While the boyfriend was picking out dried hibiscus flowers at our local Hispanic market last week, I happened to look up and spot some gorgeous flowers of my own. They were piled high on top of a table, bunches of bright yellow buds stacked one on top of the other. As I walked closer, I realized that these were squash blossoms and immediately became excited! I was excited because I remembered that Natty from Thai Table had recently written that squash blossoms are similar to pumpkin blossoms that are found in Thailand!
And so, being drawn as I am to 1) flowers and 2) anything related to Thailand, I had to pick some up.
Bringing them home was the easy part. Once I had these beauties in my kitchen, though, I had a harder time figuring out what to do with them.
After doing a little reading (and I do mean "a little", since every sentence requires translation!), I came to the conclusion that pumpkin blossoms are used in quite a few different Thai dishes, ranging from soups and curries to deep fried snacks. I was about to go the deep fryer route when I remembered a dish that the boyfriend's dad made for us several years ago. It was a beautiful yellow wax pepper stuffed with minced pork and then deep fried. It was so delicious... and in a moment of inspiration, I realized that these squash blossoms prepared the same way would probably be equally delicious, if not more so!
So I set to work stuffing the bright yellow blossoms with a mixture of ground pork, garlic, shallots, and white pepper. I added soy sauce for some saltiness and oyster sauce for a little more moisture and depth of flavor. Once all of the flowers were filled, I dunked them in a thin rice flour batter and then put them in the frying pan. The result was a wonderfully moist bite of meat, with a flavor reminiscent of an eggroll, coated in a super thin, crispy shell that melts in your mouth...
As these delectable little bites were coming out of the hot oil, the boyfriend walked in and said, "Mmm, it smells like Thailand in here!" And whether or not pumpkin blossoms have ever been used in Thailand in this way, they sure tasted good enough to be called Thai too...
Recipe
Pork-Stuffed Squash Blossoms | Dok Fuktong Tod | ดอกฟักทองทอด
Ingredients
Squash Blossoms
- 24 squash blossoms washed and prepared as below
- Canola oil for frying
Pork Filling
- 1 cup ground pork
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced finely
- 1 Tablespoon shallots minced finely
- 2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 Tablespoon thin soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon white ground pepper
Batter
- ½ cup rice flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
Instructions
- Gently wash and dry the squash blossoms. Snap the stem off directly below the flower and then using kitchen scissors, cut the stamen/pistil out of the center of the flower and remove.
- Heat canola oil in a frying pan to medium heat.
- Combine all ingredients for the pork filling and mix well.
- Stuff the prepared squash blossoms with a small amount (~1 teaspoon) of the pork filling.
- Combine all ingredients for the batter and mix well.
- Dip the stuffed squash blossoms in the batter and then gently place the stuffed-blossom in the hot oil. Let fry for ~5 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the blossom is golden and crispy.
- Enjoy immediately, either alone or with some chili dipping sauce!
Jen L | Tartine and Apron Strings
I've always wanted to fry up squash blossoms, but it's so hard to find it here in Toronto's greenmarkets. It's either they get snatched up real quick or I'm just blind. That said, this dish looks amazing!