Comments on: Japanese Kinpira Gobo Recipe (Video)

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 06:07:06 +0000

In reply to Karen. Hi Karen, I'm not sure what you mean by "weird" but I have a couple of thoughts. 1) I do not recommend freezing burdock, it makes it spongy which accentuates it's fibrous texture in a bad way. 2) Burdock is a very fibrous root veggie that will have a crunchy fibrous texture when lightly cooked (such as for this recipe), or it can get soft and fibrous if simmered in broth for a longer period of time. I hope this helps!

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 22:42:29 +0000

I'll definitely try your recipe, it sounds delicious. One thing I haven't seen any cook mention is "is the Burdick supposed to have such a weird texture? We've noticed two different times that it was tough so I thought it needed more cooking, so I did just that and the texture stayed the same. Is burdock supposed to be that tough? To begin with I took the kinpira gobo out of the freezer and immediately into water.

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 14:53:00 +0000

In reply to Susan Kanegawa. Hi Susan, thanks for sharing! The whittling method (sasagaki) is a traditional method for cutting burdock and I've seen it used for kinpira before, but there are a lot of folks using peelers or cutting the gobo on the bias before cutting it into strips as a shortcut and I'm not a fan of either method. Most older folks (grandmas and greatgrandmas) cut gobo for kinpira with the grain, which preserves the texture. I'm not sure if it's the trend now or what, but as you mentioned, most recipes and store bought kinpira these days are very soft. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who enjoys the texture still crunchy😄

By: Susan Kanegawa

Susan Kanegawa — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 13:58:20 +0000

I learned to make this dish from my mother, a Nisei, very similarly to your style. I see that many other recipes call for using a peeler to cut the pieces, or chipping at the gobo root with a knife to get shavings. My mom taught me to cut thin matchsticks. We fry it just enough so it’s still very crunchy. At restaurants it’s often cooked til soft, which I don’t like. Our recipe calls for a dash of roasted sesame oil in addition to the sesame seeds. It is a favorite dish here, though I mostly make it for Oshogatsu.