Felt like having pumpkin and dried shrimps today. Went to get pumpkin, onion and got some dried shrimps from my mom. Instead of roasting, boiling or grilling the pumpkin I decided to put my Asian culinary to good use. I got this recipe from my aunt. It’s a simple recipe that goes well with rice and a meat dish.

Google: “Pumpkins are often yellowish to orange in colour, and they vary from oblate to globular to oblong; some feature a white rind. The rind is smooth and usually lightly furrowed or ribbed. The fruit stem is hard and woody, ridged, and angled. Pumpkin has a range of fantastic benefits, including being one of the best-known sources of beta carotene. Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant that gives orange vegetables and fruits their vibrant colour. The body converts any ingested beta carotene into vitamin A. Benefit are reducing the risk of developing certain types of cancer, offering protection against asthma and heart disease, and decreasing the risk of age-related macular degeneration.”

Google: “Dried shrimp are shrimp that have been sun-dried and shrunk to a thumbnail size. They are used in many East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisines, imparting a unique umami taste. A handful of shrimps is generally used for dishes. The flavours of this ingredient are released when allowed to simmer. You can use dried shrimp to flavour stir fries, broths, curries, and even dumplings. They taste different from fresh shrimps; the dried ones have a stronger and more concentrated flavour which some cooks refer to as “umami.” This is one ingredient that illustrates well the saying that “a little goes a long, long way”.

This can be like a fusion food. There are many ways to cook pumpkin and dried shrimps. Today not making it with chili belachan. It’s just blending the shrimps to small bits with some bits crunchy. I am glad to put my Asian culinary skill to use. My dish is flavourful of umami and definitely goes well with pumpkin and onion. Let’s cook!!!

Ingredients

1/2 butternut pumpkin, remove skin and seeds, cut into bite size
1 onion, remove skins and slice thinly
80 g dried shrimps
1 Tbs garlic minced
2 Tbs Shoa Xing Chinese cooking wine
1-2 Tsp sesame oil (OPT)
1/4 c vegetable stock
oil
pepper

Method

Pour hot boiling water into a bowl enough to cover the dried shrimps and cover with a plate for about 20 minutes. Meantime, prepare the pumpkin, remove the skins, and seeds. Then cut into bite size and thinly cut onion and set aside. After 20 minutes up, drain the dried shrimps and put it into a blender and pulse a bit yet have some crunch; drain it on paper towel.

Heat saucepan on medium heat, add 1 Tbs oil until hot. Add in garlic and cook for 25 seconds. Next add in onion and cook until translucent. Now add in the dried shrimps, toss around to coat in oil, if not enough oil add a bit more oil but not too oily. Cook it for about 10 minutes or so until fragrant. Then add in pumpkin and stock and cover the saucepan bring it to simmer for 20-25 mins or until the pumpkin is very tender. Now remove the cover and add in sesame oil and gently stir to coat and cook it a further 4-5 minutes. Spoon onto serving plate and serve with rice and a meat dish. Enjoy it with a cool beer!!!

Note: You can substitute dried shrimps with minced pork, beef or other vegetables for colour such as red and green capsicum, mushroom or zucchini or eggplant. You may want to add diced bacon instead of dried shrimps.

https://helenscchin.com/2023/06/07/pumpkin-dried-shrimps-onion/

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