As the hobak turns

In my Korean language classes, I was always taught that the word hobak (호박) translates to pumpkin, which I have always thought of as a very specific vegetable normally used (by me) to make jack ‘o lanterns at Halloween or as an ingredient in pie. (Mmmmm….pie…)

I’ve since learned that hobak (and use of the English word, pumpkin) actually refers to the entire class of vegetables Americans call squash. Most common in the stores here are probably the dan hobak (단 호박), what we think of as acorn squash—and which is in season right now—and 조선호박 (believe this is the correct name) which is Korean zucchini (different from the Mediterranean variety, with a more buttery taste and texture). The zucchini is used in lots of dishes and is sold packaged in almost every grocery store, small and large. Dan hobak tends to be more seasonal and is used mostly, I think, to make hobak jook* (호박죽 ‘pumpkin’ porridge).

I like jook as much as the next person, maybe even the next Korean person. But, for me, it falls into that class of Korean cuisine that is best purchased in a restaurant rather than attempted at home. There are so many restaurants out there that specialize in 죽. And, what they serve is so good and so cheap, it doesn’t make sense for me to go to all that expense and effort to produce a substandard product at home (see also, gimbap).

That being said, we simply could not resist the allure of the giant bags of pre-peeled, seeded and cut acorn squash they sell at Costco here in Seoul. As Susana is starting solid food, I’ve been getting into making my own baby food from fresh vegetables. She’d already had banana, rice cereal, sweet potato, and white potato, and I thought squash would be a good next step that would offer her some more variety and vitamins. Plus, already peeled and cut, it is a breeze to prepare—just steam and mash.

However, Susana doesn’t yet eat that much, and even after I prepared and froze a few weeks’ worth of squash servings, we still had most of the bag left.

What to do, what to do…

Ah, yes, squash soup in the slow cooker.**

This is a recipe that is great for busy people everywhere. So, easy and so yummy. It’s just squash, onion, water, some basic seasonings, and, um, cream cheese. (David, if you’re reading this, you don’t want to click on the recipe to find out just how much cream cheese went in it. Trust me … Don’t …)
The end result was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I actually used only about two-thirds of the cream cheese called for and I kicked up the cayenne a bit. Mrs. H even had some for lunch yesterday and thanked me for the “spicy kind of pumpkin jook.” Since she normally greets any of my cooking with a very polite, “Hmmm. A new taste for me …” You know this was high praise indeed.

*No, I’m not using the accepted Romanization, which is ‘juk,’ because that leads American English speakers to pronounce it like it rhymes with “yuck,” which it most assuredly does not. It is pronounced with the long ‘u’ sound, think “oooo!”

**This recipe calls for butternut, but it is just as good with acorn squash, which also works well as an ingredient in David’s ‘Special Ingredient’ Winter Stew.