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Post by inume on Oct 29, 2007 19:32:54 GMT -5
Pumpkin seeds seem to be a fairly common Asian snack. I was wondering if they were from New World pumpkins or if there was an Asian variety?
I asked my wife if she saw pumpkins when she taught English in China before we started going out (2000) and she said she never saw any, just the prepackaged bags of seeds.
So, does anyone know if the pumpkins of China and Japan are the orange North American kind or if there's an indigenous gourd that is similar?
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Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Oct 29, 2007 20:47:02 GMT -5
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Post by inume on Oct 30, 2007 10:34:29 GMT -5
NICE! Thank you very much, Makiwara-dono. That looks tasty. I'm a fan of pumpkin, so I'd love to try kabocha; that first recipe looks good (I also really love sweet potatoes).
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Post by Water_Tengu on Nov 8, 2007 21:32:03 GMT -5
i've heard of those are they like natto, and some people love them, but most hate them?
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Post by solveig on Nov 8, 2007 22:37:26 GMT -5
Noble Cousin! Greetings from Solveig! i've heard of those are they like natto, and some people love them, but most hate them? No. Cooked kabocha are not considered to be either "weird" or "difficult to eat" in Japan. And, yes they do appear either as a simmered/boiled vegetable or sliced thin in Tempura. Please remember that Tempura is actually a Portugese dish.
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Post by Water_Tengu on Nov 8, 2007 22:41:57 GMT -5
i see, i shall have to get some are they well known enough to be in a neighborhood Farmer's Market
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Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Nov 9, 2007 0:18:25 GMT -5
In your part of the country? You may have to see if you can hunt it down in an Asian specialty market. (And no, I am not MAILING people vegetables from California....)
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bovil
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Post by bovil on Nov 9, 2007 2:44:46 GMT -5
No. Cooked kabocha are not considered to be either "weird" or "difficult to eat" in Japan. And, yes they do appear either as a simmered/boiled vegetable or sliced thin in Tempura. Please remember that Tempura is actually a Portugese dish. I've had what I believe is kabocha tempura (yellowish flesh, green skin, usually a half- or quarter-ring). It's pretty common at the Japanese restaurants around here. Yummy, too...
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Post by Imagawa Tadamori on Nov 9, 2007 4:28:10 GMT -5
Does the flesh almost border on being crunchy? I have a favorite sushi roll that I get (they call it a 'gourd roll') at a local Japanese restaurant, and it meets the aforementioned description but its slightly crunchy.
Just curious.
- Rich
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madyaas
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Post by madyaas on Nov 9, 2007 12:18:21 GMT -5
Pumpkin seeds seem to be a fairly common Asian snack. I was wondering if they were from New World pumpkins or if there was an Asian variety? I asked my wife if she saw pumpkins when she taught English in China before we started going out (2000) and she said she never saw any, just the prepackaged bags of seeds. So, does anyone know if the pumpkins of China and Japan are the orange North American kind or if there's an indigenous gourd that is similar? The word pumpkin covers varieties of plants in both Curcurbita pepo and Curcurbita maxima. The Jack o Lantern pumpkins are usually varieties of Cucurbita pepo, but there are lots of ornamental varieties of C. maxima ( Squashes (which include pumpkins) are a meso American plant, so they aren't native to Japan. Gourds are a different genus - lagenaria (of which bottle gourds are a variety, as well as the edible Italian gourds called cucuzzi). I love squash, and the kabocha tempura is my favorite vegetable in that dish. If you've had squash, that is exactly what Kabocha is like. If you've never had squash, the flesh of cooked squash is usually fine textured, sweet, and soft yet firm like a red skinned potato.
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Post by Takeda Sanjuichiro on Nov 9, 2007 12:35:30 GMT -5
Does the flesh almost border on being crunchy? I have a favorite sushi roll that I get (they call it a 'gourd roll') at a local Japanese restaurant, and it meets the aforementioned description but its slightly crunchy. If it is a slightly translucent brown, it is not pumpkin... its kampyo, a popular marinated item used as a garnish or ingreedient in many of the more common foods. -Takeda
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Post by Imagawa Tadamori on Nov 9, 2007 12:44:31 GMT -5
Does the flesh almost border on being crunchy? I have a favorite sushi roll that I get (they call it a 'gourd roll') at a local Japanese restaurant, and it meets the aforementioned description but its slightly crunchy. If it is a slightly translucent brown, it is not pumpkin... its kampyo, a popular marinated item used as a garnish or ingreedient in many of the more common foods. -Takeda No, I know kampyo (its tasty too). The gourd in the 'gourd roll' is a pale yellow, like a pale butternut squash. - Rich
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madyaas
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Post by madyaas on Nov 9, 2007 12:55:15 GMT -5
No, I know kampyo (its tasty too). The gourd in the 'gourd roll' is a pale yellow, like a pale butternut squash. - Rich That's takuan, pickled daikon radish.
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Post by Imagawa Tadamori on Nov 9, 2007 15:05:19 GMT -5
No, I know kampyo (its tasty too). The gourd in the 'gourd roll' is a pale yellow, like a pale butternut squash. - Rich That's takuan, pickled daikon radish. Thank you! - Rich
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Post by solveig on Nov 9, 2007 23:15:01 GMT -5
Noble Cousin! Greetings from Solveig! i see, i shall have to get some are they well known enough to be in a neighborhood Farmer's Market I've occasionally seen them sold as, "kabocha", in regular supermarkets East of the Mississippi.
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