoli and heavy whipping cream. Cover to cook another 5-10 minutes until the broccoli is done to your liking.
- Serve with rice or bread. Season with freshly ground black pepper before you eat.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
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Hi Nami!
I’ve never commented before but I just finished making the dish and saw that this particular post didn’t have too many comments so I thought I’d leave one.
It turned out great! (A bit on the sweet side. I think it might be the corn.) And it really does have that comfort food feeling. I like the flavor the bay leaves add. Also, I didn’t have vegetable bouillon so I ended up using chicken bouillon (which I have a lot of!). I will definitely make this again!
Hi L! Thank you so much for writing the feedback and I really appreciate it. I’m glad it turned out great and you liked it. 🙂 It’s so great to hear from readers and thanks again for stopping by to let me know!
Hi there Nami,
I know you posted this recipe over a year ago but I just came across it yesterday, tried it and it’s fantastic! I left out the butter (didn’t have any) and used some chicken stock (happen to have some) to replace one of the cups of milk and it still turned out great. Your recipe was exactly what I had been looking for!
Hi Kitty! Thank you for trying this recipe! I know the picture needs to be updated, and even so you still gave it a try. Thank you! I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Hi, i came across this recently, and it looks amazing! The only problem is that I’m vegetarian, would it be fine to take the chicken out, or substitute with tofu?
Hi Brae! Sure, you can take out the meat. 🙂 If you add tofu, please add it right before you serve… all you need to do is to heat up tofu (you don’t have to “cook” it). If you add earlier, tofu may break into pieces. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
I just tried this recipe with my family, and it was delicious! Thank you for the tips!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Bae! I’m glad to hear you liked it. 🙂
ルー無しで作るの初めてでした！家族内では大好評！ 「とろけるクリームシチュー」の味に似てたので嬉しかったです (一番近い日本食スーパーは車で一時間程遠い所に引っ越しましたのでもう簡単に買えません)。弟にリンク送る程大好きでした♡ レシピどうも有難うございました！ 今度はメンチカツに挑戦したいと思ってます。
紅さん、
コメントどうもありがとうございます！とっても嬉しかったです。ルーなしのシチュー気に入ってもらえて良かった～。私もむかーし日本のスーパーから離れたところに住んでいたので、状況、とてもよく分かります。
メンチカツもシチューも３年前くらいの写真で、正直美味しそうに写ってないのに、レシピを試してみようと思ってもらえて、とても嬉しいです。ありがとう！
Hi Nami, Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I am a beginner cook and your recipes are easy to follow and it’s always delicious.
Hi Amanda! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. Thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂
Hi Nami! I tried a lot of you recipe and I like it all, just some of the recipe you post I cannot give it a try here since I couldn’t find the ingredients here in China (I am Chinese-Indonesian with Taiwanese husband living in China). I am so excited to find this white stew reciepe, back when I was in the States my husband (that time still bf) loves this but he always bought the roux and never saw it over here (hard to find curry roux too here). I will defenitly make this one for him , I guess make a surprise dinner for him…. I bet he will love it too! Thank you for all your recipe, I keep checking it everyday for my dinner menu with my family!
Hi Evelyn! Thank you so much for writing! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my recipes! Hope you and your husband will enjoy this! My Taiwanese husband also likes this recipe! 😀
Wow, I’ve been looking for this recipe everywhere! My Japanese friend would always cook this with the Japanese White Stew Roux and I loved it! I can’t find it anywhere here in hawaii but now I can just make it from scratch 🙂 Thank you <3
Hi Eunji! It’s really easy to make and MSG free. 🙂 I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Hi Nami, I can’t find vegetable boullion here, so if I’m going to use chicken stock powder instead, how much do I have to use? Thanks in advance
Hi Reen! So sorry for my late response. I don’t use bouillon cubes anymore in my kitchen and use (liquid) stock instead. You could replace 1/3 or 1/2 of milk with vegetable/chicken broth (it’ll be less milky). With all the ingredients in the stew, you will have plenty of flavor, so you can simply skip bouillon and season with salt (it helps bring out the flavors, so taste the stew and don’t be afraid to season with salt). Hope this helps! 🙂
I just make it again today and then I realized that you forgot to tell us when to put the mushroom. Luckily I can tell by the picture 🙂
Thanks so much for noticing! I edited! 🙂
Really this very good receipe of the white stew.i have try and make delicious food
So happy to hear you tried it, and thank you for writing! 🙂
Hi Nami..I would like to try this recipe. If I don’t want to be white sauce what shall I add so that it can be a shade darker?
