Recipe: Instant Chicken Stew with Steam Rice

I am a lover of slow-cooked stews and soups. I remember how when we were in the U.S., with just one kid, I would slow-cook chicken stew and how it was such a comfort food in the cold winter.

Now, with 2 kids, I must admit that I have become lazy where cooking is concerned. Plus, it's not exactly very comfortable to be cooped up in a hot kitchen in humid Singapore for hours, just to whip up a stew.

Today, I have found a solution and best part of it, Ariel loves this new version of chicken stew which I have discovered!! I absolutely need to blog this.

Hubby and I have always been fond of Japanese curry. With Ariel now eating the exact same food as us, we, being *ahem* considerate parents, would always have to put her as our priority, although the truth is, I think it would be such a hassle to cook separately for her. Thus, I am always on the lookout for recipes which suit all young and old. Since we could no longer cook Japanese curry as often as we like, we decided to look for alternatives. At Cold Storage (Great World City), under the same segment as Japanese Curry, I found this Japanese "Cream Stew Mix" and decided to give it a try.

It turned out really yummy and yes, for kids, it's definitely a much healthier choice than Campbells soup. And it's absolutely an easy-to-prepare dish. Overall preparation and cooking time is only about 1 hour or less. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Stew with Steam Rice (serves 4 pax)

Ingredients:
300 - 400g Chicken Breast
2 stalks Celery
2 medium Carrot
2 Potatoes
*All of the above ingredients are diced or cut into bite-sized, for easy cooking and easy for kids.

2 slice of ginger (cut into strips)
1 packet of Japanese "Cream Stew Mix"
Steam Rice

For chicken marinade:
1 tbsp of soy sauce
A sprinkle of garlic powder.
Some pepper

Instruction:

1. Marinade the chicken breasts, and set aside.
2. Wash and cook rice in rice cooker.
3. Heat up some oil in a saucepan. Add the ginger slices and celery.
4. Brown chicken in the saucepan.
5. Drain the oil and remove ginger. (Ginger tend to make the stew more heaty after prolonged cooking)
6. Add Carrots to the saucepan and fill pot with 1.4L of water. Bring to a boil.
7. Add in Potatoes and simmer for 20 mins.
8. Once all the ingredients are soft, add in the Cream Stew Mix, slowly, on low fire.
9. Stir constantly to dissolve any lumps.
10. Simmer for another 10 mins, and serve with steam rice.

* The packaging suggests adding milk to thicken the stew, but I did not think it is necessary as in the above recipe, potato itself already act as a thickener. Also, the end product is already rather tasty and on the sweet side, so I did not see the need to add milk.

* To keep stew warm, we transferred the stew to a slow-cooker and put on low until ready to serve.

* The packet of Cream Stew Mix is just right for 1.4L of water and serves 4. As it is in powder-form, the proportions can be adjusted as one wishes and the remaining can be stored in the refrigerator. Hee hee... don't we just love Japanese products? :P

Overall it is a great family dish. Everyone in my family, including our domestic helper likes it.