Ad Featuring CIC Student Featured in The Local Palate

When Yuri Kojima won the first prize in the Limehouse Heritage Pumpkin Contest, her award was featured in an ad in the culinary magazine The Local Palate. 

Yuri's recipe for Hot and Sweet Miso Kabocha was featured as the vegetarian entree at TTC's Night in the Valley Dinner and Auction.
Here's the recipe:
Hot and Sweet Miso Kabocha

Serves 4

Canola oil

1 kabocha squash, about 1 pound                1/2 pound lean ground pork, crumbled

1 Tbs. tenmenjan (sweet miso paste available at H and L)

1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger                          1 Tbs. minced garlic

1 Tbs. sambal oelek chili paste                    1 cup chicken stock

1 Tbs. soy sauce                                          1 Tbs. sake

2 tsp. sugar                                                 Pinch black pepper   

1 Tbs. water                                               1 Tbs. potato starch

1 tsp. rice vinegar                                       3 scallions, thinly sliced

Japanese sushi rice

Heat canola oil in a fryer or deep pot.

Peel the squash, cut it in half, and remove the strings and seeds. Cut the squash into 1¼-inch pieces. Working in batches if necessary not to crowd the fryer, deep-fry the squash until it is tender when pierced with a toothpick. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the pork and cook it, separating it with a fork, until the juice renders clear. Add the tenmenjan and combine it well. Add the ginger and garlic and cook them until you can smell their aroma. Add the sambal oelek and combine well. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, sake, sugar, and pepper and bring to a boil. Place the squash on top of the sauce and let the squash absorb the juice from the sauce, about 3 minutes.

Place the water in a small dish and stir in the potato starch to dissolve. Add the dissolved potato starch to the skillet. Add the rice vinegar. Sprinkles the scallions on top and serve accompanied with Japanese sushi rice.