Itadakimasu - 2012/10/01 - Kabocha

The kabocha squashes I got from the store last week were tasteless :-(
When they are good, they don't need sugar when roasted and they have a really nice nutty taste.

I do have a bunch of Futsu recently harvested from the garden, so my fingers are crossed!

Oct. 1, Mon.
Authentic Japanese Cooking
Simmering Part 1 : Kabocha Pumpkin
Professional chef Mr. Saito will teach you Japanese cooking techniques. Today, in the primary simmering lesson, we'll learn how to simmer food with light seasonings. Kabocha pumpkin is delicately seasoned with soy sauce and sugar to highlight the pumpkin's original flavor.
Simmered Kabocha Pumpkin

[Ingredients] *Serves 2
300g kabocha pumpkin
400ml dashi stock
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
Boiled snow peas, for garnish
Lemon peel, cut into thin shreds, for garnish

[Method]

1. Cut the kabocha into halves, then remove the hard part of the shell. Remove the seeds by scooping with a spoon.

2. Cut into quarters then peel the skin, as if making spots.

3. Cut into 3 to 4 cm cubes, place in a pan, and pour in the dashi stock. Bring to a boil, over high heat.

4. Add the sugar and mirin, cover with a paper lid, and gently simmer over low heat. You don't want to move the kabocha in the liquid, simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the soy sauce, and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let cool, for 20 minutes.

6. Put in a serving bowl, and top with the snow peas and lemon peel. Pour in some of the simmering liquid.


Ground chicken sauce variation

[Ingredients] *Serves 2
150g ground chicken
2 tsp sake
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp potato starch or cornstarch
1 tbsp water
150ml simmering liquid from the kabocha pumpkin
6 snow peas
10g grated ginger

[Method]

1. Stir the ground chicken, sake and soy sauce in a pan and mix evenly. Then, turn on the heat. Continuously stirring with chopsticks until it crumbly.

2. The water coming out from the chicken has an odor, so drain it off.

3. Heat the simmering liquid from the kabocha in a saucepan, add the crumbled chicken , and thicken with a potato starch slurry.

4. Pour this thick sauce over the kabocha in a dish, and top with the snow peas and ground ginger.

Fried Kabocha Pumpkin and Mushroom Rice

[Ingredients] *Serves 2
1 4/5 cups /360ml short-grain rice or sushi rice
440 ml water
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp kombu-tea powdered

150g kabocha pumpkin
100g maitake mushroom
Vegetable oil for frying
1 tsp salt

[Method]

1. Place the washed rice, in a saucepan, add water, mirin, and kombu-tea powdered and stir.

2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cook over low heat for 10 minutes, and turn off the heat to steam for another 10 minutes.

3. Wrap the kabocha with damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute.

4. Cut the kabocha into 1 cm cubes. Tear or cut the maitake mushrooms into same sized pieces.

5. Deep-fry the kabocha cubes, and deep-fry the mushroom pieces as well.

6. Sprinkle the kabocha and mushrooms with salt in a bowl, mix in the rice, and it's done.

---

  Dropped video frames
  
    Found average frame timing of 33 ms
  
        Line     Duration (ms)    Time window
  No missing frames
  
  Total frames: 50399
  

---

This video has no dropped frames so has been marked as CFR by removing the timecodes. It will play on the PS3.

Get updates through the Hello Fun Time FaceBook page.
part 1 of 1: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?w0u59bmaq0r1l7t