Pan-fried Pumpkin Cakes
Author & Photographer: Shyn Ru Looi
For the longest time, I thought that the American pumpkin and Japanese pumpkin (commonly known as kabocha squash) were the same thing. You see, the version of ‘pumpkin’ I ate growing up was always labelled as a pumpkin back at home. So, when I was told that I was going to try some pumpkin pie for the first time at a Thanksgiving potluck dinner, I expected to adore it since I love ‘pumpkin’ back at home. Instead, this version of pumpkin that I was tasting here in the States was more moist and spongy. Coupled with the fact that it was mixed with a copious amount of sweetened condensed milk, I couldn’t tell why I disliked it. That night, I shamefully pretended to love the pumpkin pie while wondering what it was about it that I did not like.
Fast forward to quarantine period 2020, I bought some kabocha squash and used ¾ of it for dinner. Wondering what I should do with the leftovers, I remembered reading about Chinese pumpkin cakes (南瓜饼). Having never tasted it, I decided to try making it using kabocha squash since it possesses similar characteristics to another kind of tea time snack we have back in Malaysia.
The recipe below is my take on the Chinese pumpkin cake. My roommate told me that the American pumpkin is traditionally used, but since I only had kabocha squash, I used what I had on hand. I chose to use maple syrup instead of sugar, thinking it should go well with the flavor profile of kabocha squash. I coated it with sesame seeds and my, my it sure was delicious when toasted in the oil. My Chinese roommate approved of it and suggested adding sweetened red bean paste in the middle— that was the version of it that he grew up with. The recipe is quite forgiving, so feel free to customize the recipe: switch out the maple syrup and use sugar, stuff it with red bean paste, slather on some kaya, toss in chopped up pieces of walnuts. The world is your oyster!
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup cooked kabocha squash/pumpkin (about 290g)*
4 tbsp of water
1 ⅔ cups glutinous rice flour (about 200g)
5 tbsp of maple syrup
¼ cup of water, if needed
1 cup sesame seeds, white or black or mix
Instructions:
Peel and core the kabocha squash, then cut into thin bite-size pieces and steam for about 10-15 minutes. They should be tender to touch
a. Alternatively, you can roast the squash in the oven instead. Cut the squash in half, rub 1 tbsp of oil on the insides and place them cut side down on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake at 360 F for 45 - 50 mins
Place the cooked squash into a bowl and mash into fine pieces using a fork. The consistency should resemble mashed potatoes. Kabocha squash is generally drier than the American variety of pumpkin, so add 4 tablespoons of water while mashing, one tablespoon at a time.
Add the maple syrup to the squash and continue mixing until uniform
Add in the glutinous rice flour and knead until it forms a rough ball. If needed, add ¼ cup of water, bit by bit. The dough is not supposed to be completely smooth.
Divide the dough into equal pieces and form each into a ball of roughly one inch in diameter.
Flatten each ball into about a ½ inch disc and place them on a plate filled with sesame seeds. Gently push them into the plate to ensure the sesame seeds coat the entire surface
Coat a frying pan with a layer of oil and once the oil is hot, fry each dough disc until golden brown.
Drain excess oil using paper towel
Serve warm with some maple syrup
*In a pinch, pumpkin puree should work as well. If using pumpkin puree, omit the 4 tbsp of water in the dough and adjust the amount of flour used