Japanese Kinpira Gobo Salad - Carrots and Burdock Root

Kinpira Gobo - Sesame Sauteed Burdock Root and Carrots

Another Japanese 'Home Style" recipe. This is an easy side dish. This can be served cold or room temperature. I recommend after you have finished cooking this, let it sit covered (unrefrigerated) for about 2-3 hours before serving. This allows the flavors to really come out, especially the red chili. Cover and refrigerate any left over portions and eat for up to 3 or 4 days later.

You can leave out the chili pepper if someone you will be serving it to does not like spicy foods.

For those of you unfamiliar with Burdock Root (called "Gobo" in Japanese) I usually describe it to be a kind of white carrot. It is a root like a carrot, but very long and skinny. You may have seen it in the produce section and exclaimed "What is that?". It looks much like a dirty branch laying there for sale. What could we possibly do with THAT?

Here is what unwashed raw Gobo (Burdock Root) looks like. This one piece has been cut, it was very long.

Gobo is crunchy like a carrot and hardly any flavor actually. I love crunchy things so I have always loved eating it. The first time I ever had it was pickled. Pickled Gobo is miniature sized and colored orange like a carrot. Its great on a Japanese salad!

See if you can make this simple dish at home! In English it would probably be called "Sesame Sauteed Burdock and Carrots". You will need Sesame Oil, Cooking Sake and Soy Sauce which can be found at many supermarkets these days.

Kinpira Gobo

1 med/large Burdock Root/Gobo
2 small/med carrots
1 1/2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 tablespoons Cooking Sake
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted white Sesame Seeds
1 teaspoon dried Red Chili Peppers (very thinly sliced rings)

Scrub the gobo to clean and rinse under running water. Use an ordinary carrot peeler to lightly peel off the brown outer layer. Cut into julienne strips and place into a bowl of water to soak for 10 minutes.

Peel carrots and also cut into julienne strips. Drain the gobo . Add just the gobo and sesame oil and turn on the heat to medium. Stir around to evenly distribute the sesame soil. Add the carrots and stir again. Cook and stir for about 4 minutes until the carrots and gobo is becoming a little tender.

Add the cooking sake, sugar and soy sauce and the dried sliced red chilies. Continue cooking over a medium to low heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the sesame seeds and place in a covered dish until serving. If you like, you can sprinkle a few sesame seeds on the top when serving for a pretty presentation.

The julienned gobo is soaking in water and carrots ready to slice. Japanese carrots are HUGE. I was using both of these as I was preparing a double batch

Gobo, carrots and sesame oil in the skillet ready to begin cooking.

Here is what the sliced dried Red Chili Peppers and the toasted White Sesame Seeds look like that I used.