Burdock is an intriguing ingredient to be used in cooking. By adding it into your Tonjiru or even gyudon, it will add an extra layer of sweetness and slight bitterness to your dish. An ingredient that we will not miss when we are making tonjiru at home.
However, burdock always comes in a long root (usually a meter long) that impossible to fully utilize it. Most of the time we ended up throwing half of it away. Until recently, one of my friends who is also crazy about Japanese food told me that the leftover burdock can be braised and made into Kinpira Gobo. Without hesitation, we gave it a try and instantly fell in love with it!
If you know what burdock is (or gobo in Japanese), you might be wondering, isn’t it bitter? Or will braised burdock taste any good? Well~ you are not the only one. We felt the same at first but it surprised us after we tried it. Burdock can taste bitter and slightly earthy. If you braise it right, you will get a sweet, savoury, and slight bitter side dish that goes superbly well with rice.
This crunchy side dish isn’t just tasty, they are super nutritious. Burdock is high in antioxidants. It has a lot of health benefits but most importantly, it also prevents symptoms related to photo-induced aging of the skin. In other word, makes us look younger. However, please take it with a grain of salt alright. Don’t just go eating burdock for the rest of your life. You will kill yourself due to lack of nutrients. 😉
If you happen to be like us, use burdock in cooking, and always end up with some extra burdock root, give this dish a try. I bet you will love it~
Braised Burdock (きんぴらごぼう)
Equipment
- Pan or Wok
Ingredients
- 300 g Burdock (thinly sliced)
- 100 g Carrot (thinly sliced)
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds (roasted)
Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)
- 1.5 tbsp Soy sauce
Instructions
Preparation
- Scrap off the burdock skin and thinly slice it. Roughly 2 inches length and soak them in water for about 5-10 minutes.
- Thinly slice the carrot as well.
- Toast your sesame seeds until golden brown.
Cooking
- Before cooking, discharge the burdock water and rinse it under tap water.
- Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil (or sesame oil) in a wok or pan on medium heat.
- When the oil is hot enough, add the sliced burdock in and stir fry it for about 2 to 3 minutes
- Add the carrot in and stir fry until they are tender.
- Add mirin and soy sauce in. Stir fry and make sure they are all well coated. Then braise until all the liquid evaporates.
- Mix the toasted sesame seeds in. Mix it and serve.
