Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin is a quick and tasty stir-fry made with pumpkin, dried shrimp, and garlic. Sweet, savory, and perfect with rice for an easy home-cooked meal.
Watch How To Make Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin 中式炒金瓜 – Recipe Video
Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin is an incredibly easy and delicious home-cooked dish that’s both nutritious and full of flavor. This sweet and savory stir-fry highlights the natural sweetness of pumpkin paired with the umami depth of dried shrimp. It’s a simple yet comforting dish that’s popular in home kitchens across Southeast Asia.
Whether you’re looking for a quick vegetarian-friendly dish (just skip the dried shrimp) or a new way to enjoy pumpkin, this Asian-style Stir Fry Pumpkin is a must-try.
🎃 What is a Pumpkin?
Although pumpkin is technically a fruit, it’s commonly used as a vegetable in cooking. It has a thick, ribbed outer skin and orange flesh filled with hard seeds that must be removed before cooking.
Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, minerals and fiber, making it both delicious and nutrient-dense. Its mild sweetness and firm texture make it ideal for soups, stir-fries, and braised dishes in Asian cuisine.
👉Check out all of our Pumpkin recipes here
👍 What Pumpkin To Use For This Dish
In Chinese cooking, several types of pumpkin and squash are used, depending on regional cuisine and seasonal availability. The ideal pumpkin for stir-frying should have sweet, dense, and firm flesh – firm enough to hold its shape during stir frying.
Some common types of pumpkin used are:
- Chinese Pumpkin (南瓜, nán guā)
- Appearance: Deep orange flesh with a green or orange skin; shaped like a western pumpkin but often smaller and less ribbed.
- Texture: Dense and sweet.
- Uses: Common in stir-fries, steamed dishes, soups, congee, and even desserts. Often used in stir-fried pumpkin with garlic or steamed pumpkin with glutinous rice.
2. Kabocha Squash (日本南瓜, rìběn nánguā, Japanese Pumpkin)
- Appearance: Green skin with a hard shell and bright orange flesh.
- Texture: Very sweet and slightly dry.
- Uses: Popular in soups and braised dishes. Holds its shape well when cooked.
3. Butternut Squash (奶油南瓜, nǎiyóu nánguā)
- Appearance: Pale tan skin, bell-shaped.
- Texture: Smooth and nutty.
- Uses: Increasingly popular in modern Chinese fusion dishes and sweet soups.
❗ Avoid using traditional American pumpkins—they tend to be watery and fall apart during stir-frying.
🧄 Ingredients You Need for Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin
- Fresh Pumpkin (peeled and cubed)
- Dried Shrimp (soaked and chopped)
- Garlic
- Cooking Oil
- Water
- Oyster Sauce
- Salt
- Ground White Pepper
👩🍳 Overview On How to Make Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin
🔪 Prepare Ingredients:
- Chop pumpkin into thick slices. Remove seed and skin. Lastly cut into cubes.
- Soak dried shrimp till soft, drained and then coarsely chopped.
- Chop garlic and dice spring onions.
🍳 Cook Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin:
- Heat oil in wok and sauté chopped dried shrimp till fragrant.
- Add in pumpkin cubes and seasonings (oyster sauce, salt and ground white pepper). Mix well together.
- Add water. Cover and on low heat, simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes or till pumpkin is fork tender but not mushy.
- Finish cooking uncovered to reduce any excess liquid and intensify flavor.
- Place on serving plate and garnish with diced spring onion and fried shallots.
🍚 How to Serve Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin
Serve this Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin hot as a side dish or light main with steamed jasmine rice. The mild sweetness of the pumpkin balances beautifully with the savoury stir fry sauce. Garnish with chopped spring onion and fried shallots on top before serving.
🧊 How to Store Pumpkin
Storing pumpkin depends on whether it is whole, cut or cooked.
- Whole Pumpkin (Uncut): Store in cool, dry place (10 -15 degree C) like a pantry or cellar. Can be kept up to 2-3 months. Keep away from cold, damp surfaces and avoid direct sunlight or heat.
- Cut or Peeled Pumpkin: Store in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in cling wrap in a refrigerator. Can keep for about 4-7 days. Store with a paper towel inside the container to absorb excess moisture.
- Cooked Pumpkin: Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. Can keep up to 3-5 days. If keep frozen in airtight bags or containers, can keep for about 6 months.
✅ Important Tips When Cooking Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin
- Use a sharp knife to safely and cleanly cut through pumpkin skin.
- Make sure you use a sharpened knife to chop and cut the pumpkin into cubes.
- Choose the right pumpkin. The best types are Chinese Pumpkin, Kabocha Squash or Butternut Squash. These pumpkin have a natural sweetness and firm texture that holds well. Avoid watery types pumpkin as they can turn mushy quickly.
- Do not use use traditional American pumpkins because they would fall apart and taste weird.
- Cut the pumpkin evenly. Slice or cube the pumpkin evenly so it cooks at the same rate.
- Make sure to cook the pumpkin just until fork tender. Over cooking will turn the pumpkin mushy.
❤️ Some Recipes That You Might Like
Steamed Pumpkin Savoury Cake 金瓜蒸糕
Braised Pork Ribs With Pumpkin 金瓜焖排骨
Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin 中式炒金瓜
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Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 500 grams pumpkin , without skin
- 15 grams dried shrimp, soaked and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- ½ cup water
Seasoning;
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
Prepare all ingredients needed to cook the dish.
First prepare the pumpkin. First chop the pumpkin into thick slices. Spoon out the seeds and cut to remove the skin. Lastly cut into thick cubes.
Soak dried shrimp till soft, drained, coarsely chop and set aside.
Also chop garlic and dice spring onion.
Also have ready the simple seasonings for the dish.
First, heat oil in wok. Add garlic and sauté till fragrant. Then add in chopped dried shrimp and continue to fry till dry and fragrant.
Add in the pumpkin cubes followed by oyster sauce, salt and ground white pepper. Stir fry till the seasonings is well mixed into the pumpkin.
Add in water. Cover the wok and simmer on low heat for 5 to 8 minutes or till the pumpkin turn fork tender but not mushy. Finish uncovered to reduce any excess liquid and intensify the flavor. Adjust seasonings to taste. And we are done!
Transfer the cooked pumpkin onto a serving plate and serve immediately.
Goes so well with steamed white rice. Enjoy!
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients:
Cooking Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin:
Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- Make sure you use a sharpened knife to chop and cut the pumpkin into cubes.
- Choose the right pumpkin. The best types are Chinese Pumpkin, Kabocha Squash or Butternut Squash. These pumpkin have a natural sweetness and firm texture that holds well. Avoid watery types pumpkin as they can turn mushy quickly.
- Do not use traditional American pumpkins because they would fall apart and taste weird.
- Cut the pumpkin evenly. Slice or cube the pumpkin evenly so it cooks at the same rate.
- Make sure to cook the pumpkin till they are fork tender. Over cooking will turn the pumpkin mushy.
