Japanese cuisine · Vegetable Dishes

Kabocha no Soboro Ankake

Tender pumpkin chunks under a thickened dashi sauce with crumbly ground chicken.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 800 g kabocha squash
• 250 g ground chicken
• 500 ml dashi
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp potato starch
• 1 scallion

Instructions

1. Seed the pumpkin and cut into 4 cm pieces with the skin on, rounding off the edges slightly so they don't fall apart while cooking.
2. Place the pumpkin pieces cut-side down in a wide pot, add 300 ml dashi, sugar, mirin and sake, cover and cook over low heat for 15 min. until a skewer slides in without resistance.
3. Carefully lift out the pieces, keep warm, and leave the remaining broth in the pot.
4. Add the ground chicken with the grated ginger to the broth and cook over medium heat for 5 min., stirring constantly with a whisk, until finely crumbled and cooked through white.
5. Add the remaining 200 ml dashi and the soy sauce, bring to a boil and stir in the potato starch mixed with 4 tbsp cold water; keep stirring for 1–2 min. until the sauce thickens clear and coats the back of a spoon.
6. Divide the pumpkin among bowls, spoon the hot chicken sauce over it and serve sprinkled with finely sliced scallion rings.