Dashi Braised Kabocha Squash

 Dashi Braised Kabocha 2

Now that fall's in full swing, the farmer's market is brimming with squash of every kind. My favorite of them all is kabocha, the most common in Japan. They're pretty much shelf stable, (about a month or so in a cool dry place), nutritious (the gorgeous color thanks to beta-carotene), and so versatile and easy to use. Once I start seeing them at the market, I pretty much always have my kitchen stocked with kabocha for the extra side dish to round out any meal. One of the more classic ways to use this squash is to braise it in dashi: Kabocha no Nimono (かぼちゃの煮物). With a hint of soy sauce and mirin, the smoky rounded flavors of the dashi shine through in every bite of kabocha.

Kabocha

So what's the best way to pick out the best kabocha out of the bunch? You want to look for a heavy and firm squash (it should be hard to dig your nail in). Kabochas are typically dark green but will have a patch of yellow/orange. Look for the ones with the darkest hues of orange as it's reflective of the color of the flesh. The more ripened the squash, the darker the color. The stem will feel like dry bark and there's no need to worry about small knobs.

Cutting Kabocha

Make sure to wash the kabocha well before using as the peel is used in the dish. As mentioned earlier, a ripe kabocha is very hard. Similar to other fall squash like butternut or acorn, cutting these is not always a walk in the park. The bottom side tends to be softer so I usually start off by removing the stem and flipping the kabocha upside down. Then I take the tip of my chef's knife and pierce vertically slightly off center. Be very careful with how you hold the kabocha so that you don't slip and have an accident. Angle down the knife while making sure to only pierce half the blade and work your way around the perimeter until you cut the kabocha in half. Place the cut side down for a flat surface and cut in half again.

At this point, if I'm braising, I will take a peeler and randomly peel sections of the kabocha skin. This will help the flavors of the seasoned dashi to be absorbed. Proceed to cut the quarter into bite sized pieces. Now the hardest part is over.

You can either speed things up by running  the kabocha under water and microwaving it for 3 minutes to parcook or proceed to braising. I like speedy cooking, especially for a side dish, so I let my microwave help me out.

Lay out the kabocha squash in one layer with the skin side down in a medium pot or frying pan with the braising broth. The broth should come up 3/4 of the way up the kabocha squash pieces. Cover the squash with a wet paper towel and almost close the lid and set the heat to medium high. The wet paper towel will serve as a cartouche (or you can use a traditional parchment paper cartouche) and keep the liquid from evaporating.  As the braising broth evaporates, it will hit the cartouche and fall back down on the squash, flavoring the top 1/4 .

If you've par cooked in the microwave, it should only take 8-10 minutes for the flavors to infuse. Otherwise keep cooking for another 5-10 minutes making sure to not overcook. Serve hot or at room temperature and enjoy!

Dashi Braised Kabocha

Dashi Braised Kabocha Squash
 
Recipe Type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Japanese
Author: Yukari
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 servings
Ingredients
  • 1/4 kabocha (should be around a pound)
  • 1 cup dashi
  • 1 tbsp usukuchi soy sauce (or regular)
  • 1 tbsp mirin
Instructions
  1. Peel the kabocha skin in random places (leave about 2/3 of the skin on)
  2. Cut the kabocha into bite size pieces
  3. (Optional) Run the kabocha under water, drain, and microwave in a heat safe container for 3 minutes
  4. Lay out the squash in one layer with the skin side down in a pot and add the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin
  5. Cover with a wet paper towel or parchment paper and close the lid with just enough space for some steam to escape
  6. Set the timer for 8-10 minutes if par cooked in the microwave or 15-20 minutes
  7. Once the kabocha is very tender (without falling apart) and infused with the braising broth, you're done!
 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quicker and Easier Shokupan

Image
  The  shokupan post  is without a doubt my most popular and I'm so grateful that people love it. I continue to make it on a weekly basis because our family loves toast for breakfast. Because I make it so often, I noticed that I don't always have the full 3 hours to devote to bread making. For the time constrained days, I simplify the ingredient list and use a food processor. It shaves off about 45 minutes from the original method. So I wanted to share with you the quicker version today. In fact, the food processor is a better tool for building up the gluten in shokupan. Since I don't have a dish washer and the food processor has so many parts to hand wash, I switch it up with the stand mixer when I have plenty of time to spare. If you are lucky enough to own a dishwasher, I highly recommend using the food processor. Step 1 - Measure: Before I do anything, I measure out 20g butter and cut it into small pieces so that it comes up to room temperature by the time I need it. Th
Read more

Shokupan

Image
  If you don't have 3 hours to devote to bread making and own a food processor, I've written up a quicker version  here !  EDITED (1/29/17): I've made this countless times now and have a few minor tweaks for an even fluffier bread. Main changes are upping the speed of the standmixer to 4 from 2 for more kneading, dividing the dough into 2 balls instead of 3, bench rest of 20 minutes instead of 10-15 minutes, and proofing the second round until the dough is about 4 inches in height. Also, I often skip the water roux and just add the flour and water portion into the dry and wet ingredients because 1) I'm lazy and 2) I freeze my bread once cooled and sliced so it stays fresh without the roux. I have updated the directions and recipe below for these changes.   There are countless recipes for Hokkaido milk bread on the internet, which is shokupan's sweeter cousin. It's absolutely delicious but too sweet for the daily bread. The shokupan is the true workhorse. It make
Read more

Mochi Cake

Image
  Mochi cake aka mochiko cake (餅粉ケーキ) is an amazingly simple cake that has the deliciously chewy texture of mochi. Typically in Hawaii, it's made using butter and coconut milk but I prefer the more simple version using canola oil and regular whole milk because I love spreading some jam on mine. I always keep mochiko (glutinous rice flour) in my pantry so it's an easy cake to make when I need a last minute dessert or snack to share with friends. The only item you'll need that's not a regular cake ingredient is the glutinous rice flour (explained  here  in another mochi based dessert post). They're available in most Asian supermarkets and they're usually $1 a bag. I like to keep these stashed away in my pantry because they're so useful for Japanese desserts. Also it's perfect for when you need to bake something gluten free (despite the name there's zero gluten). First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Then mix 2 eggs, 50g of sugar and 250ml (1 cup) of milk w
Read more