Servings: 4
Kabocha no Nimono (Simmered Kabocha Squash) かぼちゃの煮物
Simmered kabocha squash is a Japanese home-cooking staple. The naturally sweet pumpkin becomes even more delicious and tender when cooked in a savoury-sweet sauce. This is an easy side dish that everyone will love!
Ingredients
- ¼ Kabocha squash pumpkin *1
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbs sugar *2
- 1 tbs sake *3
- 1 tbs mirin *4
- 1 tbs soy sauce
Instructions
- Peel and seed the pumpkin then cut it into even sized chunks.*5
- Round off each corner of the pumpkin pieces. *6
- Lay the cut pumpkin skin side down in a pot without leaving any gaps and without overlapping.
- Add dashi, sugar, sake, and mirin and bring them to boil then turn the heat down to medium heat. Cook about 15 minutes or until the kabocha becomes soft.
- Once it has boiled, turn the heat down to low, and add soy sauce. Put a drop-lid (Otoshibuta) on to the Kabocha pieces directly and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked. *7
- Once it has boiled, turn the heat down to low, and add soy sauce. Put a drop-lid (Otoshibuta) on to the Kabocha pieces directly and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked. *7
- Garnish with chopped ginger. (optional)
Notes
*1 average Kabocha squash weighs approximately 35Ounce/1kg
*2 In the ingredients photo, I used brown sugar but you can use caster sugar.
*3 If you don't have and don't have access to sake, it can be substituted by Chinese wine or dry sherry.
*4 If you don't have and don't have access to mirin, you can omit it or it can be substituted by caster sugar.
*5 If you have a whole kabocha squash, it is very hard so need to be careful when you cut. Read how to cut in the post. After removing the seeds, you can microwave it to make it softer to cut.
*6 This step is not only for aesthetic reason, but also make it keep its shape.
*7 if you don't have an otoshibuta, make your own. The instruction is in the post above.
Nutrition
Calories: 56kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 0.1g, Saturated Fat: 0.01g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 289mg, Potassium: 207mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 769IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 19mg, Iron: 0.4mg