Momofuku Chef Creates Vegan Ribs From Pumpkins

Shaun King, executive chef for Las Vegas’ Momofuku restaurant, recently developed a new vegan dish: “ribs” made from pumpkin. The Pumpkin Ribs dish features red kuri squash (also known as Hokkaido pumpkin) that is cured with a mixture of spices, then smoked and roasted for one hour before being fried—a process which King explained develops a meaty, fork-tender texture that replicates its animal-based counterpart. “While most people think of pumpkin as just being a Halloween decoration, I wanted to highlight the fruit in a new way,” King told VegNews. “The inspiration behind this dish actually came from Kerry Clasby at Intuitive Forager, our farmers’ market resource. She brought us a wide variety of fall squashes, and I wanted to try the dish on her first since she is vegetarian.” The dish is coated in a barbeque sauce that King makes with a base of carrot juice spiced with smoked guajillo peppers. In addition to King, chefs around the country are experimenting with creating meat-like vegan dishes from whole fruit and vegetables. At New York City’s Ducks Eatery, the watermelon ham—an entire watermelon smoked and spiced to resemble a whole ham—is available this holiday season. King’s Pumpkin Ribs will be on the menu at Momofuku’s Las Vegas outpost in The Cosmopolitan hotel until the end of February.