Half…

There was too much pumpkin for my missus and I to finish in one sitting the other day so I only cooked half of it then.

The next day, I took the other half and again, I cut the pumpkin into bite-size chunks…

I also had some cangkuk manis that my missus planted in a giant pot outside the house and I tore that into shreds/bits and pieces…

That way, it would bring out the sweetness of the vegetable and besides, it would make it much easier to chew and to digest.

I could have cooked soup, the kampong sayur rebus style whereby I would need to boil some ikan bilis (dried anchovies), belacan (dried prawn paste) and chilies in some water and then throw in the cangkuk manis and the pumpkin and that would be it! However, I did not feel like having that so I decided to cook my own dry version instead.

I got the ingredients ready…

…and heating up a bit of oil in the wok, I fried everything (except the belacan and the chili) until golden brown before adding the belacan – making sure that it disintegrated/dissolved in the hot oil and after blending it well with the other ingredients, I put in the chili…followed by the pumpkin. I poured in a bit of water to simmer the pumpkin so as  to soften and cook it…and finally, the cangkuk manis went in as well. After mixing it thoroughly with everything else, I added a pinch of msg and finally, the dish was ready…

Was it nice?

I would think so. The fragrant belacan-rich gravy was very nice and went absolutely well with rice…

I certainly wouldn’t mind cooking it like this again for a change time and again.