Featured Comment:
“I made this today and it was delicious! Thank you 🙂 Great for meal prep.”
– Ming
What is Kinpira Gobo?
Kinpira Gobo (きんぴらごぼう) is a traditional and well-loved Japanese side dish made with finely cut burdock root that has been stir-fried and then simmered in a sweet and savory sauce.
Other hardy root vegetables, such as lotus roots and carrots, are often added, too. We sometimes even add chili to give the dish a spicy kick!
You’ll often see this humble dish in Japanese homes because it’s quick and easy to make. It’s versatile and can be eaten with Japanese-style breakfast, teishoku lunch or dinner. We often put it in bento boxes, too!
How I Developed This Recipe
Kinpira Gobo is a staple of Japanese home cooking, beloved for its delightful crunch and savory-sweet flavor.
When I set out to develop this recipe, my goal was to capture the essence of Kinpira Gobo as it’s enjoyed in a typical Japanese household. I wanted to create a dish that would evoke the same comfort and nostalgia that comes with each bite in a Japanese home.
This Kinpira Gobo recipe is versatile and serves as a perfect side dish to complement a variety of main dishes. I encourage you to try making it yourself and experience the simple yet profound joy of authentic Japanese home cooking!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Burdock root (gobo) – It is recommended to choose burdocks covered with soil, as they will last longer if the soil is still attached. It is also advisable to choose burdocks with few whiskers and some thickness all the way to the tips as much as possible and avoid those that are soft and bendy.
- Carrot – Adds color and sweetness to the dish. Medium-sized carrots will be suitable for this recipe.
- Dry chili pepper – It is recommended for those who want a tangy and spicy taste but can be omitted for those who do not.
- Chicken bouillon powder – Preferably Chinese-style chicken soup stock powder.
- Tsuyu sauce – If you want to know how to make tsuyu sauce from scratch at home or brand recommendations, you can check out my tsuyu sauce recipe.
- Sake – Adds umami to the sauce.
- Light brown sugar – Light brown sugar gives a richer flavor, but white sugar is also fine.
- Sesame oil – Adds a hint of nutty flavor.
- Soy sauce – The key condiment for flavor, adds saltiness and umami.
- Mirin – For sweetness and depth.
- White sesame seeds – This is to garnish at the end.
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Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsVisual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Kinpira Gobo at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
Wash the gobo with clean running water to remove the soil, and then scrape off the skin using the back of a knife.
The skin of burdock root is very thin, so to avoid taking away too much of the actual vegetable, it’s better to use the back of a knife (rather than the blade or a peeler) to scrape it off.
Cut the burdock root into thin diagonal slices to increase the surface area, then julienne each slice (thin strips).
Transfer the julienned gobo to a bowl of cold water and allow it to soak for 5 minutes. This will remove some of the bitterness and help prevent discoloration.
Peel and julienne the carrot so that it’s the same size as the burdock root, and if you’re using chili, deseed and thinly slice it.
Mix the chicken bouillon powder, tsuyu sauce, sake, and light brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside for later.
Heat a pan on medium and add sesame oil. Once hot, add the sliced chili and fry until fragrant.
Add the burdock root and carrot to the pan and stir fry for a few minutes or until slightly softened.
Pour the mixed sauce from earlier and turn up the heat to high. Fry until the liquid has reduced completely.
Once the liquid is gone, add the soy sauce and continue to stir fry until completely reduced.
Finally, add the mirin and stir fry until no liquid is left in the pan.
Once the liquid is completely reduced and absorbed into the vegetables, sprinkle with sesame seeds and mix.
Tips & Tricks
- Wash the burdock root thoroughly to remove the soil. This prevents dirt from touching the inside when you cut it.
- Scrape with the back of a knife to remove the skin. Since burdock skin is very thin, using a peeler or knife blade will waste a considerable amount of the actual vegetable.
- Julienne the ingredients to keep the cooking time quick.
- Soak the burdock for about 5 minutes in fresh, cold water; this removes the harshness and some of the bitterness.
- Flavor the oil with chili to spread the chili’s heat and flavor evenly through the dish. Alternatively, you can cook with chili oil or chili-infused sesame oil.
- Add soy sauce and mirin separately near the end of cooking, improving the overall flavor and preventing the soy sauce from burning.
How to Store
Kinpira gobo is a great dish to prepare in advance and use for various meals over a few days. Just keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days.
Since it’s quick and easy to make, I don’t tend to freeze kinpira gobo. Freezing is possible, but the taste and texture will deteriorate quickly so it’s recommended to divide it into single portions, wrap and store them in an air-tight container to prevent freezer burn and consume within 1 month.
