Kinpira Gobo Recipe (Chopped burdock roots & carrots cooked in sugar and soy sauce)

This recipe yields one of the often-seen Japanese side dishes - Kinpira Gobo. Cut up the burdock roots (Gobo) and carrots into slivers for a delicate texture, then flavour them with sweet and spicy soy sauce - that’s it! Slicing off the burdock roots into thin pieces helps to cook faster and absorb more flavour. Please try it!

Ingredients for 4 People

• Burdock root 150g
  
• Carrot 150g
• Water (for soaking), as needed

Seasonings:

• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 1 tsp granulated Japanese soup stock
• 1 tbsp mirin (sweet cooking sake)
• 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp sesame oil 
  

*You can add a dash of chilli pepper if you like spicy one.

Method

1. Peel the burdock root by using the dull edge of your knife. Score it with uneven lines then shave the cut end of it as if sharpening a pencil. Soak in water for 10 minutes.
   
2. Peel the carrots and cut them into long thin pieces.
3. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add sesame oil and the drained ingredients prepared in steps 1 & 2. Saute the burdock slices until they become soft.
4. Top with seasonings and saute over medium heat until all sauce is absorbed.
5. Add white sesame seeds and stir-fry briefly over medium heat.