Kao Nan Gua (Uyghur Tandoor Baked Pumpkin)
No condiments required! The Ultimate Baked Pumpkin in the Desert Sun
Description
A golden street food sold alongside Naan in Xinjiang Uyghur bazaars. Massive sweet pumpkins are cut into large wedges, slapped onto the walls of a Tandoor oven (Tonur), and baked slowly until the outside is slightly charred. It possesses an extreme sweetness identical to premium baked sweet potatoes.
Restaurants serving Kao Nan Gua (Uyghur Tandoor Baked Pumpkin)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Highly sweet
- starchy pumpkin
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- (Pumpkin Prep) Prepare 'massive pumpkins' grown under the intense Xinjiang sun, which have exceptionally low moisture and off-the-charts sugar content (*Watery Japanese pumpkins fail here).
- Remove seeds. Keep the skin on and cut into large, melon-like wedges.
- Score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern for even cooking.
- [Ultimate Point: Zero Seasoning]: Do NOT apply any sugar, oil, or salt. Rely purely on the pumpkin's natural potential.
- (Tandoor Baking) Slap the skin side of the pumpkin directly onto the blazing inner wall of a Uyghur clay oven (Tonur).
- Bake for 30-
- mins using radiant heat to evaporate moisture and condense sugar.
- Once the surface caramelizes with a slight char and the inside turns meltingly golden, scrape it off.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Pure pumpkin sweetness and charred charcoal aroma、炭火で焦げた香り
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Slow-roast JP pumpkin in an oven to evaporate moisture)
Pairing
Xinjiang Milk Tea / Yogurt
Trivia
[Trivia] Xinjiang's extreme day-night temperature difference produces fruits/veggies with abnormally high sugar content. A supreme natural sweet born from Silk Road lifestyle wisdom, where nomads utilized the residual heat of the oven after baking Naan to roast pumpkins and mutton without waste.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Hold the piping hot pumpkin by hand and scrape the flesh with a spoon or gnaw directly. The instant it enters your mouth, you will be shocked: 'Are you sure there's no sugar in this?!' The intense sweetness and fluffy, sticky texture spread endlessly.
Allergen
None