Pumpkin Purin is a Japanese-Western fusion dessert that combines Western-style custard pudding (called “Purin” in Japanese) with Japanese kabocha squash, a widely popular sweet pumpkin variety. While its exact origins are unknown, it has long been a staple at Western-style confectionery shops and bakeries in Japan, eventually becoming established as a beloved dessert that’s also popular to make at home.
Nimono is usually seasoned with combinations of soy sauce, sugar, Sake or Mirin that give vegetables sweet and salty flavors. The seasoned broth in Nimono is not soup to drink, but only to give vegetables flavoring. It gives mild flavorings to vegetables and enhances the taste of the vegetables.
Japanese pumpkin, Kabocha, is very dense and sweet, different from pumpkin in the US. In Japan, Kabocha is in season in winter, and this dish reminds me of winter time there. When Kabocha is cooked, the inside becomes bright orange. Kabocha’s thick and dense texture is closer to sweet potatoes than squash. Kabocha no Nimono usually has a sweeter broth than some other kinds of Nimono. But you can change to your liking.
Kabocha is very hard to cut when it’s raw, so please be careful. First stab it with knife, then cut down. Trim the sharp edges of the rind from the cut pieces of Kabocha. That’s supposed to help Kabocha from dissolving, according to my mother.
If you like yam on Thanksgiving, you’d like this dish, just not as sweet. It could be a side dish to an American main dish such as roast chicken or meatloaf. Or with any kind of Japanese main dish, of course.
Kabocha is available at many supermarkets in the US.
