Today is all about the Kabocha pumpkin. The skin of these smallish gems are mostly green and with a flare of orange. You’ll find them all over Asia and Oceania, including this week’s Global Table – Kiribati. Technically I think they’re a squash – like butternut. The inside looks just like the vibrant orange of a butternut, in fact.
| Servings |
| 6 people |
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Today is all about the Kabocha pumpkin. The skin of these smallish gems are mostly green and with a flare of orange. You’ll find them all over Asia and Oceania, including this week’s Global Table – Kiribati. Technically I think they’re a squash – like butternut. The inside looks just like the vibrant orange of a butternut, in fact.
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Ingredients
- 5 cups kabocha squash , cubed
- 15 oz coconut milk (1 can)
- 1/3-1/2 cup sugar
Servings: people
Units:
Instructions
- First, deal with the pumpkin. You might as well turn on a good radio show – this might take a while. Any labor of love does… (1) Cut the pumpkin in half and remove seeds. (2) Cut each half into strips. (3) Peel the strips (4) Cut the strips into cubes.
- Now for the fun part. Tie about 5 pandan leaves into in a knot (you can add more to taste). I found mine in the frozen section at Nai Hai Asian Market. The pandan leaves give the most haunting flavor to sweets – absolutely indescribable (at best I’ll say they are sweet, green and soft – floral and intoxicating the way a good vanilla extract can be – but yet so, so different), but once you’ve had it you can detect it in just about anything. Now, add pumpkin and pandan to medium pot with a steady stream of coconut milk and a heavy sprinkling of sugar snow… Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until tender. Taste and add more sugar as desired.