Red kuri squash (Hokkaido pumpkin) and baby bok choy are lightly steamed and served with a ginger sesame sauce in this easy fall and winter side dish.
It’s officially pumpkin season. While winter, spring and summer each offers their own unique array of fruits and vegetables, during the fall pumpkins reign supreme.
Right at this moment people everywhere are going crazy over pumpkin bread and lattes and pretty much anything you can flavor with pumpkin. We’re confronted with massive displays of various squash and pumpkins at the farmers’ markets and grocery stores as well. Seems like everywhere you turn there they are; there’s no escaping it, it is pumpkin mania out there.
And while I do love a good pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread, when it comes to the ubiquitous winter squash I tend to lean towards the savory side.
I’m particularly fond of red Kuri pumpkins (also known as Hokkaido pumpkin); their sweet, firm flesh has a subtle nuttiness to it. Its delicate taste is further accented by more assertive flavors like garlic, red pepper and ginger. I give mine a quick steam along with some tender baby bok choy and dress the whole thing with an Asian inspired sesame ginger sauce. The silky sweet and delicate flavors of both shine through beautifully in this simple preparation
If you’ve never tried steaming pumpkin before it’s really quite quick and easy and makes for a meltingly tender result. Each slice comes out of the steamer completely fork tender in less than 15 minutes, ready to soak up the spicy ginger and sesame infused sauce.
This is the kind of dish that’s well suited for this time of year that practically necessitates the cooking of pumpkins. It’s quick enough to make any night of the week but would also make for an excellent alternative to more traditional side dishes for the holidays.
What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?
Serves Serves 4 to 6
Red kuri squash and baby bok choy are lightly steamed and served with a ginger sesame sauce for an easy Asian inspired side dish.
10 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
25 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 Tablespoons/30ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons/10ml toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tablespoons/45ml of coconut aminos (or gluten-free tamari)
- 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- A pinch of red pepper flakes (about 1/8th teaspoon or more depending on how spicy you want it)
- 4 heads baby bok choy, halved or quartered lengthwise
- 1 small kuri pumpkin, seeded, peeled and cut into thin slices
- 1 Tablespoon/7g of toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a small saucepan or skillet, whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, coconut aminos, grated ginger and garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Heat gently until warm, cover and set aside.
- In a large skillet or sauté pan fitted with a steamer basket , bring an inch or two of water to a boil. Add the pumpkin slices reduce to a simmer and cover and cook until tender (about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of your slices).
- Remove the pumpkin slices and place on a large platter. Add the bok choy to the steamer basket and cover and cook until fork-tender (about 4 to 5 minutes).
- Transfer bok choy to the serving platter; drizzle with the reserved ginger sesame mixture, top with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Notes
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo
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Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she’s been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
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