Simmered pumpkin is very popular side dish in Japan. This dish is one of the most comfort food for us. The taste of pumpkin with dashi is good flavor. It's important to keep the shape of pumpkin good, so simmer for a short time. Thereby there are some tips in this recipe to prepare to simmer.
Prepare the all the ingredients.
Remove the seeds from the pumpkin with a spoon.
Cut it into 3-4cm pieces evenly. First cut it 3cm thick slices, then Divide them into 3 or 4 equal parts.
Skin the several parts of the pumpkin with a knife so that the seasonings will soak well. Thinly slice the skin.
You don't need to skin the pumpkin, but remove the skin like this picture.
Sprinkle the pumpkin with the sugar.
This picture shows that the moisture come from the pumpkin by sugar. It's easy to absorb the seasonings.
Put the dashi, water, mirin, sake and the pumpkin to a pot. Heat it up on medium heat.
When it boils, skim the scum, and reduce the heat.
Put a small lid directly on the pumpkin. Use a an aluminum foil or a parchment paper. Cut them into a circle or fold them towards the inside to make it smaller than the pot. Finally, make several small holes in it.
Simmer it for 5 minutesMake sure that the heat is not too strong and small. If the heat is strong, it's easy for the pumpkin to fall apart.
Add the soy sauce, and continue to simmer it for 5 minutes. Adding the soy sauce at the end, the taste except for it can be absorbed easily.
Make sure the pumpkin is soft by putting a bamboo skewer in the pumpkin.
Serving Size 2
Servings 0
