Kinpira Gobo (Japanese-style Braised Burdock Root) is a traditional Japanese recipe for a classic accompaniment of burdock root and carrot that are braised in soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin before being blended with sesame seeds and served topped with Japanese hot pepper. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Japanese version of: Japanese-style Braised Burdock Root (Kinpira Gobo).
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The Japanese love burdock root and kinpira gobo (きんぴらごぼう) is a classic way of serving it.
Sasagaki (ささがき) is a Japanese vegetable cutting technique that creates thin, delicate shavings, resembling bamboo leaves or sharpening a pencil, primarily used for fibrous roots like burdock (gobo) to make them tender and absorb flavor in dishes like Kinpira Gobo. This diagonal, rolling cut (like a pencil sharpener) results in softer, flavourful pieces compared to standard slicing, often using a specialized slicer or knife but you can use a peeler at a pinch.
Cut vegetables thinly (I use a peeler to make shaving). As each piece is shaved off the root core, transfer to a bowl of water to soak (this helps reduce the root's harshness) as you shave off the remaining root pieces. Set the burdock root shavings to soak for 10 minutes then strain.
Place a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot add the oil and use to fry the gobo for a minute or two then add the carrot pieces and stir-fry for 2–minutes. Add the dashi, soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin, cooking until almost all the liquid has evaporated away.
Add the sesame seeds and stir to combine. Turn into a bowl and serve garnished with the shichimi pepper.
This also works well with other wild tubers such as evening primrose root and thistle roots as well as cultivated roots like cardoons, salsify, parsley and baby parsnips.
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