Kinpira Gobo is braised burdock root, sautéed, and then kind of steam pan fried in sake, mirin and soy sauce. It is a Japanese home cooking staple dish. It can be kept in the fridge and is great to add extra veggies to any meal to make it healthier.
What is Kinpira Gobo?
Kinpira gobo is braised burdock root. Kinpira is usually referred to as a way of cooking vegetables. It is when something is sauteed and simmered or braised in sake, mirin and soy sauce base sauce. Burdock is Gobo in Japanese. So Kinpira gobo is braised burdock roots.
Kinpira Ingredients
Gobo is commonly used for making Kinpira. Other popular and suitable vegetables are carrots, Renkon lotus roots, and capsicums. I can not get fresh gobo burdock root in Australia. I have used parsnips before to make Kinpira because it is a root vegetable. I reckon any root vegetables or any crunchy vegetables are great for making Kinpira.
Where do you buy burdock?
In Japan, you can buy fresh burdock from any supermarkets but I have never seen fresh burdock in Australia so far. In Australia, only ready-to-use frozen burdock is available from Japanese or Asian grocery stores. I have been waiting for the opportunity to cook and take photo of authentic and delicious Kinpira Gobo that I can make from fresh Gobo in Japan.
How to prepare burdock?
Gobo burdock has astringent taste so to remove the taste but keep the gobo natural flavour, I recommend to just wash off the soil and clean with a Japanese style scrubbing brush called “Tawashi”
(that you can see it in the photo). Keep the skin of the burdock on. I don’t peel the skin for making Kinpira Gobo. Slice the gobo diagonally then cut it to make match sticks like shape. Soak them in a bowl of water with a little bit of vinegar for about 15 minutes to remove the astringency of Gobo burdock root.
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Kinpira Gobo きんぴら牛蒡
Ingredients
- 2 burdock
- 1 tbs vege oil
- 2 tbs Sake
- 1 tbs mirin
- 2 tbs sugar
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 1 chili Takanotsume
Instructions
- Wash gobo with tawashi
- Cut gobo diagonally and then cut into match stick shapes.
- Put them in a bowl of water with 1tsp of vinegar to take the bitter taste off. But no longer than 5 minutes in order to avoid losing the Gobo flavour.
- Heat oil in a frying pan till smoke comes up slightly.
- Toss the well-drained burdock into the frying pan.
- Sautee the burdock for a few minutes and add sake to steam fry the burdock.
- Add the mirin, sugar, and soy sauce.
- Add the chili flakes and stir all together.
- Cook till sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Serve in a large bowl or serve in a small bowl individually.
Thank you for your superb recipe. I’ve been obsessed with gobo ever since I first had it at my favorite yakitori spot in Chicago. Since they closed down I have been making my own. Their chef would use a julienne peeler to get long thin strands and cook their gobo down until it was dark brown (similar to the color of molasses). He would use sesame oil and seeds to make it extra nutty. However, since I am trying to cut out fat I tried your recipe without any oil and it was just as good, totally worth cutting out the extra fat 🙂
You are welcome John. Thank you for the fantastic reating and leaving a lovely comment 😀
Yum. Reminds me of what my host mom made when I lived in Kyushu….next time I will cook the liquid down a little more!
Thank you.
I grow my own burdock in southern ca. Just harvested a huge root. Will try the recipe and let you know how it comes out.😊
Ohhhh Linda! I am so envy you. I am trying to grow my own too, as I have not seen any sold in Brisbane. Yes please let me know how yours turns out!! and tell me your tips to grow burdock too!
Burdock root grows wild in Canada – everyone with a dog is accustomed to having to pull off the burrs when the plant reproduces. I haven’t dug any yet for food, but saw this dish mentioned on “Tokyo Stories” and it peaked my curiosity.
Ohhh, I would love to live in Canada 😀
really like the detailedness of making this dish.
great, easy to follow recipe for gobo kinpira
i managed to find Burdock in NYC, locating Mirin that isn’t corn syrup- based proved a greater challenge, but can be done.
this is now my go-to reipe for gobo,
thank you, Shihoko
Hello Werushka, Thank you for making the recipe and I am glad that you found burdock in NYC and liked my recipe 😀
Hi, this sounds so good. If I make a big batch, can it keep well in a jar in the fridge or do I need to freeze it? How long can it keep?
Hi It will last for a week in fridge 😀
Wow! Yummy. Kind chewy with a rich sweet meaty flavor. I’m not very good at match sticks so some uneven cooking. Can’t wait to add to lunches this week. Thank you
I am glad that you liked it Jennifer 😀
This dish looks like a yummy appetizer. photographs awesome!!
Hi Rose, Thank you 😀
I would love to try this side dish. The health benefits of the burdock root are amazing. I think it would be great with my salads during the week, however, I need to make it sugar free. I can use Stevia for the sugar but the Mirin is sweet as well. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Jennifer, how about Maple syrup? or Rice malt syrup? I am trying to cut down my sugar intake too, and I have used Rice malt syrup was great.
I was just looking at the glycemic index. Mirin is actually lower than either maple syrup or rice malt syrup. So I will stay with the mirin. There isn’t very much added and if I stick to the Stevia. It should work. Thank you for your help. I can’t wait to try it. My local Asian market carries burdock root on occasion. I will start watching for it.