Kinpira Gobo - Japanese Burdock and Carrot Stir Fry (2024)

What You’ll Need

• Burdock – This long root vegetable looks a bit like a flexible brown carrot. Where carrots are juicy and sweet, burdock has an earthy crunch all of its own. It’s widely available in Japan, but can be a little harder to source in other countries. Asian groceries or markets will be your best source for fresh burdock. We’ve found frozen sliced burdock and dried burdock pieces at different grocers in our area. Dried burdock should be reconstituted (in boiling water for around 5 mins) then chopped up into fine slivers. Sub with just about any crunchy vegetable you like such as, parsnip, asparagus, sliced lotus root or capsicum / bell pepper.
• Dashi Stock – You can use homemade dashi stock or dashi powder dissolved in hot water as a quick alternative. Dashi powder is available in two main varieties – hon dashi (more intense flavour with bonito flakes) or kombu dashi (seaweed only stock).
• Mirin – This is a sweet rice wine for cooking. If you can’t find it at your supermarket, you can omit or add in a tsp of sugar instead. You can sometimes find this in regular supermarkets, otherwise head to your nearest Asian grocer or online.
• Cooking Sake – Substitute with Chinese cooking wine, or a regular dry white wine if you need.
• Garnishes – Sprinkle with white sesame seeds and fresh chilli, shichimi togarashi, or a drizzle of rayu chilli oil to taste.

Kinpira Gobo – Japanese Burdock and Carrot Stir Fry

Stir fried to perfection, Kinpira gobo is a delicious Japanese side dish of carrot and burdock root in a sauce of soy, mirin and sake. Vegan friendly too!

• ▢ 1 burdock root approx 2 cups once sliced sasagaki style
• ▢ 2 carrots peeled and julienne sliced or sasagaki style
• ▢ 1 tsp white sesame seeds to garnish

For the Sauce

• ▢ 1 tsp dashi powder
• ▢ 180 ml water
• ▢ 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tbsp mirin
• ▢ 2 tbsp sake
• ▢ 1 tbsp sesame oil

Optional

• ▢ 1/2 tbsp raw sugar sprinkled over the dish while stir frying for extra caramelisation
• ▢ 1 small red chilli chopped, to add heat

Metric – US Customary

For the Stir Fry Sauce:

• Mix the dashi powder and water in a small mixing bowl. Add the soy, mirin and sake and stir.

  1 tsp dashi powder, 180 ml water, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp sake

Prepare the Vegetables:

• Wash the burdock root thoroughly to remove dirt. Slice into small julienne strips about 4 – 5 cm long, or use the sasagaki method to slice into shavings. Soak in water to keep fresh, then drain and squeeze out any remaining liquid just before cooking. Meanwhile slice the carrot into julienne strips or cut sasagaki style.

  1 burdock root, 2 carrots

To Cook:

• Heat the sesame oil in a fry pan over high heat. Add the burdock and carrot and stir fry for a couple of minutes.

  1 tbsp sesame oil

• Pour in half of the sauce and continue to stir fry for another minute or so. Once the liquid starts to evaporate, add in the remaining sauce. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce has reduced (another 1-2 minutes). Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

  1 tsp white sesame seeds

• Burdock – This long root vegetable looks a bit like a flexible brown carrot. Where carrots are juicy and sweet, burdock has an earthy crunch all of its own. It’s widely available in Japan, but can be a little harder to source in other countries. Asian groceries or markets will be your best source for fresh burdock. We’ve found frozen sliced burdock and dried burdock pieces at different grocers in our area. Dried burdock should be reconstituted (in boiling water for around 5 mins) then chopped up into fine slivers. Sub with just about any crunchy vegetable such as, parsnip, asparagus, sliced lotus root or capsicum / bell pepper.
• To Slice Burdock
  • Hold the thick end of the burdock root, and cut vertical slices into the thinner end. Now hold the root on a 45˚ angle and shave with your knife – just like sharpening a pencil the old fashioned way. Rotate the burdock continually as you go.
  • When sliced this way, he shavings should be quite fine and thin – this will give you a delicious crunchy texture while allowing the burdock to soak up all the flavours from the seasonings.
  • Once you reach the end of your first round of vertical cuts, make new vertical cuts as before, then continue to shave on the 45˚ angle.
  • Once you reach the very end of the burdock and you can’t make any more shavings, just slice up the rest of the root as thinly as you can.
• Dashi Stock –You can use homemade dashi stock or dashi powder dissolved in hot water as a quick alternative. Dashi powder is available in two main varieties – hon dashi (more intense flavour with bonito flakes) or kombu dashi (seaweed only stock).
• Mirin – This is a sweet rice wine for cooking. If you can’t find it at your supermarket, you can omit or add in a tsp of sugar instead. You can sometimes find this in regular supermarkets, otherwise head to your nearest Asian grocer or online.
• Cooking Sake –Substitute with Chinese cooking wine, or a regular dry white wine if you need.
• Garnishes – Sprinkle with white sesame seeds, shichimi togarashi spice blend, or a drizzling of rayu chilli oil to taste.

Nutrition Facts

Kinpira Gobo – Japanese Burdock and Carrot Stir Fry

Amount per Serving

% Daily Value*

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.