Delicious is the word I would look for in a recipe. I also see pumpkins everywhere, butternut squash to be exact. Before I share my butternut squash rice recipe with you, let’s look at what the difference is between a pumpkin and squash. I looked it up and I learned that butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata), is known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin. It is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It taste a little sweet and nutty, similar to that of a pumpkin. The color is tan-yellow skin and the fleshy pulp is orange with seeds in the bottom compartment.
Now what is the difference? In general, a pumpkin is something you carve, a squash is something you cook, and a gourd is something you look at. What? Well, the answer is in the stem. Pumpkins, squashes and gours all belong to the same genetic family Cucurbita.
Oh and as an added benefit, butternut squash has more vitamin A than pumpkin.
Ok let’s talk butternut squash recipe, which involves a bit of stir-fry in the wok and my rice cooker. Once it is ready to be served get ready for a special aroma and the sweet taste of pumpkin, which is softly mashed and blended with the rice.
Serve with acar (sweet ‘n sour coleslaw/pickles with red beets for coloring).
Add some color with diced red bell pepper . Spice it up with sambal oelek.
All ingredients are available at Trader Joe’s, except for the Sambal Oelek. You can get that at any other major supermarket. Or as a chili sauce on the side serve with TJ’s sriracha sauce. For added crunch serve with krupuk. I get TJ’s ‘Veggie Sticks’ (a crispy snack made with potatoe, tomato and spinach).
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 5 oz grams pork belly diced or 3.5 oz. bacon strips
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 7 oz. butternut squash cubed
- 6 shiitake mushrooms caps diced
- 2 cups uncooked long-grained rice
- 2 cups water to cook the rice – equal part rice and water
- optional: 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- optional: 1 tbsp sambal oelek
- 1/2 bouillon cube on 2 cups water or replace water with bouillon
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- salt to taste
- coriander for garnishing
- cucumber for garnishing
METHOD
- Heat vegetable oil in wok and stir fry pork until cooked on the surface. If bacon used no oil needed. Set aside.
- Add onion and garlic. Stir fry until the onions until soft.
- Add mushrooms and squash. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add rice and stir fry briefly. Mix well.
- Transfer contents with cooked pork to the rice cooker.
- Add water and set rice cooker to COOK.
- After rice is cooked, stir with rice paddle until pumpkin is gently mashed. Season to taste with pepper and salt, if required.
- Keep warm for 5 minutes
- Serve with atjar and krupuk. In this recipe with kripik kentang ‘vegetable sticks’ made with potatoes, tomatoes and spinach’
Check out other recipes with rice, for instance the special Nasi Goreng.
©2019jeffkeasberry
