Simmered Kabocha Squash Recipe with Chicken and Enoki Mushrooms
Nutty delicious Kabocha Squash recipe (Japanese pumpkin), simmered in a naturally sweet and savory sauce. With added mushrooms and ground chicken, it makes a great kabocha pumpkin squash meal combo.
Scrub/wash the kabocha squash clean and pat dry. Dice it into thin pieces, about ⅛-inch in thickness and 1.5 to 2-inches wide. If use Kabocha, leave the green color skin on. If use butternut or pumpkin, please peel the skin first.
Prepare scallions and ginger. For enoki mushrooms, trim away about 1-inch of the root section and dice the bundle in half. Use your fingers to roughly tear them into small bite size strings. Set aside ready to use. If use shiitake, thinly slice the caps.
In a well-heated large skillet, add oil. Saute ginger and white scallion parts with a pinch of salt over medium heat until fragrant, about 5-10 seconds.
Turn heat to medium-high, add ground meat. Season with 2 pinches of salt and use a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Saute until it’s no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes.
Add squash, mushrooms, and the sauce. Lower the heat to medium. Give a quick toss then add 1-2 tbsp stock and cover with a lid to simmer until the squash is tender, about 5-6 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Taste and make seasoning adjustments. Perhaps more coconut aminos or more salt, if preferred. Off heat. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil, if using. Garnish with green scallion parts. Serve hot or warm.
If adding low carb shirataki noodles, drain and rinse the noodles according to the package instructions. Toss the noodles in Step 6 and serve!
Notes
For freezer meal prep -
Dice the squash, chop the scallions and ginger, prepare mushrooms, and set aside the sauce ready to use.
In a large freezer friendly ziplock bag, add ground meat, mushrooms, ginger, scallions, and squash. Pour the sauce into the bag. Try to keep the items in the bag as flat as possible and in one layer. Just like the photo example above.
Squeeze out the air. Label the bag with date. Store it flat in the freezer until completely frozen. Best use in 2 months.
To cook the meal -
Add 1-2 tbsp oil to a large well heated skillet. Dump the ingredients in the bag to the skillet with ¼ cup water. Cover with a lid and bring it to boil then lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10-20 minutes (if cook from frozen) or about 10 minutes (if defrosted). Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat periodically.
When the meat is cooked through and the squash becomes tender, taste and make seasoning adjustments. Perhaps more coconut aminos or more salt, if preferred. Off heat. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil, if using.
Note: It might seem like a lot of liquid, especially cook from frozen but the liquid will evaporate during cooking. If not, open the lid to allow the moisture to escape, in the last 5 minutes or so.
The nutritional label is calculated with shirataki noodles.
If use pumpkin, butternut squash or acorn squash, peel the skin first.