Hi Angie! Hmm… different sauce means different ways to cook from the beginning. It’s not as simple to explain… (that will be another recipe). If you have a particular recipe you’re looking, let me know. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was curious about trying white stew after seeing characters on a Japanese show eating it for dinner. This was one of the best stew/soup I’ve ever had. Sort of reminds me of potato soup, delicious. Thanks again! I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Hi Jessica! I’m so happy to hear you liked it! I have to thank creators for Japanese anime and dramas because many people who watched tried my recipes like you! Thank you for giving it a try and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hi! Do you think I can make this in the slow cooker?
Hi Jen! You’ll need to make the white sauce separately as you can’t do it in the middle of slow cooking process. I think you’ll need to adjust the recipe quite a bit to make it work in a slow cooker. 🙂
I just made this today and my family loved it! It reminded us of chowder, and would be lovely with bread. My husband suggested adding clams next time for added brininess. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Ying! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and writing your kind feedback here. 🙂 xo
This looks really interesting to me. I can’t have milk or flour. Do you know if anybody has ever made a similar stew, using tofu to make the creamy white sauce? I wonder if that would work.
Thank you so much for your videos, Instagram, and blog. I really enjoy them!
Take care,
Erin (from Livermore)
Hi Erin! Can you use soymilk and rice flour or GF flour? They work the same way. 🙂 Tofu is chunkier, so it can be a good ingredient in the stew, but I believe it’s not good to be used for soupy texture. Thank you for following JOC! You’re in the Bay Area too! 🙂
Hi Nami..I just bought a packet of Hokkaido Cream Stew Roux. Not sure how to use it. Hope you can share a recipe using the Cream Stew Roux?
Hi Angie! I know that brand. 🙂 You basically make it exactly like how you make Japanese curry (have you made it?). We usually use chicken for white stew. So after saute onion, add in chicken, and then vegetables. Add water (or chicken broth) and cook… 20 mins or so. Then add roux and ready to eat! 🙂 Oh, if you add broccoli or softer vegetables, add in later so it doesn’t get mushy. I recommend parboiling them and add to heat up (not to cook). Hope this helps!
Hi Nami, really appreciate your reply. Yes I made the Japanese Curry before. For the measurement, I basically have to follow the Japanese Curry recipe right?
Hi Angie! Um… forgot the amount of liquid. Not sure if they were the same. What I meant was the same/similar cooking method. Liquid amount may be different. Can you see the instruction on the box? I’ll be happy to help if you tweet me the picture, then I can read and explain.
The roux taste is it the same with your white stew recipe?
Hi Angie! Store bought roux and homemade roux taste slightly different. I don’t want to discourage but store bought roux always taste like some kind of artificial taste (the thick texture etc). It tastes good, but not the same as homemade white stew. 😉
Dear Nami, I just email to you from your insta account. I took a picture for you to see.
I responded. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Must I use whipping cream for this recipe? Is there any non-dairy substitute I can use in place of it? My hubby is lactose intolerant but I’m keen to try out this recipe (looks real delicious). Thanks!
Hi Bernice! Sure! Heavy cream will give more rich flavor. 🙂 Non-dairy… I haven’t tried with non-dairy before for White Stew, so I can’t tell what’s the best option in terms of texture and flavor.
Hi Nami, is it possible to cook this white stew with Instant Pot? Shall I add in everything including the cream and broccoli and then pressure cook it for 15 minutes?
Hi Angie! I believe the heat is too high and the milk proteins will be separated, which result in curdling. So I don’t usually recommend using milk in pressure cooking. 🙂 One thing you can do is to cook the ingredients first in IP, then make bechamel sauce outside of the IP (like in a frying pan or pot), and then after ingredients are cooked, you add the bechamel sauce. Just use saute mode only, and don’t leave it – it can burn and curdle, so just to keep it warm. Hope that helps!
Hi Nami,
I just bought some swede and was wondering whether I can add this in the cream stew
Hi Jasmine! Yes, you can. It will be lovely! I’m not sure how long it takes to get tender. Make sure to adjust the size of the swede when you chop. If it takes a longer time, cut into smaller chunks. 🙂
Hi Nami,
This dish looks really good and simple enough to make. I am going to try making it this week. Does it have to be frozen corn, or could I use canned corn or fresh corn (when it’s in season)?
Thanks!
Hi Juliana! Any corn is good, if it’s fresh corn, remember to include cooking time. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi, apart from serving it with rice and bread. What is your suggestion for side dishes to go with this stew? Thx
NJ
Hi NJ! We always serve a salad in my household. 🙂