Japanese Pork and Kabocha

This is a dish our friend Ken taught us in Japan many years ago. Kagoshima is known for pork, and this recipe combines pork with kabocha, a Japanese hard squash that is now increasingly available in the US.

Ingredients

 * 2 lbs pork
 * 1 kabocha
 * 2 cans corn
 * 2 onions
 * 40 quail eggs
 * ½ package frozen mixed vegetables
 * 6 Tablespoons soy sauce
 * 2 Tablespoons sake
 * 3 Tablespoons mirin
 * salt and pepper
 * garlic powder

Directions

 * 1) Cut pork into small pieces (approximately 2 x 3 inches).
 * 2) Place pieces in a large pot.
 * 3) Wash and rinse three times and then fill pot with water to just cover pork.
 * 4) Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil. Skim foam and fat several times as it boils.
 * 5) Add salt and pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
 * 6) Also add soy sauce, sake, and mirin.
 * 7) Simmer about 1 hour.
 * 8) Cut kabocha squash into wedges and seed. Then cut each wedge into cubes, about 2 x 2 inches. Trim the hard green skin on all four edges of each cube, creating a beveled appearance.
 * 9) Boil the quail eggs, stirring slowly as they begin to boil so the yolks will become centered as they cook.
 * 10) After 8 minutes, stop cooking and cool by pouring cold water over the pot of eggs. Peel.
 * 11) Add 2 coarsely chopped onions to the pork in the cooking pot and the mixed frozen vegetables. Continue boiling pork.
 * 12) Adjust salt to taste.
 * 13) Drain and add canned corn.
 * 14) Add kabocha cubes to pot. Cook until tender.
 * 15) Add more mirin and soy sauce to taste.
 * 16) When all is cooked, add the hard boiled quail eggs.