Pumpkin in Thai Cooking

Thai pumpkin is a dense, deep orange squash with green, knobbly skin, close to the Japanese kabocha. It holds its shape when cooked and is sweet enough for both curries and desserts.

Pronunciation	fak tong
Flavour	Sweet, nutty and dense
Used in	Red curry, stir-fried pumpkin with egg, desserts, with nam prik
Substitute	Kabocha or butternut squash

How it is used

Simmered in red curry with pork or chicken (gaeng phed fak thong), where it soaks up the coconut sauce.
Stir-fried with egg, garlic and oyster sauce (fak thong pad kai), a homely everyday dish.
Steamed whole with a coconut custard inside (sangkaya fak thong), a classic dessert.
Simmered in sweet coconut milk (fak thong kaeng buat), and steamed to serve with nam prik.

Buying and storing

Choose a heavy pumpkin with hard skin and a dry stem. Whole, it keeps for weeks in a cool place; once cut, wrap it and keep it in the fridge for up to five days.