As I was shopping for our sushi dinner at the Japanese grocery store this morning, I walked through the produce section and was reminded of a phone conversation I had with my friend Jennifer a couple weeks ago. Some how we were talking about gourds or was it soup? Anyways, I mentioned that I really like Japanese pumpkin tempura style and should make a soup out of it. It’s totally different and yet the same as American pumpkin. Let me explain.
First, a Japanese pumpkin is green on the outside and a little flatter than a round American pumpkin.
In our conversation, Jen asked if I was talking about acorn squash. No, these are definitely different, I insisted. Pictured below is acorn squash for sale only at the Commissary on base. The Japanese pumpkin is only for sale in the Japanese grocery store.
The most common way Japanese pumpkin is sold is in quarters.
While I was shopping, I noticed a package of some sort of pumpkin sauce for ¥100 or about $1.00.
Using my best deductive Japanese reading strategies (Google Translate) and the pictures, I decided to purchase a quarter of pumpkin and a package of sauce. The picture on the top center of the package is a pumpkin with 1/4 written over it.
The seeds appear to be the same as American pumpkin seeds. The guts have a denser and less stringy consistency.
From the directions on the back, I scooped out the seeds and microwaved it for about 5 minutes.
When the pumpkin was done cooking, I added the sauce and cilantro. Just like the picture.
It actually tasted pretty good. I ate it for my lunch today. The pumpkin had the consistency of a sweet potato and tasted like pumpkin. I will definitely consider incorporating it into a meal in the future. I think Dave would like it. Mainly, because it is served with cilantro – his favorite! In the meantime, if you have a recipe for pumpkin soup, please share it with me! I’m up for the challenge now that it feels and looks more like Autumn!