Kabocha Croquettes

Crisp outside, sweet and savoy inside. Those croquettes are perfect fall season appetizers. Kabocha is an Asian variety of winter squash. It is also commonly called Japanese pumpkin. I adapted from a recipe from Just One Cookbook. I used a whole Kabocha and made about 3 dozen croquettes. 

Ingredients

Kabocha - 1 medium size, about 2-3 lb

Bacon - 6 slices or to taste (I used a whole pack :-)

Onion - 1, minced

Unsalted butter - 1 TBSP

Salt - 1 tsp, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp, or to taste

[For Breading]

All-purpose flour - 1 cup

Buttermilk - 1 cup (made with 1 cup milk + 2 TBSP lemon juice)

Panko - 2 cups or more

[For Deep-frying]

Vegetable oil - 3 cups or more, depends on pot size

Steps

1. Remove seeds and pith from the kabocha and cut into big chunks. Steam kabocha for 20 minutes or until tender (enough that you can mash with fork). Remove the kabocha from the pot and transfer to a bowl. Let it cool until you can touch (but still warm). Remove the skin and mash with a fork.

2. While steaming the kabocha, mince the onion, cut the bacon into small bits. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes, and add the bacon. Cook until the onion is translucent, tender, and nicely brown. Set aside.

3. Add the onion and bacon mixture to the mashed kabocha. Do not add the excess oil, which could make the mixture too wet. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine well together. 

4. Using a cookie scoop (I used a tablespoon), scope batter into ball shape (No worry if it is not perfect round). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes so the balls become firmer. 

5. After 15 minutes, the balls are much easier to handle. Coat kabocha balls in flour and roll them to be more rounded. Put them back to fridge for another 15 minutes. During this time, the flour absorbs moisture. As a result, it will be less splatter in oil and the batter becomes sticker and won’t come off while deep frying.

6. For each ball, coat with buttermilk, and then panko. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for another 15 minutes. 

7. Heat oil to 340ºF (170ºC) in a pot. Insert the long chopsticks, and when you see small bubbles appear around them, it’s ready to deep fry the croquette. The filling of the croquette is cooked already, so all you need is to fry the coating until golden brown. 

8. Transfer golden kabocha croquette to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towel. Optionally, sprinkle some salt such as sea salt or Himalayan pink salt. 

Once it’s cooled completely, you can put the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month. To serve again, reheat with air fryer for 3-5 minutes.

Golden 50 Dripped Cake

 For friend's 50th birthday.

Green Detox Smoothie

This is my breakfast for most days now. Because I dislike salad, this is a great way to get daily vegetable and fiber. You can be creative and throw in different ingredients. A basic green detox smoothie recipe contains:

• Leafy green vegetable like kale, spinach, or chard. I like the power green mix of spinach, kale and chard.
• Fruit like bananas, berries, apples, or pineapple. 
• Water, ice, milk, or juice to thin it out and make it easier to blend.

You can also add other common detox and weight loss smoothie ingredients, such as Yogurt, celery, lemons, limes, ginger, mango, cranberries, cilantro, fennel, watermelon, almonds, green tea, watercress, arugula, wheatgrass, avocado, spirulina, and beets.

The recipe below is a reference. You can just throw in ingredients to your satisfaction.

Ingredients

Frozen diced pineapple - 3 cups
Fresh leafy green vegetable - 3 cups, prefer Costco power green mix
Frozen banana - 1
Celery rib - 2  
Grated fresh ginger - 1 TBSP or to taste

Chia seeds - 1 to 1.5 TBSP
Juice from half lemon or lime

Step

Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Add some water or juice if needed to help the blender blend.

Calamari

I would highly recommend to use rings and tentacles that already prepared. I bought the frozen whole squid and regretted it. It was a lot of work to clean the squid.

Ingredients

Squid rings and tentacles - 1 lb
Buttermilk - 1 cup 
All purpose flour - 1.5 cups 
Salt - 2 tsp + more for serving
Paprika - 1/2 tsp
Pepper  - 1/4 tsp
Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
Vegetable oil for frying
Optional garnish - 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley, lemon wedge

Steps

1. Place the calamari in a bowl with buttermilk and stir to combine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat 3-4 inches of oil in a large deep pot to 375F.
3. Place the flour, salt, paprika, pepper and garlic powder in a medium bowl; stir to combine.
4. Remove each piece of squid from the buttermilk and dredge in the flour. Put the coated pieces in a colander or tray. Repeat the process until all pieces are coated.

5. Place 8-10 pieces of squid in the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove the squid from the oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining squid.

7. Sprinkle additional salt over the squid if desired. You can also sprinkle with chopped parsley or add some lemon wedges. Serve immediately.