Kabocha Squash Thai Flower on a bed of Quinoa
Roasted Kabocha squash filled with spicy yellow Thai curry loaded with vegetables and curried tofu on multi color quinoa bed! Sounds so fancy, right? It tastes so damn good as well! This I would say is my most creative dish so far, and I am so proud and happy to share it with you all! This dish is not just fancy, it is also very nutritious, dairy-free, gluten-free and completely plant-based!
This fall season I went all out on getting all different kind of squashes! This is the first time I came across Kabocha Squash, a Japanese squash. Kabocha has an exceptional sweet flavor, even sweeter than butternut squash. It is similar in texture and flavor to a pumpkin and sweet potato combined. Some kabocha can taste like Russet potatoes or chestnuts. The rind/skin is edible although some cooks may peel it to speed up the cooking process or to suit their personal taste preferences.
Kabocha is commonly utilized in side dishes and soups, or as a substitute for potato or other squash varieties. It can be roasted after cutting the squash in half, scooping out the seeds, and then cutting the squash into wedges. With a little olive oil and seasoning, it can be baked in the oven. Likewise, cut Kabocha halves can be added to a pressure cooker and steamed under high pressure for 15-20 minutes.
I decided to roast the whole squash and fill it up with delicious yellow Thai curry. This squash is very sweet and that compliments the spiciness and creaminess of the Thai curry! Serving the whole squash as a flower might not be practical for some, in that case, I would add roasted squash cubes (with or without skin) to the curry right after adding curried tofu and veggies. Mix it well and serve it over boiled quinoa!
My family enjoyed this unique dish very much, I hope yours does too!
Happy and Healthy Eating!
Kabocha Squash Thai Flower on a bed of Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 Kabocha Squash
- 3 cup Cooked Quinoa
Yellow Thai Curry Paste
- 1 tbsp Grated Ginger
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 5 Dry Whole Thai Red Chili
- 3-4 Scallions
- ½ bunch Cilantro
- 3-4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
- 1 stalk Lemongrass
- 2 tbsp Curry Powder
- 2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- ¼ Lime Wedge
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Oil Peanut or coconut oil
Curries Tofu
- 16 oz Extra Firm Organic Tofu
- 2 tbsp Curry Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Peanut Oil
Thai Curry
- 13 oz Unsweetened Full Fat Coconut Milk
- 13 oz Unsweetened Low Fat Coconut Milk
- ¼ cup Yellow Thai Curry Paste ingredients listed above
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 cup Sliced Yellow Sweet Onions
- 1 cup Sliced Red Bell Pepper
- 1 cup Sliced Carrots
- 1 cup Sugar Snap Peas
- ½ cup Chopped Scallions
- ½ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 1 tsp Sugar or maple syrup (both optional)
- 3 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
- 1-2 tsp Salt or as per needed
Instructions
Make Yellow Curry Paste
- Soak 5-6 dry red thai chilis in hot water for 10 minutes.
- Blend all the yellow curry paste ingredients listed above along with soaked dry red chilis in a blender or food processor to make a smooth thick paste.
- This paste stays good in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze it in cubes and use it whenever you need, that makes the cooking little faster.
Roast Kabocha Squash
- Preheat oven on 400°F.
- Using short sharp knife, carefully cut around squash stem to make a 4-inch lid. I find it easier to partially cut around the stem by making small cuts with the knife around the stem and then go around again to cut the stem completely.
- Once the lid is cut and separated from the squash, scrape out and discard seeds from the lid and squash.
- Brush interior of the squash and inside of the lid with some oil, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
- Place the prepared squash on a baking sheet with the lid on partially.
- Roast the squash for 40 minutes. Check if the squash is cooked by pocking it with a toothpick or a knife. If you can insert it into the squash without much effort, that means it is done.
- While squash is roasting, let's prepare rest of the stuff.
Prepare Carried Tofu
- Press the tofu to get rid of access water. Cut it in cubes and coat each cube with curry powder and salt. Keep it aside for 15 minutes. While waiting for the tofu to marinate a little, saute all the vegetables using instructions below.
- After 15 minutes, saute curried tofu carefully in 3 tbsp of oil making sure all the sides of the tofu cubes get crispy without breaking/crumbling.
- Keep curried tofu on side.
Saute Veggies
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan.
- Saute sliced onions in oil for 2-3 minutes on high flame.
- Saute sliced red peppers for 2-3 minutes on high flame.
- Saute sliced carrots for 2-3 minutes on high flame.
- Take sautéed veggies mix off the stove and keep it aside.
- Turn the heat off and add sugar snap peas. Mix it well and keep the sautéed veggies mix aside.
Prepare Thai Yellow Curry
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a deep wide pan.
- Once hot, saute chopped yellow part of the scallions for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup of yellow curry paste and saute for 4-5 minutes on low-medium heat.
- Once the paste is sautéed, add ½ cup of coconut milk to the paste stirring frequently to prevent lumps of the paste. Once paste and coconut is mixed well together, add rest of the coconut milk, salt and sugar/maple syrup. Mix it well.
- Let the coconut milk come to boil, once boiling add carried tofu and sautéed veggies mix to the curry and mix it well.
- Add lemon juice , chopped cilantro and scallions. Mix it well. Taste it and add more salt, sugar, lime juice if like!
- The squash should be roasted by now. Place roasted quash on top of boiled quinoa. Fill the whole roasted squash with the yellow curry and serve you crowd!
- Serving the whole squash as a flower might not be practical for some, in that case, I would add roasted squash cubes to the curry right after adding curried tofu and veggies. Mix it well and serve it over boiled quinoa!