Don't Get Wrong! Here Are 4 Differences Between Stew And Soup

Illustration of soup or stew (Unsplash / W)

JAKARTA - Warm and saucy foods are the most comforting foods to eat during cold weather. If you agree, of course the most familiar menu and easy to make is soup. However, it turns out that many people don't know the difference between soup and stew.

Here, the 4 differences between these two foods as follows.

Made from the same ingredients and seasonings

Stew and soup are both soup foods, containing vegetables, sometimes using fish, meat, and chicken. The main seasonings for flavoring soups and stews include garlic and onions.

Soup illustration (Unsplash/Pichara Bann)

What kind of dish is called soup?

The main component of soup is water. Soup can use chicken broth to get a savory sauce taste. There are also soups with creamy texture, such as chowder and tomato soup. Tomato soup, in general, uses mashed tomatoes so that it gets a reddish sauce color.

Soup takes a short time to cook, taking about 20 minutes. After the garlic is prepared, for example, it may be crushed or cut into small pieces. Meanwhile, onions can be cut according to taste, like squares and can also be cut very small.

Next, the vegetables in the soup are cut into pieces. If using meat, cut it so that it is easy to scoop and eat. A general rule for chopping soup ingredients, they should be no more than the size of a spoon.

What is a stew?

Stew is more complicated than soup and takes longer to cook. The stew spices are cut to a larger size. When cooking the stew, wait for the water to shrink and absorb all the vegetables and meat. Because of this process, cooks the stew takes time.

Stew also has a thicker sauce. Usually, cornstarch is added to get the thickness of the sauce. Unlike abundant soup, ready-to-eat stew can also be added with wine or apple cider vinegar.

Stew illustration (Unsplash / Brittani Carter)

So, these side dishes - soup and stew - are often mistaken. Soups are generally served with bread, for example white bread, whole wheat bread, and baguettes. While the stew is served with rice, mashed potatoes, and polenta.

Which one is best served with chili sauce, stew or soup?

Many people argue about this, especially the Indonesian people who cannot miss the hot taste of chilies. Actually, the spicy taste of chilies can be cooked together in spices so that it becomes stew. The spicy taste will permeate all ingredients. However, it doesn't matter if you add chili sauce to the soup according to your individual taste.

Which one do you enjoy most at home? If the sauce is absorbed into vegetables and meat, it means that what you are eating is stew.