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1
Remove the skin and seeds from the kabocha, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
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2
Place the kabocha in a heat-resistant container, wrap in plastic wrap, then microwave for about 5 minutes.
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3
Leave in the microwave to steam in residual heat, then mash with a fork.
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4
The microwave time is an approximate for about 1/3 of a kabocha squash.
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5
Adjust according to the amount of kabocha you use.
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6
I mashed the kabocha squash and mixed it in with the other ingredients in order to color the buns, but you can also chop the kabocha into 5- 8 mm cubes and toss into the batter.
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7
Prepare the steamer.
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8
Beat an egg in a bowl, add the milk, and mix.
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9
Add the Step 6 batter to the bowl, add the steamed kabocha and mix well.
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10
Fill the muffin cups 60 - 70% full with the batter.
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11
Once the steamer starts to steam, arrange the muffin cups in the steamer, steam for 10 to 15 minutes, then they're done when a skewer inserted in the middle of the buns comes out clean.
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12
For children who are still too young to have milk, substitute with baby formula.
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13
The proportion of batter (egg, milk, and pancake mix) to kabocha squash should be 1/4 of the batter per 25 g of kabocha.
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14
I also recommend dividing the batter into several portions before adding the kabocha, and substitute different ingredients, that way you can get a variety of buns from a single batch.
