In UK based Japanese restaurants you'll often find pumpkin on the menu. It's used in hot pots, to make korroke, as an element in curry, or even sliced thinly as a tempura vegetable. Pumpkin has a great sweet flavour when it's in season and holds up well to frying, making it ideal when paired with Japanese flavours. However, in Japan you're more likely to find they use Kabocha squash instead of pumpkins, but they really do look and taste similar, and the Kabocha is even referred to as the 'Japanese pumpkin'.
It's tricky to get kabocha in the UK so most restaurants do just end up using pumpkin instead. Make sure you take full advantage of pumpkin season this year as there's actually a shortage of pumpkins in the UK! You can even make a tasty pumpkin soup with Japanese spices, or, dare I say it, pumpkin maki rolls!
Pumpkins are big, so you can get quite a few meals out of just one! That's why it's handy that we've put together this list of delicious Japanese pumpkin themed recipes from our favourite food bloggers. Just take a look.
Roasted Garlic Kabocha / Pumpkin
Image and Recipe Copyright Apple of my Eye
Japanese Kabocha / Pumpkin Curry
Image and Recipe Copyright Vegan Miam
Japanese Kabocha / Pumpkin Korroke
Image and Recipe Copyright Sam Tan's Kitchen
Japanese Sweet Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Image and Recipe Copyright Sweet Country
Get the Recipe Here (in Japanese, use Google Translate)
Pan Fried Miso Butter Pumpkin
Image and Recipe Copyright Roti'n'Rice