Without Noel, that left me alone in the smallest kitchen in Seoul to cook a massive thanksgiving dinner for 9 guests. All in all, I was able to pull it off with the help of all my heat-producing appliances. (Ever used a fan heater to keep your dishes warm?) One of the dishes I made was pumpkin pie from Japanese Kabocha pumpkins. I steamed the flesh and mashed it to make the puree necessary for the pie. I ended up with 5 pumpkins pies (all consumed within two days).
I used two Kabocha pumpkins (on sale for 1,500 won, usually 3,000 won each). Kabocha pumpkins are also known as 단호박 or dan-ho-bak, which means "sweet pumpkin." I had about 1/2 cup of puree left. Pumpkin pancakes!!!! It's not just the alliteration that excites me. These pancakes combine the buttery sweetness of the Kabocha pumpkin with the fluffy carbness of the pancake. The result is a light and airy pumpkin pie-infused pancake.
