Kabocha Dango (Pan-Fried Squash Cakes)
かぼちゃ団子 · Kabocha Dango
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Kabocha dango are little pan-fried cakes made from mashed kabocha squash bound with potato starch, a snack that home cooks in Hokkaido have long made much like their better-known potato version, imo mochi. The starch gives them a gently chewy, mochi-like bite, while the butter and a spoonful of sugar bring out the natural sweetness of the squash. They are soft enough for small children to manage on their own, and the golden crust from the pan makes them hard to resist. At preschool they are served as an afternoon snack, and they are a lovely way to use up leftover boiled kabocha.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 82.5 gkabocha squashSweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
Seasonings
- 3 gunsalted butter
- 3.9 gsugar
- 4.5 gskim milk powderMilk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
- 13.2 gwater
- 5.1 gpotato starchJapanese katakuriko, a fine potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating food before frying. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness.
- 2.3 gvegetable oil
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- kabocha squash (かぼちゃ)
- Sweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
- skim milk powder (スキムミルク)
- Milk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
- potato starch (片栗粉)
- Japanese katakuriko, a fine potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating food before frying. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness. Read the guide: Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch) and What to Use Instead → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/katakuriko-potato-starch/
Directions
- 1
Cut the kabocha into rough chunks, peel it, and boil until soft.
- 2
Mash the kabocha while it is still hot, then stir in the butter and sugar. Add the skim milk powder, water and potato starch and mix well.
- 3
Shape the mixture into thin oval patties. Heat the oil in a skillet and pan-fry the patties on both sides.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 153 kcal | 306 kcal | 153 kcal |
| Protein | 3.2 g | 6.3 g | 3.2 g |
| Fat | 5.1 g | 10.2 g | 5.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26.3 g | 52.5 g | 26.3 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.2 g | 0.3 g | 0.2 g |
| Calcium | 63 mg | 126 mg | 63 mg |
| Iron | 0.5 mg | 0.9 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 153 kcal | 3.2 g | 5.1 g | 26.3 g | 0.2 g | 63 mg | 0.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 306 kcal | 6.3 g | 10.2 g | 52.5 g | 0.3 g | 126 mg | 0.9 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
