Inspiration
I’ve been loving Japanese simmered kabocha lately. I buy the squash at my local Costco. It comes cleaned and cut into chunks. The shoyu sugar flavor has always been a favorite, especially as a side dish at local okazuya spots. Inspired by this ingredient and some other local produce, I put together a Kabocha Salad that I can enjoy for lunch throughout the week.
Keep reading to get the recipe for the simmered kabocha, the other ingredients in the salad, and some other tips and information.
What is Kabocha?
Kabocha is a type of squash that is often called Japanese pumpkin. It is round like a small pumpkin. Its skin is green and fairly thick. When cooked, you can keep the skin on and eat it, too. The inside of the kabocha is a bright orange color. When cooked, it has the texture of a sweet potato.
Kabocha is great in a variety of recipes. Often prepared as a side dish, I have also used it in curry and chili.
Simmered Kabocha Recipe
For this particular salad, I used the recipe posted by Japanese Delight on food.com. It’s incredibly easy and uses just a few ingredients: 1 lb of kabocha, 3/4 cup dashi, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. You put all ingredients in a pan at high heat until it starts to boil. Then you bring it to low and simmer until most of the liquid is gone.
It tastes great warm and cold. For the salad, I recommend it cold. If you’re meal prepping it, let it cool before assembling your salad.
Japanese Cucumber from Hawaii Farming
Also purchased from our local Costco, I used locally-grown, Japanese cucumber for this recipe. It’s a product of Hawaii Farming LLC and grown on the Big Island.
Long and skinny, these cucumbers are known to be less bitter. The packaging says they are best kept at room temperature.
I diced 1 cucumber and split it between 3 prepared salads.
Spicy Microgreen Mix from Terukina Farms
While exploring the produce aisles of Foodland here in Hawaii, I came across a small container of Spicy Microgreen Mix from Terukina Farms. The 2 oz container contained a mix of radish, mustard, and amaranth. 2 oz may not sound like a lot but it packs a lot of flavor, and you’ll have a lot to use in multiple salads or other dishes.
I think it’s important to note that I’m moving more towards really tasting and appreciating the flavors of different greens. Although I love a good salad dressing, I’m trying to use salad ingredients that add a lot of flavor on their own. I think that’s exactly what this spicy mix does.
It adds a some kick to a salad and would also be delicious on rice with a protein (I’m thinking a delicious piece of fish!).
The Super Greens, Maui Onion, and Sensei Tomatoes
Used in my last salad recipe, I used the Organic Girl Super Greens Mix for my base, diced Maui Onion, and some mini tomatoes from Sensei Farms on Lāna’i. All of these ingredients were also purchased from Foodland in Hawaii.
Kabocha Salad
A delicious and flavorful salad that you can prepare ahead of time.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3 salads 1x
- Category: salad
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Simmered Kabocha
- 1 lb Kabocha Chunks (I used the 1.25 lb package from Costco and it came out good)
- 3/4 cup dashi (I used 1/2 tsp of Hondashi mixed into boiling water)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons shoyu
Salad
- 6 cups Organic Girl Super Greens (or use the greens of your choice)
- 1 Japanese Cucumber diced
- 12 mini tomatoes halved
- Spicy Microgreens (2 oz container)-You won’t use nearly all of it.
- 1/2 onion diced
Instructions
- Prepare your simmered kabocha by putting all ingredients into a large pan and bringing to a boil. Bring the heat to low and let it cook, until most of the liquid is gone. Allow it to cool and refrigerate for a few hours.
- Assemble your salads. The ingredients make 3 small salads for meal prepping purposes.
- Put 2 cups of greens in each of your 3 meal containers.
- Distribute approximately 4 oz of kabocha in each container. You will have leftover kabocha.
- Distribute your Japanese cucumber, tomatoes, and onion equally.
- I added a pinch of Spicy Microgreens to each salad.
Notes
The ingredients listed make 3 individual salads that you can pack up and take to work. I would eat it within 3 days or less to ensure that the ingredients stay fresh.
Keywords: kabocha salad, kabocha, simmered kabocha, microgreens
Find it online: https://stylepreservation.com/2022/04/14/kabocha-salad/
There really are so many different natural plant flavors to experiment with in your salad. Let me know if you try this salad!