Day 94 - Kabocha-Udon Winter Stew

Kabocha-Udon Winter Stew

Given that spring is already upon us, I figured I'd better cook this before it got positively balmy!

Unfortunately, it seems as if kabocha squash has run its course this season. The only winter squash options for me at the store were butternut and acorn, so I went with butternut because it's easier to peel. (I know that supposedly you don't have to peel kabocha, but I don't enjoy eating that skin...)

I appreciate the reference in the recipe to the joys of shopping in Asian markets, because I definitely have the experience of oohing and aahing over everything and then going home either empty-handed or with stuff I already know how to use. So it was fun to pick up a few new things for this dish. Namely, fresh udon noodles and fried tofu pouches! 

I think I may have made a little mistake in the tofu pouch dept. I bought the ones that are pre-seasoned to make inari, those sweet, rice filled pouches you get in sushi restaurants. Ah well, so my stew was a little sweeter than it should have been. What with the shiitake mushrooms, kombu, and shoyu, there was plenty of umami to counterbalance it.

One of the recipe directions I was confused by is the one regarding the preparation of the leeks: "1 large leek, washed well and sliced into 1/2-inch lengths." I'm pretty sure if they meant 1/2" half moons, they would have said. So I literally cut 1/2" wide strips the length of the leek, about 4 or 5 inches long. It seemed weird at the time, but once they were cooked in the stew, it didn't seem so crazy anymore.

As warned, the butternut took longer than kabocha to cook to tenderness, but there didn't seem to be any ill effect to the rest of the ingredients. 

This stew was amazing! Salty, sweet, lots of depth, but also really clean-tasting, like all great Asian stews. This is nothing like the American or European stew tradition - no unctuousness whatsoever. Just a clear broth with lots of flavor, beautifully cooked vegetables, and some tofu pouches for fun. Oh, and udon noodles! How could I forget! Those thick, white noodles - fatter than any noodle should be, but fun to slurp. I love this!

SFO: 9
(some omnivores might be scared of the tofu pouches, but they can pick around them)