Kabocha Dango

Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin/Japanese squash) is one of our staple vegetables. We cook it for the main dish, side dish, soup, salad, and also dessert.

In this recipe, I will show you how to make a super easy kabocha dessert.

You will need just 2 ingredients, kabocha and potato starch. It's a simple recipe that even small kids can make it!

This recipe is for you if:
• You love kabocha (pumpkin/squash)
• You want to know how to cook kabocha

  
  

• You are looking for an easy kabocha recipe

Let me walk you through the ingredients and how to make it with step by step instructions.

Let's get started!

• Japanese kabocha (pumpkin/squash) recipe
• A delicious, chewy, and easy to make
• It will come with a glaze recipe
• Other variations of kabocha dango

First of all, let me explain what dango means in case you are not familiar with this word.

Dango is a Japanese dessert in the shape of small balls on a skewer. It is made from rice flour, so it's chewy like mochi (rice cake).

Kabocha dango doesn't use rice flour nor skewer, but it has a similar chewy texture, so we call it dango.

You can also make dango with starchy vegetables such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.

By the way, kabocha dango is Hokkaido's (northern island of Japan) local food. I'm from there, so this is my childhood snack!

Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).

• Kabocha
• Potato starch

Only two ingredients!

So this means that the result depends on the taste of the kabocha itself.

Kabocha's harvest time is summer, but fall is the best season after going through drying and aging, and the taste becomes richer and sweeter.

It might contain more water and be less sweet when it's not in season.

So it would be better to taste the cooked kabocha first, then tweak the amount of potato starch, or you might want to add some sweetness to the taste.

By the way, if you are unsure how to cut and pick a kabocha, check out this recipe, "How to cut a Kabocha squash."

All right, you have all the ingredients now? Let't make it! Please watch how to make in this video also!

1. Steam kabocha: Put a steamer in a pot and add water. Cut the kabocha into small pieces, put them in the pan, cover it, and heat it over medium heat. (You can boil it or microwave it)
2. Steam kabocha: When it's boiling, lower the heat and steam for about 10 minutes. When it's done, check if it's cooked through with a skewer.
3. Make a dough: Transfer the kabocha (include skin) to a bowl, add potato starch, and mash to make a dough. You can eat the skin, but if you don't like it, you can remove it.
4. Make a round shape: Grab a piece of dough, roll it, and press it with your palm to form a shape. If the dough is loose, add more potato starch.
5. Pan-fry: Heat a frying pan over medium heat, pour some oil, place the kabocha dango and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Pan-fry: Turn it over and cook for another 2 minutes.

Here you go! Enjoy these yummy dango while hot!

Serve with dango glaze (see below) to add more flavor if you like!

Mitarashi Dango Glaze

Mitarashi dango is a popular dango skewered onto sticks and sweet and savory glaze on the top.

If you want something sweet on kabocha dango, please try this "Mitarashi dango glaze"!

Ingredients are sugar, soy sauce, mirin, potato starch, and water (Amounts are in the recipe card below).

Instructions:

1. Add sugar, soy sauce, and mirin in a pot over medium heat, bring it to a boil,
2. Mix water and potato starch in a small bowl
3. Add it to the pot, and cook until thickened

Pour it over kabocha dango, or dip it. This is fun!

Storage

It will last up to 5 days in the fridge and one month in the freezer.

Freeze them before cooking, and pan-fry them without thawing when eating.

It's delicious as it is, but if you add one more step, it will be so special!

• Mitarashi dango glazes: Pour mitarashi dango glaze over (see above).
• Anko (red bean paste): Stuff a small ball of anko in and pan fry.
• Oshiruko (red bean soup)：Put pan fried kabocha dango in a oshiruko.
• Sesame seed：Coat sesame seeds on kabocha dango and pan fry.
• Cheese: Stuff a small piece of cheese in and pan fry.

Kabocha Dango Soup

Besides dessert, kabocha dango is also delicious in soup, such as Japanese miso soup, clear soup, tomato soup, and cream stew.

Please put them in a soup a few minutes before the soup is cooked. It's a perfect side dish for cold days.

This is the most simple and easy kabocha recipe that I repeatedly make, especially in the fall.

Our kids love it so much, so even if I make a bunch, it will be gone quickly! I hope you will love it too!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡. If you’ve tried this recipe (or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

Also feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

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• Kabocha Salad with Egg
• Vegan Pumpkin Muffins