Thistle Root Gobo (Japanese-style Braised Thistle Root) is a modern British wild food recipe (based on a Japanese original) for a classic accompaniment of thistle roots 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 British version of: Japanese-style Braised Thistle Root (Thistle Root Gobo).
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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.
For this recipe I'm using the common thistle (Cirsium vulgare) which is fairly easy to identify as a dense rosette of prickly leaves lying tow to the ground (do not collect when the flower spike develops). It's also knpwn as spear thistle or bull thistle. Note that the related marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre) is just as good to collect for its root.
If you don't want to go foraging to prepare this recipe, you can use the cultivated cardoon and harvest its root (cardoon is a member of the thistle family that was domesticated for its edible flower stalks).
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 with a squeeze of lemon 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.
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add a squeeze of lemon juice, followed by the thistle root pieces and boil for 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry then use to prepare the gobo.
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.
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