Move over Butternut Squash. Out of the way Spaghetti Squash. Get outta here pumpkin.
There's a new squash in town.
Actually, there's nothing new about Kabocha squash other than the fact that it is the most underrated, slept-on squash of the squash family. Sweeter than most and has the smooth, creamy texture of a pumpkin, it's perfect for everything you want to make this fall to keep you warm.
To cook, you can usually keep the skin on, MAKING IT EASY TO COOK WITH. None of this trying to peel the other skin nonsense of other squashes. Kabocha becomes super soft when cooked so keeping the skin helps it keep some shape. Otherwise, it tends to dissolve into soups, which isn't entirely a bad thing either.
Use Kabocha in your favourite squash soup or stew or try out this warm, winter noodle recipe.
15 min
30 min
4 pers
Main
Ingredients
Hoto Soup Base
- 1 Cup (Men)Tsuyu soup base - can be found with the soy sauce at your local Asian market. Pictured below.
- 4 Cups water
- 3 Tbsp Miso
- Make your own Tsuyu using:
- 1/2 cup Soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Mirin
- 1/4 cup Sake
Alternative: to make this more accessible, make a soup stock out of what you have like soy sauce, vegetable stock, dashi, etc. You want an umami soup base and the KABOCHA will add a nice creamy, sweetness.
Hoto Ingredients
- ½ medium kabocha
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 5 leaves napa cabbage
- Add mushrooms, leek, green onion, daikon, spinach, or other veg of your choice if you wish.
- Tofu (vegetarian option)
- Cubed chicken breast or sliced pork loin
- Flat, wide, hoto noodles, substitute udon noodles or Chinese pulled noodles instead. Pictured below.
Directions
Step 1
Prepare your soup base by combining the Tsuyu and water or a combination of the above-listed ingredients EXCEPT MISO, which we will add at the end to preserve the probiotics. Make sure there's enough liquid to cover the veggies and cook the noodles.
Step 2
Cut the kabocha in half and clean the seeds out. Cube the kabocha and place into soup base.
Start heating the soup base with lid on at medium heat. Let it slowly come to boil as you add the rest of your veg.
Step 3
Prepare the rest of your veggies, starting with by thinly slicing onion, cutting root veg into ¼ rounds, and cutting the leafy greens into bite sized pieces.
Add each veg to the soup base as you finish preparing so it has time to cook. Save leafy greens such as spinach on the side so it doesn't overcook.
Step 4
Prepare your protein of choice by cubing or thinly slicing.
Add them in once your veg have become soft, about 10 min of boiling soup stock. Check the kabocha for softness as it will take the longest.
Step 5
Once your meat is nearly cooked add the rest of your leafy greens and noodles and let cook according to the noodle package. Roughly 5-7 min.
Make sure to stir the noodles so they don't clump together. You can also take this time to gently break up the kabocha to give the soup a creamy texture.
Step 6
Turn off the heat of the soup.
Lastly, add your miso by placing miso into a ladle and adding a bit of the soup to the ladle. Mix the two together to help dissolve the miso into a water paste then add to the rest of the soup base and mix thoroughly.
