Halloween is not celebrated in Taiwan, but the pumpkin is nevertheless a popular seasonal ingredient. In this recipe, pumpkin is steamed and then seasoned with plum powder.

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Ingredients:

• ½ pumpkin (kabocha squash)
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 4 Tbsp. sugar
• ½ cup of drinking water
• Plum powder (optional)

Instructions:

1. Steam pumpkin for 20 minutes or until cooked. Chill pumpkin in the refrigerator.
2. Mix lemon juice, sugar and water in a deep dish
3. Slice pumpkin into pieces approximately 1 cm thick. Dip each slice in the lemon juice mixture.
4. Place the sliced pumpkin into a container and pour the remainder of the juice mixture over the pumpkin. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
5. Place pumpkin on a plate. Sprinkle plum powder and serve.

Tip

Sprinkle plum powder over the pumpkin to enhance its flavor. You can also use other items to decorate the pumpkin dish, such as fruits or pickled daikon.

What kind of pumpkin does this recipe use?

This recipe uses a special type of pumpkin called kabocha squash, known also as the Japanese pumpkin. Kabocha squash is hard with knobby surface and a shape similar to that of a squat pumpkin. It is green on the outside, orange on the inside and known for its exceptionally sweet flavor. Kabocha looks like this:

_{Photo courtesy of FotoosvanRobin}