2019-10-21: Kinpira Gobo - Burdock (Klette) Stir-Fry
Something I make quite frequent in recent times is the Japanese dish kinpira gobo. In a nutshell this is a burdock-carrot stir-fry (burdock is called "Klette" in German).
I peeled the burdock root (about 1.5m long) and cut it into flakes and then threw the flakes immediately into a water bath to prevent further discoloring. To flake the burdock I used a knife and cut on a bias while turning the root around. I have also seen YouTube folks that used a peeler to shave of somewhat smaller flakes compared to mine.
I then cut 3 smallish carrots into match sticks. And that is it pretty much on the vegetable side.
Pending which recipes you look at, people use more carrots or less compared to the amount of burdock being used. I have come across a cooking book whose author claimed the basic recipe I am making here is a bit "boring". She recommended to add things like seaweed and different spices to the whole thing. I haven't made that recipe yet, so there might be a sequel in the future :-). My wife likes the sweetish and non-spiciness nature of this particular dish and so I care less about it being basic or "boring".
The remaining items: 2 tsp of shaved palm sugar (any type of sugar or maple syrup/honey is probably ok). 1 tsp or 2 of chile flakes (I use Korean pepper flakes which aren't very spicy). And 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, and 1 tbsp sake (I don't have sake at home, so I am using instead some brown Chinese cooking (Shaoxing) wine instead).
I moved all the prepped items (including the wok) outside into the backyard. The rest was simple: I stir-fried the burdock for about 4 to 5 minutes in some oil. Then I added the carrot mixture into the wok and continued stir-frying for another 3 to 4 minutes. Then I added the palm-sugar chili flakes mixture to the wok and stirred everything for about 2 minutes (the carrots absorb some of the sugar). And finally I added the soy-sauce/mirin/Shaoxing wine mixture to the stir-fry and fried it for another 2 minutes.
To round the whole thing up, it is possible to add a small amount of toasted sesame oil and some toasted sesame seeds if at hand.
This stir-fry tastes a bit sweet, soy-saucy and has an individual taste from the burdock with its fibers. The addition of a little toasted sesame oil at the very end adds another distinctive characteristic (if being used). Kinpira gobo is a nice side dish for any Chinese or Asian lunch or dinner and can be eaten warm or at room temperature. I am also making frequently a dish called kinpira renkon, which is similar in nature to kinpira gobo but with lotus root pieces instead of burdock. I guess this is a topic for a future blog post.
Today was a sunny day and I used a wok outdoors. During winter I make the same dish indoors in a normal frying pan.
I peeled the burdock root (about 1.5m long) and cut it into flakes and then threw the flakes immediately into a water bath to prevent further discoloring. To flake the burdock I used a knife and cut on a bias while turning the root around. I have also seen YouTube folks that used a peeler to shave of somewhat smaller flakes compared to mine.
I then cut 3 smallish carrots into match sticks. And that is it pretty much on the vegetable side.
Pending which recipes you look at, people use more carrots or less compared to the amount of burdock being used. I have come across a cooking book whose author claimed the basic recipe I am making here is a bit "boring". She recommended to add things like seaweed and different spices to the whole thing. I haven't made that recipe yet, so there might be a sequel in the future :-). My wife likes the sweetish and non-spiciness nature of this particular dish and so I care less about it being basic or "boring".
The remaining items: 2 tsp of shaved palm sugar (any type of sugar or maple syrup/honey is probably ok). 1 tsp or 2 of chile flakes (I use Korean pepper flakes which aren't very spicy). And 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, and 1 tbsp sake (I don't have sake at home, so I am using instead some brown Chinese cooking (Shaoxing) wine instead).
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| The prepped items: Matchstick carrots, burdock flakes, the soy-sauce/mirin/Shaoxing wine liquid, the bowl with the palm sugar and chili flakes. For reference there is about 2/3 of another burdock root in the picture laying across the wok. |
I moved all the prepped items (including the wok) outside into the backyard. The rest was simple: I stir-fried the burdock for about 4 to 5 minutes in some oil. Then I added the carrot mixture into the wok and continued stir-frying for another 3 to 4 minutes. Then I added the palm-sugar chili flakes mixture to the wok and stirred everything for about 2 minutes (the carrots absorb some of the sugar). And finally I added the soy-sauce/mirin/Shaoxing wine mixture to the stir-fry and fried it for another 2 minutes.
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| Stir-frying the burdock in the wok. |
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| Adding the matchstick carrots to the wok. |
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| The stir-fry after adding the chili flakes and the palm-sugar. Things look a little bit more reddish. |
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| Indoors again: The final result after adding the soy-sauce/mirin/Shaoxing wine liquid. |
To round the whole thing up, it is possible to add a small amount of toasted sesame oil and some toasted sesame seeds if at hand.
This stir-fry tastes a bit sweet, soy-saucy and has an individual taste from the burdock with its fibers. The addition of a little toasted sesame oil at the very end adds another distinctive characteristic (if being used). Kinpira gobo is a nice side dish for any Chinese or Asian lunch or dinner and can be eaten warm or at room temperature. I am also making frequently a dish called kinpira renkon, which is similar in nature to kinpira gobo but with lotus root pieces instead of burdock. I guess this is a topic for a future blog post.
Today was a sunny day and I used a wok outdoors. During winter I make the same dish indoors in a normal frying pan.
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