Danhobak (a.k.a. kabocha) is Koreans' go-to fall/winter pumpkin used in many sweet and savory dishes. Although I can find it year-round, I'm drawn to it more as a cute decoration for home and a versatile ingredient in the colder days. To me, no other squash compares to the sweet, creamy danhobak which is often described as a 'cross between pumpkin and sweet potato.'
Although I named this cuties danhobak 'gnocchi' for your reference, these are actually rooted in Korean sae-al-shim (새알심; bird egg), small white balls made with sweet rice flour added in soups, providing more substance to liquid-based dishes. It's also called ongshimi (옹심이) in Gangwon Province, known for its beautiful mountains and beaches as well as its potato production where the usual ongshimi is made with potato starch.
Using rice flours and danhobak, my 'gnocchi' dough comes out with rice-cake's soft-chewiness containing natural sweet flavor from danhobak. With the bright yellow-orange color from danhobak, my mind works in a simple way to shape the dough into mini danhobaks, or any squatty pumpkins for that matter. Coat them in the sauce made with other fall ingredients of chestnuts and pine nuts enriched with butter and bekseju, rice wine mainly for drinking but working to provide earthy, sweet tone in this sauce. Complete the dish with danhobak skin, often ignored and discarded, but here they act as light crunchy chips and a bit of pumpkin vine looks. The complete dish is a day-out for ongshimi, usually bobbing their heads in Korean soups, now taking the main stage and hanging out with other fall ingredients. Or you can consider it your gluten-free, fall gnocchi dish treated with Korean ingredients.
Danhobak skin is thin and completely edible. Just make sure to wash thoroughly before cooking, as you would with any vegetables eaten with the skin on.
If you can't find danhobak, you can substitute with other winter squashes like butternut squash or buttercup squash (which looks very similar to danhobak, but its flesh is wetter). Adjust the amount of flesh added to the dough because of different water content in the squash.
Danhobak Gnocchi with Chestnut-Bekseju Sauce
Yield) 15~20 danhobak gnocchi, enough for 2 portions
Danhobak Gnocchi)
1/4 C ~ 1/2 C danhobak (a.k.a. kabocha) flesh, cooked (see below for instruction)
1/2 C + 1 TBSP frozen rice flour (떡 쌀가루; tteok ssal ga ru) - sold in Korean grocery stores
1/2 C + 1 TBSP sweet rice flour (찹쌀가루: chap ssal ga ru) - I used mochiko
1/4 ts salt
1/4 ts green tea powder
1 TBSP water
Water for boiling danhobak gnocchi
Chestnut-Bekseju Sauce)
2 TBSP butter
6-8 chestnuts, peeled (peeled raw chestnuts are available in the freezer section of Korean grocery stores)
1/4 C onion, peeled & chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled & minced
2 TBSP danhobak flesh, small diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 C bekseju (sold at Astor Wines in Manhattan. You can also substitute with white wine)
1~2 C simple dashi (a piece of kelp and 2 C of water) or water
2 ts pine nuts
Optional) 5 thin slices of a red pepper or jalapeno to add mild spicy heat and balance off the butter-rich taste
Garnish)
a small patch of danhobak skin, any remaining flesh removed and cut to thin strips
1 TBSP butter
a pinch salt
Danhobak Gnocchi)
(1) Microwave a danhobak for 4 minutes, until danhobak softens enough to handle with ease. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut about 1/4 of the danhobak. Remove the skin with a knife and cut the flesh into small dice. Set aside.
(2) Return the rest of the danhobak to microwave for another 3-4 minutes until its flesh is completely soft. Separate flesh from skin. Mash the flesh with a potato masher or a fork. Reserve the skin and mashed flesh separately.
(3) Mix 1/2 C frozen rice flour, 1/2 C sweet rice flour and 1/4 ts salt and add 1/4 C of danhobak flesh. As you start kneading, add more danhobak flesh to bring it into a smooth dough consistency. I've used up to 1/2 C of danhobak flesh all together. Wrap in plastic.
(4) Mix 1 TBSP frozen rice flour, 1 TBSP sweet rice flour, 1/4 ts green tea powder and 1 TBSP water and knead to get green dough. Wrap in plastic.
(5) Divide the yellow dough into same size pieces, about 15-20 pieces. Make each piece into a ball and shape it like a pumpkin. Press the gnocchi with a spoon to resemble the lines of a pumpkin. Repeat with the rest of the yellow dough pieces. Keep the gnocchi covered with a piece of wet paper towel.
(6) Dab water on top of the danhobak gnocchi and press a tiny amount of green dough.
(7) Add gnocchi to a pot of boiling water. After about 5 minutes when the gnocchi come up to the top, drain the water and add the gnocchi to ice water to stop cooking.
Chestnut-Bekseju Sauce)
(1) Make dashi by boiling a piece of kelp about the size of your two fingers together in 2 C of water. Once it comes up to a boil, remove from heat and keep it covered.
(2) Add 1 TBSP of butter to a warm pan. Add peeled chestnuts and a pinch of salt, and cook until the color turns light brown all around over moderate heat. Drain, chop the chestnuts to small pieces and reserve.
(3) On a clean, warm pan, add 1 TBSP of butter. Add onion, garlic and pepper pieces then a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until onion pieces turn translucent. Add danhobak dice and chopped chestnuts and stir.
(4) Add bekseju and cook until the rice wine is reduced to barely cover the bottom.
(5) Add 1 C of dashi from (1) and bring it up to a boil.
(6) Add danhobak gnocchi and stir to coat them with the sauce. Continue cooking until the sauce is reduced to a lightly creamy consistency. Add more dashi as necessary.
(7) Finish with toasted pine nuts and remove from heat.
Danhobak Skin Garnish)
On a warm pan, add 1 TBSP of butter and thinly slice strips of danhobak skin. When the strips turn brown, remove from heat and place danhobak strips on papertowel. Sprinkle with salt.
If you're interested in seeing how I've used danhobak, check out the following.
Red Bean Porridge on Winter Solstice (동지 팥죽)
KOREAN WORDS
potato 감자 (gam ja)
pine nut 잣 (jat)
