Kabocha no

This is a super easy side dish that can be served cold or warm, not to mention that is healthy and loaded with vitamin A and dietary fiber.

My parents had a lot of Japanese influence when growing up as was dominated by . In Brazil, we grew up eating a variety of Taiwanese, Japanese and Brazilian and most of the time I did not even know the name of the dishes. This recipe of no Nimono, meaning boiled or simmered kabocha was one of them.

Kabocha is one of my favorite pumpkin and besides, making , air-fry, roast, in , I love the no Nimono recipe as it is very practical.

If you get to try this simple and easy recipe please be careful when cutting the kabocha. Somehow, they are hardy and very hard to cut as compared to the other pumpkins. And yes, you can eat the skin…

– What is kabocha?

Kabocha is a Japanese pumpkin, and its texture is denser than the other species. It carries a sweet touch., and the flesh is dark orange.

– That is no Nimono?

“no Nimono” in Japanese means simmered…and is a classic Japanese dish. The pieces of kabocha are simmered in a that is savory and sweet. And they taste better when it’s made ahead and stored in the broth for a while, so each piece is loaded with the broth flavor.

The kabocha has a very distinctive texture as compared to the other pumpkins, once cooked is very creamy and rich despite of the hard texture when raw.

– Are you ready to try this very simple and yet so tasty kabocha?

Like all the recipes I share, it is up to you to add a bit more of or , it all depends of your liking so please feel free to experiment. Ingredients:

1 medium kabocha, a little more the 1 kg (2 lbs) 500 ml of water 4 tablespoons light soy 4 tablespoons sugar (if you like sweeter, add 1 extra tablespoon) 5 tablespoons 5 tablespoons

Method:

Wash the kabocha by scrubbing the skin. Cut into approximately 3-4 cm (1.5 inch).

In am medium pan add the kabocha, and all the listed ingredients. Bring to boil and lower the heat to a simmer, leaving the lid slightly ajar (to let the steam escape).

Simmer until the kabocha softened, approximately 20-25 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Cover and let the kabocha sit in the broth until cool. Place in the refrigerator once cool.

Serve cold or reheat to serve.

– Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Check these out…

Did you know that kabocha, like all the pumpkins are a rich source of vitamin A and C? Not only has low-calorie, the kabocha squash is rich in iron, vitamin B, beta-carotene, copper, magnesium, many antioxidants, also contain dietary fiber.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Oden, a Japanese Dish

This is a typical and traditional dish from the Japanese . It is like a with all kind of fish cake, , (dry seeweed) in a a kombu and dry fish broth. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones…I made it back from Chicago and survived the freezing temperature just a few days in Chicago made me realize how good I have it here in California…

This week I am sharing with you something very different…a traditional Japanese dish…Yes, you might be asking, how and why I made this very traditional Japanese dish…first of all it is delicious, especially when it is cold out there, and second, believe it or not, my parents, mainly my dad grew up when Taiwan was occupied by Japan, therefore both my parents read and speak Japanese…no need to mention that Japanese food was very common when I was growing up, even after we moved to Brazil. My mom is a great cook, and many of the dishes that I treasured I learned from her…she can make anything taste good…in spite of her age, she is always looking and sharing new recipes with us. Anyway, to make the very long story short…which I did not…I learned this dish from my mom.

Oden is a traditional Japanese dish and it is based on the broth made with fish (mainly bonito) and kombu (seaweed). All the other ingredients are cooked in this light broth and you can add almost whatever you want. I just picked a few ingredients from the local Japanese store and made this very tasty dish. The trick is to cook ingredients by adding them according to their time, so at the end you have all the ingredients with the right texture, not over cooked or underdone.

Ingredients:

Dashi soup for the oden

2 liters water Dried bonito fish Kombu (about 15 inches) 50 ml of sake ⅓ cup 1½ tablespoons sugar

Oden ingredients of your choice

2 daikon radish, peeled and cut into approximately 1 ½ inch Tied konnyaku Plate of various stick and patties

Method:

Clean the kombu, by rinsing quickly and cut into small strip and tie a knot

Boil water in a large pot, add the dried bonito and kombu to extract the flavor. Strain the soup with a clean cloth.

Add the daikon radish in the dashi soup base and cook until slightly soft. In the meantime, prepare the konnyaku by slicing and making a slit in the middle. Insert on end through the slit. Set aside.

In another big pot, boil water and quickly blanch all the ingredients before adding to the main pot. Once all the ingredients are place into the main pot, cover and let it simmer for one hour.

Serve hot and if desired, dip them in hot . If you enjoy this Japanese inspired recipe, you want to take a look at the Asian Inspired Recipes from Color Your Recipes.

Did you know that similar dishes like Oden are made in Taiwan and South Korea? This dishes are very commonly sold in small carts as a street food. In Taiwan, oden version is offered in convenience store as well.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week! Cotton Soft Cheesecake

This is a recipe for a very light cheesecake, it is inspired by . The cheesecake is literally a cake, there is no crust like the conventional cheesecake. The cake is served with a layer of orange glaze.

I have made this kind of cottony cheesecake before, this time I decided to make it small, really small…and topped with orange glaze.

If you have not had a chance to try this cheesecake, I urge you to give this try…it is very different from the “classic” cheesecake…the texture of this cheesecake is very light, so light that almost melt in your mouth…there is no crust, therefore is it a “cake”.

This recipe was adapted from Table for 2…I mainly adjusted the ratio.

Ingredients:

45 g sugar 2 eggs separated Pinch of cream of tartar Pinch salt 10 g butter 84 g cream cheese 60 ml of milk 20 g cake flour 16 g corn starch ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Orange Glaze

2 tablespoon marmalade 1 teaspoon lemon juice ½ tablespoon water

Method:

Preheat oven at 315F. Prepare the pan by covering with parchment paper.

In a small bowl sift together the cake flour and corn starch.

Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the egg yolks. Add the pinch of salt and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and mix gently until well blended.

Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

Fold in approximately 1/3 of the egg white into the cream cheese mixture and mix gently with a spatula just all the ingredients are incorporated. Add the remaining of the egg white to the cream cheese mixture and again, fold in very gently and not deflating the egg white. Pour the into the prepared cake pan. Place the cake pan in a tray and add hot water.

Bake the cheesecake in a water bath for approximately 45 to 50 minute or until set and golden brown.

Turn off the oven and leave the oven door slightly open for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently remove the cheesecake from the pan. Let it cool completely before adding the glaze.

Orange Glaze

Place all the ingredients in a small pan. Heat over medium by mixing constantly until the marmalade is all dissolved. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

Pass the glaze through a mesh.

Cover the cheesecake with the orange glaze. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Serve cold.

If you enjoy this Asian inspired cheesecake, you might want to take a look at Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake or Yogurt Cake with Blueberry recipes.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!