Cream stew or kurimu shitu is a popular Yōshoku

Yoshoku

In Japanese cuisine, refers to a style of Western-influenced cooking which originated during the Meiji Restoration. These are primarily Japanized forms of European dishes, often featuring Western names, and usually written in katakana.- History :...

 dish consisting of meat, usually chicken or pork, and mixed vegetables, onion, carrot, potato and cabbage, cooked in thick white roux

Roux

Roux is a cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, traditionally butter. It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: sauce béchamel, sauce velouté and sauce espagnole. Clarified butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a...

. The vegetables are sauteed before the meat is added with some water. The surface fats are removed by degreasing

Degreasing

Degreasing often called Defatting, is a term used to describe the removal of fatty acids from an object. In culinary science, the word degreasing refers to various methods which are used to reduce the fat content of a meal. This term can be used to categorize procedures that reduce the fat content...

 and then the roux is added. It is common in Japan to use ready-made roux, as one might for making Japanese curry

Japanese curry

is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is commonly served in three main forms: , karē udon and karē-pan . Curry rice is most commonly referred to simply as ....

, which comes in a block from a box. The roux though can also be cooked from scratch. The hard paste roux melts from the heat and blends with the water to create a thick stew. Milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

can also be used as replacement for water, to make the stew more creamy.