Kaboucha soboroni (Japanese pumpkin)

Ingredients

1 kg	Pumpkin, washed,peeled & deseeded (Main)
1 ¼ Ltr	Dashi stock
160 g	Caster sugar
160 ml	Light soy sauce, low salt or tamari soy
160 ml	Mirin
1 ¼ tsp	Sea salt
200 g	Chicken mince
10	Shiitake mushrooms, dried & rehydrated in boiling water
75 g	Cornflour, mixed in a little water
2	Spring onions
2 Tbsp	Hijiki seaweed, fine strands - soaked in water and drained.

Directions

1. Cut pumpkin into thumbnail-sized cubes, place in saucepan, cover with dashi stock, sugar, soy, mirin and salt. Bring to boil and simmer until pumpkin is just cooked. Strain (reserving stock) and transfer pumpkin to mixing bowl.
2. Meanwhile, fry chicken mince with diced shiitakes (liquor reserved) for four minutes, then strain pumpkin stock and reserved shiitake liquid over mince. Bring to boil and thicken with cornflour.
3. Pour mince sauce over pumpkin and fold through spring onion and hijiki.