Since it’s pumpkin month, I’ve been devouring my fair share of the orange squash, that is to say, all of it. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin loaves, pumpkin pie … I finally started thinking more savory after my fill of pumpkin sweets. What a versatile ingredient pumpkin is, to switch from a pumpkin flan to a pumpkin chili without blinking. It’s the kind of sweet that pairs well with salty foods, and the texture is easy to work with.
Kabocha is the sweetest of the pumpkins I eat, and here in Hawaii, it’s easy to find. Nowadays it’s even simpler, since there is frozen cooked kabocha at most of our island grocery stores. This also means I don’t have to find a use for the entire squash.
Kabocha tends to do best when it’s cooked in a lot of liquid. I’ve baked and roasted many of them, but if you want a soft, silky skin, braise or simmer the kabocha. It also thickens liquids, making this soup more stew-like. After cooking a simple kabocha and mochi stew, I found it comforting, but I wanted something to break up the flavors that almost melted together. That’s where the pistou came in.
I’m not sure why a pistou has to be reserved for European-style dishes. A pistou is similar to a tangy pesto that you drizzle over veggie and bean soups, or serve as a dip for a crusty bread to give your meal a little punch. It’s similar to a chimichurri, but less acidic. The bright green sauce doesn’t blend in completely with the dish, making it a condiment that stands out but doesn’t overwhelm, if that’s possible. While it’s usually made with basil, this cilantro- and ginger-flavored “pistou” works better with this Japanese-style stew. If I find a good source for shiso leaves, I might try that next.
P.S. Use good chicken stock or make it yourself. There are butchers that make healing broths, the kind that have been simmered with bones (ghoulishly appropriate for this month) and are near gelatinous after cooling. But for accessibility’s sake, use what you can find. The bag of chicken ginseng stew found at Korean markets works well as a base, too. If you have some bits of meat left from stock-making to add to the stew, even better.
Kabocha Stew with Cilantro Pistou
Ingredients for the stew:
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups frozen diced kabocha (cooked)
• 1 cup small garaetteok or sliced dry or frozen rice cakes
• 1 cup bunapi mushrooms
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion for garnish
Ingredients for the pistou:
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
Directions:
Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. If your chicken stock is not salted, you’ll want to add salt now and make sure it’s well seasoned. The sweeter ingredients will absorb the salt during cooking. Drop the kabocha and rice cakes in and cover, turning the heat to high. When it begins simmering again, add the mushrooms and cook until the rice cakes and kabocha are soft and heated through, 3-5 minutes.
Either grind with a mortar and pestle or use a small food processor to make the pistou. Blend or crush the cilantro, olive oil, sesame oil, salt, ginger and garlic. Using a mortar and pestle will give it more texture if you prefer that.
To serve, put the soup in a shallow bowl and sprinkle with green onion. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of the pistou sauce over the soup and eat immediately.
Serves 4-6.
Mariko Jackson writes about family and food. Email her at thelittlefoodie@gmail.com.
