kabocha(Japanese pumpkin)

[torakris]

Hello Everyone, I am making a recipe from Nobu - the miso marinated black cod. Anyone's got any suggestions for sides or dessert that would go well with this? Also I was thinking of the kabocha : has anyone a recipe to share for stewed japanese pumpkin? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

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Hi 6kitten, welcome to eGullet and the Japan forum!

My recipe for stewed kabocha is right here!

[Hiroyuki]

Sides? Pickles, simmered dishes, and what have you.

My recipe of simmered kabocha is simpler, requiring no dashi.

1/4 kabocha

2 tbsp(?) sugar

2 tbsp(?) soy sauce

I added the question mark because I don't bother to measure the amounts.

Cut kabocha and put in a pot and add water to hitahita.

"Hitahita" refers to a state where the water covers the ingredient(s) (kabocha, in this case) almost completely, but not completely.

When it boils, lower the heat, and add sugar first.

In 5 minutes, add soy sauce.

I follow the sashisuseso order, which means sugar first, followed by salt, vinegar, soy sauce, and miso last.

Cook for another 3-5 min. (for a total of 8-10 min.)

Let it cool.

Good luck!

[John DePaula]

My favorite:

Sauté some onions in olive oil until caramelized. Set aside. Peel and slice the squash; sauté with a little butter, salt and pepper. Add some grated Gruyere and mix. Roll out the galette/savory pie crust, add the onion then the squash. Top with a mixture of bread crumbs and gruyere. Bake. Serve with small side salad.

[GlorifiedRice]

I have searched several ways but can not find the Kabocha Salad recipe that

Torakris makes.

Anyone know where I can find it?

[ludja]

Is it this dish with Kabocha and pine nuts? click

(I searched "kabocha salad", all forums, poster = 'torakris' and report search 'as posts'.)

It sounds tasty!

[GlorifiedRice]

Thats the picture yes. But she posted the actual recipe once and it had sugar.

I love it! Im on Weight Watchers (Actually the much more efficacious Wendy Plan) and Kabocha Salad is 1 point if made with Splenda and Lite Mayo.

So I wanna make it that same way as Kris did but with my adjustments.

[petite tête de chou]

I have searched several ways but can not find the Kabocha Salad recipe that

Torakris makes.

Anyone know where I can find it?

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I know that they aren't exactly what you're looking for but Helen posted a couple recipes for kabocha salad here.

[prasantrin]

The closest thing to a recipe that she posted was this:

kabocha salad, smashed with a little mayo, salt, sugar and a touch of cinnamon

from http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=444978

[torakris]

Wow! You guys remember my food better than I do! I rarely make the same thing twice, so I often forget the things I may have even posted. I don't think I made that salad again...

[GlorifiedRice]

Okay NO MORE KABOCHA SALAD!!!!

Ive eaten kabocha every day for 2 weeks.

It is too darn good! Im so stuffed!

How can it be so low cal and so bulky?

[heidih]

Okay NO MORE KABOCHA SALAD!!!!

Ive eaten kabocha every day for 2 weeks.

It is too darn good! Im so stuffed!

How can it be so low cal and so bulky?

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I have to agree. I cooked my first kabocha last week in the same soup prep that I had used butternut squash on- chicken stock, mashed microwaved squash, bit of Dijon mustard, dash of smoked and 1/2 sharp paprika, shreds of chard leaves, finished with dry-fried mushrooms and garlic. This soup was so rich and appealing. I had to thin it down quite a bit and added a drop or two per serving of balsamic vinegar to cut the sweetness & richness. Will definitely be playing with this adorable squash again.

[Priscilla]

Kabocha is the best winter squash. I served it at Thanksgiving, peeled and cubed and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little brown sugar, roasted until tender and caramelized.

[torakris]

Kabocha is the best winter squash.  I served it at Thanksgiving, peeled and cubed and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little brown sugar, roasted until tender and caramelized.

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This caught my eye so a couple days ago I tried it and also gave it a kick my sprinkled on some ancho chile powder as well. This was great! My kids devoured it.

I used a kabocha I had never seen before it was sort of a light blue-grey color and the flesh was a bit yellower than normal kabocha, it was also stringier (is that a word?) but not as much as a spaghetti squash. The flavor was also milder more like acorn squash than kabocha. I had picked it up for something like 100 yen ($1) at a roadside stand in Chiba a couple weeks ago, I had asked the man selling it what it was called and he replied "just kabocha".

[Priscilla]

Kabocha is the best winter squash.  I served it at Thanksgiving, peeled and cubed and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little brown sugar, roasted until tender and caramelized.

