Just Bento

What are yours? I don't have any for this, but I liked to learn some

There are lots of recipes for the simmering sauce out there in Google land :)
The ones that uses smaller amount of sugar allows the natural flavour of the pumpkin to stand out more.

Last one I tried;
Intended for 600 grams or 1 1/4 lb of Pumpkin/ squash
2/3 cup of dashi stock
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoon of mirin
1 1/2 tablespoon of sugar ( brown sugar, my preference)
Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on afterwards.

For daikon
( 600 grams or 1 1/4 lb )
3 1/2 cup of dashi stock
3 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon of mirin
2 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt

You are also suppose to cut a off a thin strip from the edges of each slice of Daikon . ( each end )
This is suppose to prevent the daikon from breaking up while cooking.

Credit to Yukiko Moriyama from her " Japanese Cuisine for Everyone " cook book.
Modified to suit my taste :)

Open to suggestions !!!

Regards,

Balifly

I love simmered kabocha too! But I didn't learn to make it until recently. I've been using a recipe from http://lunchinabox.net, and had great results.

Thanks balifly!
That recipe for kabocha squash was JUST what I was looking for.

I learnt a wonderful technique from a show called Nihonjin Test (日本人テスト) last November. It was a two part special on household tips.

You need a sturdy cup that's heat proof. Put the cup upside down onto the base of a pan and add the stock and kabocha pieces to the pan. Cook as you would normally. Keep an eye on the pan (I've tried this and it does get a bit noisy as the cup rattles on the bottom) and when the stock has nearly disappeared you will find that the kabocha is beautifully stewed but has kept its shape and texture - i.e. it doesn't go mushy. Carefully lift up the cup and much of the stock will be inside it ready to use/eat as you wish.
I tried this with a normal dashi which was nice enough, I'm going to try it with your recipe. I'm sure it will be better.

Another great simmering technique I learned from the same show was that if you add an umeboshi plum to fish stewing in dashi, this stops the fish from flaking apart and keeps it firm.