Simmered Kabocha Squash (Kabocha no Nimono)
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 日本各地
Servings: 3〜4人分
Simmered Kabocha Squash (Kabocha no Nimono) is a home-style vegetable dish. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.
Ingredients
- Kabocha squash 1/4 (400 g trimmed)
- Water 200 ml
- Sugar 2 tbsp
- Mirin 1 tbsp
- Soy sauce 1 1/2 tbsp
- Sake 1 tbsp
Steps
- Scoop out the seeds and pulp of the kabocha with a spoon and cut it into roughly 4 cm pieces. Peel off the skin in patches (leaving it mottled) and shave the edges thinly to bevel them.
- Arrange the kabocha in a pot skin side down in a single layer, without overlapping.
- Add the water, sake and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover with a drop lid and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Add the mirin and soy sauce, replace the drop lid and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until a bamboo skewer slides in easily.
- Remove the drop lid and reduce for 1–2 minutes, gently shaking the pot, until the liquid has decreased. Do not stir with chopsticks, as the kabocha will break apart.
- Turn off the heat and leave it for about 10 minutes to absorb the flavor, then serve.
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Notes
Peeling the skin in patches and beveling the edges keeps the kabocha from falling apart, helps it absorb the flavor and makes it look attractive.
The moisture of kabocha varies with variety and season. Use a little more water for a dry, fluffy kabocha and a little less for a watery one.
It is also delicious cold, so it suits bento boxes and make-ahead meals. It keeps for about 3 days in the refrigerator.
On the winter solstice, some regions simmer kabocha together with azuki beans to make "itokoni".
Origin and history
Kabocha no nimono is kabocha squash simmered in sugar and soy sauce until sweet, salty and flavorful, and it is one of the most typical side dishes of Japanese home cooking.
Kabocha is said to have been brought to Kyushu by Portuguese ships around the 16th century. A well-known theory holds that its name is a corruption of "Cambodia", because the ships of the time came by way of Cambodia.
Because it keeps well and is highly nutritious, many regions preserve the saying that eating kabocha on the winter solstice keeps colds away, and it has long been enjoyed as a solstice food. Its fluffy sweetness pairs well with the saltiness of soy sauce, making it a flavor loved by all generations, good with rice and in bento alike.