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This caught my eye so a couple days ago I tried it and also gave it a kick my sprinkled on some ancho chile powder as well. This was great! My kids devoured it.

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The addition of the chile sounds good. I'll have to remember that for next time, which will be soon.

[Underfoot]

Kabocha is the best winter squash.  I served it at Thanksgiving, peeled and cubed and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little brown sugar, roasted until tender and caramelized.

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That's funny. So you know how the whole savoury/sweet dichotomy is sweeping the culinary world at the moment? Well most of the recipes on this thread seem to be savoury but my Dad has made a kabocha pie for the last two Thanksgivings. This is amazing because a) he rarely bakes, and b) I always bring dessert! Maybe I should get that recipe...

[nakji]

Well, I'm digging up this topic, since it's getting to be that time of year again. One thing I like about fall vegetables is that I can buy them on Sunday, stuff them in my crisper, and they're still in pretty good shape come Friday night. I bought a quarter of kabocha last week for 80, and dug it out of the fridge tonight for dinner. I zapped it in the microwave, then mashed it up with two teaspoons of miso, a tablespoon of butter, and copious gratings of parmesan cheese. My husband, who is generally indifferent to kabocha, was fighting me for it. It went nicely with our shogayaki.

[torakris]

I made a kabocha salad last night too! Mine was also zapped kabocha but mixed only with mayo and salt.

Miso and cheese? Sounds interesting I may give that one a try...

[nakji]

I got the idea from Harumi's dish of scallops in a miso sauce. The sauce calls for cream and parmesan, and the flavours complement each other remarkably. Kabocha is so sweet, I thought something really salty would help balance it out. I thought it was nice, but I can't vouch for people who are used to more traditional uses of miso.

[curlywurlyfi]

I saw a recipe today for butternut squash with chorizo + prawns, thought that would work very nicely with kabocha also.

butternut squash w chorizo + prawns

[Beebs]

Ok, this probably belongs on the stupid cooking questions thread, but what is the most effective way to peel kabocha squash? I had the worst time peeling it - the vegetable peeler didn't get in between the cracks and left big sections of unpeelable squash. Should I have cooked it a bit first before peeling? Use a different tool? I love kabocha and I'd eat it more often if peeling it didn't frustrate me so much!

[sanrensho]

I love kabocha and I'd eat it more often if peeling it didn't frustrate me so much!  

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You'll wear out (or break) your peeler quickly trying to peel kabocha.

It's faster and more effect to simply use a knife to cut off the peel. Also, it's perfectly fine to leave some of the skin, if you're comfortable with that (personal taste).

My first instinct is to peel it too, but my wife usually leaves some if not all of the skin on. It's much nicer from a textural perspective, if you are braising the kabocha Japanese style, as in a typical nimono.

Kabocha nimono images

Edited September 25, 2008 by sanrensho (log)

[Hiroyuki]

I don't bother to peel kabocha before simmering. I know that most recipes say to partially peel kabocha with a knife, but the skin is full of beta-carotene!

When I make kabocha potage, I cut kabocha into smaller pieces and put them in the microwave. That way, the skin can be separated by hand very easily. I don't throw away the skin. My family eat it as an okazu (side dish) or a snack.

[prasantrin]

I don't bother to peel kabocha before simmering.  I know that most recipes say to partially peel kabocha with a knife, but the skin is full of beta-carotene!

When I make kabocha potage, I cut kabocha into smaller pieces and put them in the microwave.  That way, the skin can be separated by hand very easily.  I don't throw away the skin.  My family eat it as an okazu (side dish) or a snack.

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I like the skin, too. But I once made kabocha soup and left the skin on...that was a very unappetizing looking soup!

I'm going to try your way of putting smaller pieces in the microwave. I was thinking of putting an entire half kabocha in the microwave and then trying to cut it up, but your way seems a bit easier.

[torakris]

Whenever I am going to puree kabocha (such as for soups, stews, etc) I cut the whole kabocha into quarters. I wrap each quarter in saran wrap and microwave it for about 5 minutes. I let it cool for a bit then I use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, it takes just seconds. These microwaved pieces freeze really well.

I always buy a whole kabocha and while sometimes I can use the whole thing up and other times I can't, freezing the microwaved pieces gives me something for a quick meal sometime in the future.

[azarashi sushi]

Although there hasn't been much (any?) research done into it, it is widely believed that microwaving plastic wrap, particularly when it is in contact with food, releases dioxins into the food, which of course are highly carcinogenic. Best to use corningware or glass or something like that.