Rikumo Recipe: Kabocha on the side
For those of us suffering from pumpkin spice overload, there's a way to get through the pumpkin season without giving up our favorite fall flavor. Kabocha, or Japanese Pumpkin, is a type of winter squash that resembles a flat western pumpkin with a sweet taste and fluffy, chestnut-like texture. You can find this delicacy at your local Asian market, often for less than $3 a pound. Kabocha has a deep green skin and with a vibrant orange color, and, when broiled, boiled or grilled, makes a great comfort food for cold nights. This simple recipe mainly involves cutting, boiling, and simmering, so it's easy to prepare as a seasonal side dish. The best part: leftovers can be reworked into salads, stews and pastas.
Ingredients
1 medium kabocha
3 tbsp. vegetable stock
1 tbsp. sugar
mirin
2 tbsp. sake
3 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 kombu leaf
Instructions
1. First, remove seeds and pulp from kabocha, then cut them into wedges (approximately 3cm).
2. Cut again into smaller, 3-4cm, pieces
3. Peel away the hard layer of skin with the knife, leaving a little bit to taste
4. Place pumpkin into pot, and add stock, kombu leaf, sugar, mirin, and sake. Bring to a boil
5. Once boiled, turn the heat to low. When the kabocha is almost done ( you'll know it's ready when you can pierce a chopstick through the skin), add light soy sauce.
6. Boil once more, then turn the heat to low and let simmer for a few minutes. This will allow the kabocha to better absorb the soy sauce flavor.
7. Remove kabocha pieces from pot and place on a serving plate or tray, leaving the sauce in the pot.
8. Pour sauce over kabocha, and let cool to room temperature.
9. Enjoy!
RECIPE ADAPTED FROM JAPANESE COOKING RECIPES, BY FUMIYO KAWAKAMI