Kabocha & Chicken in Tomato Cream Sauce (20 min recipe)

Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) is a favorite amongst the Japanese as it is very rich in nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamin C, iron and potassium.


Although we try to incorporate it into our daily meals, we often struggle with keeping it exciting!

I found an interesting recipe that puts a spin on traditional steamed kabocha recipes.  I have yet to try this recipe out myself so I apologize as I do not have any photos.  I'm posting this recipe for my friend so I hope she will make it for us and share with us her photos! She is much more talented in cooking and photography (my food photos are a disaster)  so I look forward to hearing from her.

I would also love to hear your feedback and see photos of your rendition of this recipe.


Ingredients (for 2):

Boneless, skin-on chicken thighs	1 piece (600g)
Kabocha (seeds removed)	1/4 (400g)
Onion	1 small or 1/2 medium
Garlic	1 clove
Butter or EVO	1 teaspoon
Flour	2 tablespoons
* Diced tomatoes in a can	2 cans (14.5 oz each)
* Cooking Sake	50mL
* Water	1 cup
* Milk	1 cup
* Sugar	1 tablespoon
* Chicken stock powder	1 tablespoon
Salt & Pepper	1 pinch each
Cream or plain yogurt	optional (for garnish)
Fresh or dried parsley	optional (for garnish)

How to:

1. Cut chicken thighs & kabocha into bite size pieces. *keep the skin on the kabocha.  
2. Thinly slice garlic and onions and set aside.
3. Heat butter or EVO in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the chicken thighs (skin side down) until they're lightly brown in color (does not have to be cooked through).
4. Add onions, garlic and kabocha in with the chicken and lightly mix together.
5. When the onions soften up and turns translucent in color, add the flour and stir together.
6. Once the flour is mixed in well (can't see traces of white powder), add the ingredients in *asterisks *  and simmer on low heat (do not cover with lid).
7. Simmer on low heat until the kabocha becomes tender (pierce with a fork or toothpick).
8. You may notice the liquid evaporating while it simmers but do not add water.
9. Take a taste and season with salt and pepper according to  your liking.
10. You can lightly drizzle some cream or plain yoghurt to jazz it up & sprinkle some parsley.

Helpful tips:

For a healthier option, you can substitute the "skin-on" chicken thighs for skinless.

Be sure to brown the chicken thoroughly as the more you brown it, the rich in flavour it will be.

**As stated, I have not tried this recipe yet so please be mindful that the portion sizes might be different from our North American expectations. I find that Japanese dishes are usually smaller in size (I guess they eat less than we do).  

Special Mention/Credits:

This recipe was posted on cookpad.com by Ayu Kajiwara-san. You can find the original recipe along with photos here http://cookpad.com/recipe/1646801 .

Disclaimer:

The original content was taken from a Japanese website cookpad.com. The original recipe was posted by a user on the site. It is not my own. I am simply translating the recipe in English to share with my friends. I am not responsible for the content, outcome or anything else for that matter!  But if your family ends up lovin' it you can treat me to coffee hehe!

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