Cooked Kabocha squash can be used and eaten like other winter squashes such as butternut or acorn squash.
If you've never had Kabocha squash (or cooked whole one) I suggest looking for pieces or quarters as a way to start/try this since the pieces are smaller, lighter and easier to handle due to how large this whole squash can be and how tough the skin is.
Recipes for cooking both a whole and pieces of Kabocha are presented here. For both recipes, I recommend using a turkey roaster or like roasting pan as I found it helped getting the squash in and out of the oven.
Baked Kabocha Squash Pieces
1) Place oven rack on middle rung.
2) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.
3) Place squash, skin side down in deep baking dish/roasting pan.
4) Fill baking dish/roasting pan with 1/8” water.
5) Loosely cover (tent) baking dish/roasting pan with aluminum foil.
6) Place in oven and cook 35 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes or until squash in center of dish/pan is easily pierced with a fork.
7) When squash is cooked to desired tenderness, remove from oven and let cool uncovered in dish/pan for 5 minutes.
8) Transfer squash to cutting board and let cool until it can be comfortably touched with your fingers.
9) Remove the cooked squash from the skin.
10) Serve or use as you would other winter squashes. Store any unused cooked squash in airtight container in refrigerator.
Baked KabochaSquash (Whole Squash)
1) Place oven rack on middle rung.
2) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.
3) Rinse squash with water. Pat dry.
4) Place wash and dried squash on flat surface. Using a paring knife, pierce squash 10 times in multiple places as this will prevent squash from exploding while it's in the oven.
5) Place squash deep baking dish/roasting pan.
6) Fill baking dish/roasting pan with 1/8” water.
7) Place in oven and cook 35 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes or until squash is easily pierced with fork in three places. Skin of the squash may brown or bubble from baking.
8) When squash is cooked to desired tenderness, remove from oven and let cool uncovered in dish/pan for 15 minutes or until it can be comfortably touched with your fingers.
9) Carefully cut the squash, removing the skin and scooping out the seeds. (Note, the same paring knife used to pierce squash in step 4 can be used for cutting.)
10) Serve or use as squash as you would other winter squashes. Store any unused cooked squash in airtight container in refrigerator.
11) If any part of the squash didn't cook to desired tenderness, follow recipe above to bake Kabocha Squash Pieces to get desired tenderness.
