Coconut-Miso Braised Butternut Squash
By Steve DunnPublished on October 11, 2025
Time
40 minutes
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You will need a skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. Use full-fat coconut milk; we like Aroy-D. Use a meat pounder, the bottom of a skillet, or the flat side of a knife blade to bruise the lemongrass. For the best texture, be sure to peel the squash until it is completely orange with no white fibrous flesh remaining, roughly ⅛ inch deep. You can start with 2 pounds of pre-peeled squash halves and cut it yourself. We don’t recommend using pre-diced squash; the piece sizes can vary too much.
Instructions
- Whisk 1½ cups water, ½ cup canned coconut milk, 2 tablespoons white miso, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon minced shallot, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 2 teaspoons sugar, and ⅛ teaspoon table salt in medium bowl and set aside.
- Place 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed to bottom 8 inches and bruised, in 12-inch skillet and add 7 cups butternut squash, cut into 1-inch pieces. Add coconut milk mixture and bring to vigorous simmer over high heat. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low; and continue to simmer vigorously until paring knife meets no resistance when slipped into center of squash and sauce is reduced and has consistency of heavy cream, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring in 2 finely chopped makrut lime leaves halfway through cooking. (If at end of cooking, squash is tender but sauce has not thickened, continue to cook, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes longer.)
- Off heat, discard lemongrass. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon lime juice and season with salt to taste. Transfer to serving bowl, garnish with ⅓ cup chopped cilantro, and serve.
Time
40 minutesYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Braising has always been the answer to transforming tough cuts of meat into succulent tenderness, and it’s also great for vegetables—particularly hard winter squash such as butternut. Peeling the squash down to the orange flesh and cutting it into bite-size chunks ensured that it cooked quickly and evenly, and simmering it in flavorful liquid (here, a coconut milk–based brew spiked with miso and lime juice) rendered it velvety and well seasoned. The braising liquid reduced to a glossy, concentrated glaze as the squash cooked, and complementary seasonings such as ginger, makrut lime leaves, and lemongrass enhanced its complexity and appeal.
Before You Begin
You will need a skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. Use full-fat coconut milk; we like Aroy-D. Use a meat pounder, the bottom of a skillet, or the flat side of a knife blade to bruise the lemongrass. For the best texture, be sure to peel the squash until it is completely orange with no white fibrous flesh remaining, roughly ⅛ inch deep. You can start with 2 pounds of pre-peeled squash halves and cut it yourself. We don’t recommend using pre-diced squash; the piece sizes can vary too much.
Instructions
- Whisk 1½ cups water, ½ cup canned coconut milk, 2 tablespoons white miso, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon minced shallot, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 2 teaspoons sugar, and ⅛ teaspoon table salt in medium bowl and set aside.
- Place 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed to bottom 8 inches and bruised, in 12-inch skillet and add 7 cups butternut squash, cut into 1-inch pieces. Add coconut milk mixture and bring to vigorous simmer over high heat. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low; and continue to simmer vigorously until paring knife meets no resistance when slipped into center of squash and sauce is reduced and has consistency of heavy cream, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring in 2 finely chopped makrut lime leaves halfway through cooking. (If at end of cooking, squash is tender but sauce has not thickened, continue to cook, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes longer.)
- Off heat, discard lemongrass. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon lime juice and season with salt to taste. Transfer to serving bowl, garnish with ⅓ cup chopped cilantro, and serve.
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