PUMPKIN SHOOTS RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400º. Halve the pumpkin, scoop out seeds and discard. Cut into 8 to 10 thick wedges. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of oil and season with salt. Roast until almost completely tender (you should be able to stick a fork in with just a bit of resistance), 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool. When cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to carefully remove the skin from the pumpkin. Roughly chop the pumpkin into 2 inch pieces. Find some more tender pieces and mash enough to fill a ¼ cup measure and set aside. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high. Once the oil is shimmering, add red curry paste and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and has darkened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in coconut milk and simmer about 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add mashed pumpkin and ¼ cup water to coconut mixture and, using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. (Alternately, transfer mixture to a regular blender, and puree until smooth; return sauce to pot.). Add green bell pepper, red bell pepper, shallot, chili, and bamboo shoots to the pot. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the veggies have begun to soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and add reserved pumpkin and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Just before serving, stir in lime juice, fish sauce and Thai basil leaves. Ladle curry over white rice and top with sliced basil. Serve with lime wedges.
  

Steps:

• 1. Peel the garlic and deseed the chillies, then roughly chop and place into a pestle and mortar. Bash with a pinch of salt to a rough paste. Peel, finely chop and add the ginger, then bash until broken down and combined.
  2. Finely slice the mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Heat a lug of oil in a large wok or heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and fry for 4 minutes, or until lightly golden. Stir in the chilli paste and bamboo shoots and fry for a further minute.
  3. Meanwhile, mix together 3 tablespoons of soy, 4 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, the honey and a good pinch of white pepper. Stir the mixture into the pan and cook for a minute, then pour in the hot stock and bring gently to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until slightly reduced. Meanwhile, chop the tofu into 1cm cubes, finely slice the spring onions and chives and whisk the egg well.
  4. Once reduced, remove the soup from the heat. Using a chopstick, stir the soup in a clockwise direction until you get a little whirlpool, then slowly add the beaten egg, stirring continuously to form thin ribbons. Stir in the tofu and return to the heat for 1 minute to warm through. Season to taste with soy and vinegar, then serve immediately with the spring onions and chives scattered on top.