To defrost kinpira gobo, defrost at room temperature for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, heat each portion in the microwave at 500W for about 30 seconds.
FAQ
Gobo (ごぼう) is a long root vegetable known as “burdock root” in English. It’s a biennial plant of the Asteraceae family native to temperate zones of Europe and Asia. Interestingly, it is not native to Japan and is considered to have come from China long ago.
Another interesting fact is that even though gobo can be found in various places around the world and is often used for tea and medicine, Japan is the only country that uses it as a vegetable in cooking.
Kinpira (金平) is a cooking technique where the vegetables are julienned, stir-fried, and then simmered in a sauce consisting of mainly sugar, mirin, and soy sauce.
Although kinpira gobo is the most popular, technically, any ingredient cooked this way can be called “kinpira”.
Japanese dishes are usually given names that hint at their history or origin. However, the name “kinpira” doesn’t give anything away. I couldn’t begin to guess where it comes from without researching it.
The word “kinpira” comes from an old sub-genre of Japanese puppet theatre called “Kinpira Joruri.” These kinds of plays were popular in the early Edo period (1600s), and the genre itself was named after a popular protagonist in one of the plays called Sakata no Kinpira (坂田金平).
Kinpira Sakata was depicted as a very strong and brave figure, and the name “Kinpira Gobo” is said to be born from the fact that the crunchy texture of burdock root and the strong spiciness of chili peppers can be compared to the strength of Kinpira no Sakata. It might sound a bit farfetched, but this is by far the most promising answer to the origins of Kinpira Gobo’s name.
Also, burdock is considered an energizing food with many health benefits. For this reason, it was believed that if you eat kinpira gobo, you can become strong like Kinpira Sakata.
Burdock tastes uniquely earthy, a bit like artichoke or parsnip. It’s crunchy, slightly sweet, and a little nutty. Imagine biting into a refreshing root vegetable with a sweet finish – that’s more or less burdock!
Yes, we use all sorts of vegetables to make kinpira dishes! Popular options include bamboo shoots, potatoes (including sweet potatoes), and bell peppers, to name a few. Simply cut them in a similar style to the burdock roots shown in the video. However, if you use alternative ingredients, be sure to taste as you go. The sauce in this recipe may need adjusting, as it could be too weak or too salty depending on the vegetables you choose!
I hope you enjoy this Kinpira Gobo recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Side Recipes
Kinpira Gobo (Braised Burdock Root)
Ingredients
- 200 g burdock root (gobo)
- 100 g carrot
- 1 dried red chili pepper optional
- 1 tbsp tsuyu sauce see how to make your own tsuyu sauce here
- 1 tbsp sake
- ½ tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder (granules) or plant-based alternative
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Wash 200 g burdock root (gobo) thoroughly and scrape off the skin using the back of a knife.
- Cut the burdock root into thin diagonal slices and then each slice into thin strips (julienne). They should be about 5cm long and 3-4mm thick.
- Soak the julienned burdock root in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes.
- Peel and julienne 100 g carrot, the pieces should be the same size as the gobo. Then deseed 1 dried red chili pepper and thinly slice.
- In a small bowl, mix the 1 tbsp tsuyu sauce, 1 tbsp sake, ½ tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder (granules) and 1 tbsp light brown sugar until completely dissolved. Set aside for later.
- Heat a pan on medium-high and drizzle in 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil. Add the dry chili to the pan and fry until fragrant.
- Add the carrot and burdock root and fry for a few minutes until slightly softened.
- Pour in the bowl of sauce from earlier and turn the heat up to high. Fry until the liquid is reduced completely.
- Add 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce and fry until reduced.
- Finally add 1 tbsp mirin and stir fry everything together until all the sauce has completely reduced/absorbed into the ingredients.
- Turn off the heat, add 1 tbsp white sesame seeds and mix well.
- Serve and enjoy!
I made this today and it was delicious! Thank you 🙂 Great for meal prep.
Thank you for trying the recipe and giving it a 5 star review! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Lovely recipe. (Forgive typos as the text is so light I can barely see it). I have sturdy plants in the yard, but until I had the roots tested for heavy metals, I dare not use it. Burdock root is known for absorbing them. I have taken powdered, organic burdock root for decades – but purchased. It would be lovely to make the kinpira gobo, and worthwhile to plant some burdock seeds in healthy soil, to cultivate and eat.
I have never tried growing my own burdock root, but I’m sure using home-grown produce would take this dish to another level. I didn’t know about burdock root absorbing metals, thank you for sharing!
Best wishes, Yuto
I made this for dinner, it was so easy and delicious. Thank you.
Hi Sueling,
Thank you for using this recipe and sharing your picture! Looking great!
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it and found this recipe easy! 🙂
Yuto