Pumpkin (Japanese)
7 July 2009
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10 Comments
Ingredient Name: Pumpkin (Japanese variety)
Traditional Chinese Name: 南瓜 (nán guā)
The Japanese pumpkin is a popular variety of pumpkin available in Asia. It is smaller than your usual western orange pumpkin and far more sweet and is a great supplement for soups. It’s actually one of my favourite vegetables to add to soups and I especially love it when the pumpkin is semi-dissolved and extremely soft to eat. Some people may prefer to completely disintegrate the pumpkin so it becomes a thicker soup, but this is up to the individual tastes.
What is this?
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A gourd that is part of the squash family
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There are a variety of pumpkins that come in skin colours of orange, yellow, green, white, red and gray
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They are cooked in a variety of ways: boiled, in pies, soups, cakes, cookies, seeds, fried, baked, steamed, desserts
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Pumpkins provide a good source of carbohydrates and are extremely high in Vitamin A, C, and betacartone (the stuff that’s good for your eyes)
How do I prepare it?
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Pumpkins can be tricky to cut apart due to their thick shell (especially Japanese pumpkins)
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Cut the pumpkin into halves and quarters first using a large knife
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You can then slowly peel away the skin by resting the pumpkin flat on one-side and slicing away the skin
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Some people will boil the skin with the soup (although this completely up to you)
Where can I buy this?
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Most asian supermarkets will carry Japanese pumpkin
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Your local wet mart will also carry it
What is the cost?
- On average, a full-sized Japanese pumpkin will cost $30-$40 HKD
Any benefits?
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Pumpkins are extremely high in Vitamin A, C, and beta-carotene
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They are a good source of carbohydrates
Any precautions?
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Be careful of cutting pumpkins, it is not an easy task
Resources
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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It’s one of my favourite vegetables as well! Thought you might be interested in including this resource link as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabocha
Thank you for the link! And yes, it’s a deeee-licious addition to any meal!
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