Sunday, September 7, 2008

Japanese Pumpkin (Kabocha) Recipe!

On Thursday I got a pumpkin from Kirita that was grown as part of a science class/project. ^_^ (Fresh produce is definitely one of the joys of living in rural Japan!) I love pumpkin, but I didn't know how to prepare it--good thing for the internet!

So, if you ever find yourself the recipient of a kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) and haven't a clue what to do with it, here's a simple recipe for "kabocha no nimono." It's super easy and quite tasty!

If you like your pumpkin more sweet than salty, though, you may want to opt for water instead of dashi. Maybe I just made my dashi too strong, but my kabocha ended up a little too salty for my tastes. I also kind of forgot about checking the liquid level towards the end, though, so I did (as warned) end up with a bit kabocha stuck to the bottom of the pan, but all in all I think it worked out pretty well.

I didn't take a picture of the final result, though, because I cut the kabocha too small and thus it didn't look very nice. ^^;; (The picture in the recipe looks much better!) If I get another pumpkin, though, hopefully I'll be able to correct my mistakes on a second try.

Edit: September 20th: Took a picture of my second attempt! This time I paid careful attention to the fluid level, so it didn't end up getting stuck to the bottom of the pan! I also cut the pieces bigger so they didn't end up as mushy! It also wasn't as salty as the first try. Overall, I'd say it was a successful second attempt!