Pumpkin with Coconut Milk
Fall is here! My favorite season when I moved here in Missouri. The weather begins to crisp and autumn colors are glowing beautifully. When I hear fall season immediately one that comes to mind is everything Pumpkin! Finally in my adult life I found out there are numerous different types of Pumpkins that are derived from the family of squash. Particularly for this recipe you need what is called Kalabasa. Looking it up there were so many different names so if you call it differently please excuse me. At one time I bought the decorative Halloween Pumpkin from the grocery store for my mom to do this recipe and it was a fail. One way to learn from trial and error, right.
Something new I tried was baking this recipe and it came out wonderfully. The salted butter really sipped into the pumpkin that all the flavors fused beautifully enhancing the sweetness. I bet if I have added a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the pot boiled it would have came out the same. I have replaced my traditional Thanksgiving yam dish with this instead and it’s a hit! *If I’ll add or try more method I’ll definitely share! -See video at the bottom*
Traditional Pot Boil: 5bls Pumpkin, 1 Cup white sugar, 1 can Coconut Milk.
Oven Bake: 5bls Pumpkin, 1/2 Cup white sugar, 1/2 can Coconut Milk, and add 4tbsp of butter.
Let’s begin, we call this dish in Palau Kalabasang with Coconut Milk.
The tedious part is cutting and peeling. Just to let you know the Pumpkin itself is pretty heavy, thick and harder to cut through so be very careful in this process. The Best advice is place a towel cloth under the Pumpkin to help you control the grip while cutting. As my cutting skills are not the greatest. It was slipping and sliding when I used a cutting board. A box was not as bad but the towel helped a whole lot. Don’t want to cut ourselves in the process. Make your cuts in pieces along the Pumpkin sections for easy peeling later, because it has a rugged outer skin. Peel to rid off all of the outer skin to expose the orange coloring inside. After the peeling take out the seeds and clean the inside smooth. Then cut the Pumpkins into cubes about 1 to 2 inches.
In a bowl spread and mix the sugar to fully coat the Pumpkins. Let it sit for 15 minutes you’ll start to see the juices coming out of the Pumpkins. Transfer the Pumpkins and juices into a pot for the boiling method. Place on the stove at medium temperature, until it starts to boil. Poke the Pumpkins with a fork until tender that the fork goes through. Then pour 1 can of coconut milk in the pot. Let it come to a simmer for 5 minutes then turn it off. It can be served hot for the cold season or chilled and served during the summertime.
For the oven bake method. Set the oven at 375F degrees. Place Pumpkins on a baking pan with the juices, add 4 tablespoon butter, then cover with a foil and place it in the oven for 30 minutes bring to a boil. Uncover and pour 1/2 cup coconut milk, place it back in the oven without covering it for added 15 minutes or when it starts to boil again. Then turn off the oven and take it out. Also can be served warm or chilled.
*Note: Don’t be worried that there’s no liquid in the pot or pan. Once the heating starts it creates more liquid. I was even hesitant but it all came together well. Enjoy!
