Kabocha-Udon Winter Stew

at the beginning of october you begin to see many pumpkins on the side of the road, it gets me so excited as i know fall is here.  there is no person attending to these pumpkins as they go by the honor system, you choose how many pumpkins you want then you pay for what you took.  pretty interesting system.  now to cook some of the pumpkin i bought. 

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Recipe Adapted from Veganomicon Cookbook

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

ingredients:

Shiitake dashi broth

• 2 qt cold water

• 2 (4-inch) pieces kombu (kelp)

• 1/3 cup shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1/2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (4-5 dried)

• 2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices fresh ginger, lightly crushed with side of a knife

Stew

• 1/2 pound fresh udon noodles

• 1 large leek, washed well and sliced into 1/2-inch lengths

• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces

• 1 1/2-2 lb kabocha (1 small squash), unpeeled but seeded and sliced into 2x1 inch pieces

• 1/2 lb (200g) beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes

• 1/3 cup sake

• 2 tbsp mirin

• 2 scallions, sliced very thinly

• optional garnish: japanese hot pepper powder and additional shoyu

Method:

1. Prepare the broth: pout 2 quarts of water into a large soup pot and add the kombu, shoyu, sugar, dried shiitakes, and ginger.  bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat so that it gently simmers.  cook for 15 minutes.

2. taste the broth and add a little more shoyu if its not quite salty enough.  Remove the kombu, ginger, and mushrooms.  Allow the mushrooms to cool enough to handle, slice very thinly, and return to pot.  Cover the pot and keep broth warm on a low flame.

3. in a separate pot, bring 3 quarts of water to boil. add the udon noodles and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until tender.  transfer to a colander in the sink , rinse well with cold water, and allow the noodles to continue to drain.  

4. meanwhile, add the beef and simmer for 25-30 minutes.  then add the leek, carrot and kabocha to the broth.  Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until squash is tender and can be pierced easily with a fork.  Stir in sake and mirin.

5. place poritons of the rinsed udon noodles into learge, deep, individual serving bowls.  Use a slotted spoon to add vegetable chunks to the bowls, then a ladle to spoon on the stock.  Sprinkle with chopped scallions.

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Yes I did get this recipe from a vegan cookbook but as the weather is getting colder i wanted to make a bit more of a hearty dish so i SUBSTITUTED the tofu for beef.  as udon noodles aren't gluten free, i used rice noodles instead.  the texture wasn't the same but the taste was still good.  it was a very DELICIOUS dish to have during this time of year, you have a good balance of vegetables and meat, noodles for CARBOHYDRATES, and a tasty soup to warm you up.  I will definitely be making this dish again as i still have a lot of pumpkins left!