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Kabocha Pumpkin Yokan
This bright orange kabocha yokan is a Japanese treat made with kabocha and agar-agar. This dessert is healthy, quick, easy, vegan-friendly, and gluten-free.
Do you know that kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) is sweeter than your average pumpkin, even sweeter than butternut squash, and therefore, perfect to be turned into sweet treats? One of my favorite wagashi (Japanese traditional sweets) is yokan, and today we’ll be making some kabocha pumpkin yokan. :)
What is yokan?
Yokan (羊羹) is one type of Japanese traditional confectionery/sweets (wagashi) made from a paste, agar-agar, and sugar. Most yokans are sold in a block and then cut into small slices/cubes to be enjoyed.
Some of the popular ingredients in Japanese yokan:
- red bean/azuki (小豆). This is the most common yokan you will find in Japan. Most often added into yokan as red bean paste, though some yokan also contain sweetened whole beans. I have previously shared my recipe for mizu yokan
- white bean (白いんげん豆). Probably the second most popular yokan ingredient. This will naturally have a white color and is the reason why many flavorings are added to this, such as green tea (緑茶, or 抹茶), black tea (紅茶), coffee, and even white miso (白みそ).
- chestnut (栗). Mostly scattered into red bean yokan.
- sweet potato (サツマイモ)
- pumpkin/kabocha (カボチャ)
- persimmon (柿)
As you can surmise from the ingredients, yokan is vegan-friendly, and completely gluten-free too. So this is a perfect treat that almost everyone can enjoy. :)
What are the ingredients for a kabocha pumpkin yokan?
You will need:
- 500 gram kabocha pumpkin meat
- 1 teaspoon agar-agar powder. I use Now Food agar powder.
- 100 gram (1/2 cup) sugar
- 250 ml (1 cup) water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
If you need help to prepare a whole kabocha pumpkin, please read my detailed guide from this simmered kabocha in shio koji article.
How to prepare yokan?
1. Kabocha puree.
First, steam kabocha meat until soft enough to be mashed. Use a fork, or a food processor, to turn the steamed kabocha into kabocha puree.
2. Prepare agar-agar.
Boil together water and agar-agar in a small pot, then add sugar and salt and boil until sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Mix kabocha with agar.
Remove the pot from heat, then stir in kabocha puree into the agar-agar mixture until smooth.
4. Let the yokan set.
Pour the mixture into a loaf pan (I use an 8"x4" loaf pan), use a spatula to smooth the mixture, and then chill in the fridge until set. About 1 hour.
Serving yokan
When you want to serve the yokan, gently run a thin blade around the loaf pan to loosen the yokan, then cover the pan with a plate and flip. The yokan become loose and drop on the plate.
I cut one loaf of yokan into 16 pieces, and serve each person with a hot cup of tea and two pieces of yokan.
Any leftover yokan can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Kabocha Pumpkin Yokan
Ingredients
- 500 gram kabocha pumpkin meat
- 250 ml (1 cup) water
- 1 teaspoon agar-agar powder
- 100 gram (1/2 cup) sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Kabocha puree. First, steam kabocha meat until soft enough to be mashed. Use a fork, or a food processor, to turn the steamed kabocha into kabocha puree.
- Prepare agar-agar. Boil together water and agar-agar in a small pot, then add sugar and salt and boil until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Mix kabocha with agar. Remove the pot from heat, then stir in kabocha puree into the agar-agar mixture until smooth.
- Let the yokan set. Pour the mixture into a loaf pan (I use an 8”x4” loaf pan), use a spatula to smooth the mixture, and then chill in the fridge until set. About 1 hour.
- Serving. Gently run a thin blade around the loaf pan to loosen the yokan, then cover the pan with a plate and flip. The yokan become loose and drop on the plate.
- Storing. Any leftover yokan can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Comments
Delicious and easy to make!
It makes a beautiful presentation and I can't wait to try it out. Where do you usually find a kabocha pumpkin?
Whitney, if you live in the US, kabocha is usually available in the Asian/Chinese/Japanese grocery stores in the fresh produce section. I've also spotted kabocha in more mainstream grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
Wow, I love how smooth this looks!! And with only 5 ingredients? Count me in for sure!!
This looks really intersesting and a great new way to eat pumpkin!
Love that you only need a few ingredients to make a fabulous dessert! I think I can sub this with butternut squash which is what I have and am sure it would come out so delicious!
I've never had anything like this before, but it's absolutely beautiful and wonderful!
I'm so intrigued by this, I've never tried it but love the ingredients! Agar agar is pure magic ;) Looks delish.
I always kabocha in my CSA and never know exactly what to do with it. This is such a unique way to use it.
The presentation steals the show! What an interesting way to eat pumpkin!
Would love to try making this, just wondering if gelatin can be substituted for agar? I also have gelatin powder and I'm not sure if I should invest in agar powder at this point ^^;. If I could substituted with gelatin, do you know the approx conversion of the two? Thank you!
Hi Alice, I always prepare yokan with agar powder, so I'm not sure how much gelatin you will need. That said, I found a yokan recipe with red bean paste and gelatin that is very very close to this recipe here: http://www.itsmydish.com/mizuyokan/. I believe if you simply use the gelatin part from that recipe and combine it with everything else in this recipe (minus the agar powder), it has a very high probability of working. Please let me know how it goes if you decide to experiment.
Oh, I love the squash recipes (sweet and savory ones), and this orange kabocha one is not an exception. Love the color, feel the taste. I just need to make it!
Yum! This sounds like such a pleasant treat!
Loved this kabocha pumpkin yokan! Kabocha squash is one of my favorite pumpkins and it tasted great in this recipe!
How amazing this turned out! Yum, it's a healthy jelly :)
Huge pumpkin fan - and this is lovely. It looks so impressive and is easy to prepare!
Your photos of this came out soooo good. And beautiful. So uniform and looks perfectly sliced. The agar-agar really is perfect to get that perfect consistency isn’t it? This is so easy to make and perfect for serving to guests. I love your tips on the popular ingredients and how you can change it up even just a little bit :)
I love kabocha, would certainly love to try this once I buy the agar powder. Thanks!
What a fun way to use pumpkin!
This healthy treat is not only pretty but delicious too! Thanks for sharing the kabocha recipe!
This sounds like a treat I definitely need to try! I've never had it before but it looks and sounds so delicious so I need to give it a go!
This kabocha yokan is a new dessert for me! I love exploring and trying new international recipes, and I love that this one has a fall twist!
This looks incredible! I've never tried these ingredients before and I look forward to finding them so I can give it a try.
Simply wonderful recipe with clear and precise instructions.
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