Many memories flood our minds this time of year, especially as it relates to changing weather, holidays, and, you guessed it, pumpkin season! But pumpkin season isn’t just for North Americans — there are some tasty Asian pumpkin recipes that we want to share with you today too, like creamy pumpkin soup, pumpkin rice porridge, and fried pumpkin.
Our hope is that you’ll enjoy these recipes, maybe make them yourself, and remember our ELIC family around the world this holiday season.
Happy pumpkins!
Creamy Pumpkin Soup:
This soup is made creamy with rice, not milk or cream. It is great for people with lactose-intolerance to enjoy a creamy soup.
Ingredients
- 350g pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 red onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/4 cup of white rice
- 1 litre soup stock
- Salt and pepper
Equipment: handheld blender
Directions:
1. Peel and chop the onions and garlic
2. Heat the cooking oil into a deep stock pot
3. Add the onions and garlic and fry till soft
4. Add the pumpkin cubes and fry for about 10–15 minutes
5. Add the rice and stir-fry for a few minutes
6. Add the soup stock and bring to a boil
7. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until the pumpkin is soft and the rice is broken and ready for blending
8. Blend the soup until desired creamy consistency. Do remove some pumpkin chunks if you want to have some extra bites
9. Add salt, pepper to taste
10. Add the pumpkin chunks back to the soup
11. Let the soup cook for another 5 minutes on low heat
Pumpkin Rice Porridge
Rice congee provides carbohydrates in a form that is gentle on the stomach and is easily absorbed by the body. It is an excellent carrier for more nutritious ingredients like the sweet pumpkin.
This is a breeze to do in a rice cooker on a lazy Saturday morning.
Ingredients:
- Half a cup of white rice
- Half a cup of brown rice
- 12 cups of soup stock
- 600g pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes
Directions: (for rice cooker)
- Place rice, pumpkin cubes and soup stock into the rice cooker and press cook
- Leave the cover slightly ajar to prevent any boil-over
- If you use a rice cooker that has a rice congee setting, you can place everything into the cooker, press the button and leave it alone to cook.
If you do not have a rice cooker, you can make everything on a stovetop using a stock pot
And finally, a recipe for
Fried Pumpkin Rice Porridge:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice
- 10 cups soup stock
- 200g pumpkin
- 1 stalk spring onion
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
Directions: (for rice cooker)
- Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes (this is optional)
- Place rice and soup stock into the rice cooker and press cook
- While the congee is cooking, wash the pumpkin and cut into bite-sized pieces
- Heat the cooking oil in a wok, fry the pumpkin pieces till the outside is crispy
- When the porridge is cooked, add the pumpkin pieces. Stir to mix the congee and pumpkin pieces
- Let it cook for a few more minutes
- Wash and chop the spring onion finely
- Add salt and sprinkle spring onion before serving
For more great recipes, check out http://www.homemade-chinese-soups.com/pumpkin-soup-recipes.html#sthash.p4baDyfu.dpuf
