As a Japanese living abroad with a scorching hot summer ahead of us, I already miss those cosy nights eating Instant Pot Beef Stew in my little urban cottage. Making Instant Pot Beef Stew is not only easy and convenient, but also as delicious as making it from scratch because we use roux.
Classic comfort food
I can hear you saying โbeef stew is not a Japanese dishโ. I know, but we cook and eat beef stew. We cook Beef Stew in Japanese way using commercially made roux. Beef stew is one of the classic comfort foods in Japan too. No wonder why beef stew is a popular Winter weekday dinner, because it is so easy to make with the roux.
Beef Stew Roux
Have you tried my Japanese curry rice? Japanese are well known as busy workaholic people and so certainly have not much time to cook. However, they are quite gourmet foodies in general. They want to save time but will not compromise taste. So curry and stew roux are created for those busy Japanese people.
Where to purchase those Beef stew roux
The above photo is the beef stew roux I bought from a local Japanese grocery store. There are a few different brands. I usually use either House, S&B or Grico brand. Your local Japanese grocery stores will have those roux definitely, but those who donโt have any Japanese grocery stores nearby, you can get them online.
Super convenient and easy Beef stew roux
Those roux are super convenient. These usually comes in 2 separately sealed package in a standard sized box. One sealed package can be broken into 4 cubes and it will serve 3-4. If you have a bigger family, use all in the box.
Pros of using Instant Pot making Beef Stew
1. You can make Beef stew in one pot
Firstly, I use saute function and brown the beef and then add vegetables. Add liquid and then use Stew function to pressure cook.
2. Save time
It usually takes time to stew any meat. But using stew function to pressure cook the meat can save you a lot of cooking time and still have melting in your mouth tender beef.
3. Make any cheap cut meat so soft
I used Australian Angus beef already diced beef for stewing. It was super tender and literally melted in my mouth.
Make Over of store bought Beef Stew roux
Same as making Japanese curry rice, I usually add a few ingredients bringing the store bought roux to the next level. For Beef stew, I add red wine and bay leaves. Then garnish with thyme at the end. Bay tree and thyme are the herbs I keep in my yard.
How to store leftover Instant Pot Beef Stew
You may not but if you have any leftover, you can freeze them. Separate potato because potato is not good for storing in a freezer. Mash the potato and keep them in a separate container. It will keep about one month. Reheat in Microwave.
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Here are my instructions for Instant Pot Beef Stew. So if you like it, please rate it and leave a comment or any questions below. And donโt forget to check out my other winter comfort recipes such as Japanese Beef Curry, Chicken Katsu Curry, and Hayashi Rice.
Instant Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 500 g Beef diced
- 2 potatoes diced large or 300g
- 1 large onion wedged or 200g
- 1 carrot cut randomly or 120g
- 5 white cup mushroom quartered or 100g
- 1 cup red wine(any kind) or 250ml
- 2 3/4 cups water or 700ml
- 2 bay leaves
- thyme to garnish
- fresh cream *1
- 1 box Beef stew roux *2
Instructions
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Set the instant pot to saute function.
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Add olive oil into the pot. Add beef and cook and partially brown.
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Add diced potato, onion, carrot and mushrooms. Saute about 10 minutes.
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Pour red wine and water to the pot. Close the lid and change the setting to Stew for 20 minutes.
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Manually let the steam go *3 and open the lid.
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Break the roux into small cubes and add to the pot.
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Let the roux cubes dissolve by stirring the stew with a wooden spatula.
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Put the lid back on and set the instant pot to stew for 5 minutes.
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After the 5 minutes cycle completed, let the pressure off manually.
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Serve in the shallow bowl, pour a little bit of fresh cream*4 and garnish with thyme. *5
Notes
Nutrition
Violet says
Hi Shihoko, I hope you see this^^ I love this recipe and have made it a few times but Iโve run into a problem: I canโt find the roux anywhere. My local doesnโt have it and everywhere Iโve found it online has the โout of stock and donโt know when itโll be backโ message. Therefore, what do you think a good substitute would be for the roux? Would the Hayashi rice box roux be okay do you think?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Violet, yes as you guessed Hayashi rice box is similar because it is hashed beef.
Freya says
If I hadnโt found your recipe I wouldโve been lost with what to cook for dinner. My family says it looks and tastes just like the box. Meaning normally a lot of pictures you see on the box of food doesnโt taste the way it looks. Itโs become a regular meal in this home now! Thank you ๐
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Freya, How lovely. Thank you for leaving such a wonderful comment and five star rating ๐
Nat says
One of the first recipes Iโve tried in my instantpot! Thank you so much for simple clear instructions, I will absolutely be making this again. My whole apartment smells like curry and I love it ๐ฅฐ
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome, thatโs fantastic.
Natasha says
Hi Shihoko
I do not own a pressure cooker. Can l prepare the above โBeef Stew โ recipe just on the stove top?. If so how long should it take?. Also can l prepare the same recipe in a dutch oven & place in the oven?
Regards
Natasha
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Use the dutch oven you have and cook for 2 hours on 300ยฐF/150ยฐC with the lid on, remove lid and further 30minutes.
Jennifer Kennedy says
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. My house smells so good right now. I am letting off the steam to add the curry roux. This will be ready for lunch. Thank you stating how many grams of roux you used. I am using your curry roux recipe and wasnโt sure how much to add.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome and sounds great!!
Wes Thorpe says
How do you keep the potatoes from completely disintegrating during the cooking process?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Wes, Thank you for asking. It is depends on the types of potatoes you use. The potato i used did not integrate. If yours disintegrating, you can add potato after you cook beef. Hope this helps ๐
Robyn Borg says
Is an โInstant Potโ also called a Pressure Cooker?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Robyn, Instant Pot has many functions. One of the function is pressure cooker ๐
Tia says
Hi,
Just wondering if you knew how I would make this in a slow cooker?
Thank you!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Tia, up to instruction 5, (brown meat and vegetables in a frying pan) when the ingredients cooked after 7-8 hours, then add roux.
molly says
Yum! I needed something for tonightโs dinner.Thanks for sharingโฆ.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Molly It is yummy and you will love it though hopefully not too warm for the weather ๐
Jennifer Banz says
Thank you for sharing! I love using my instant pot!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome Jennifer ๐
Brandi says
I find those step by step photos so helpful. Makes it so much easier to make the recipe!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Brandi, I am glad to know the step by step photos are helpful ๐