Japanese Kinpira Gobo: Braised Root Vegetable Technique and Nutritional Wisdom

Ingredients

• 300 g gobo (burdock root), peeled, cut by sasagaki or julienne, held in acidulated water
• 100 g carrot, peeled, julienned to match gobo
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• For the glaze
• 2 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, added last in sequence
• To finish
• 1 tsp togarashi (shichimi or ichimi), added at the last moment to retain aromatic intensity
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
• Acidulated soaking water
• 1 litre cold water, combined with a small splash of rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

Method

1. 1
   Peel the gobo. Working immediately, cut it by the sasagaki method — rotate the root while shaving thin, irregular, feathered pieces with a knife, as though sharpening a pencil — or cut into thin matchstick julienne on the bias. Transfer each piece into the acidulated water as it is cut. Hold in the water until all gobo and carrot are prepared. The cook knows this step is complete when no cut surface has been exposed to air for more than a moment and the water has taken on a faint straw colour.
2. 2
   Drain the gobo thoroughly and pat dry. Heat sesame oil in a heavy pan over high heat. Add the gobo and julienned carrot. Stir-fry at sustained high heat, moving the vegetables continuously, until the exterior shows faint caramelisation and the raw gobo aroma softens to something nuttier. The cook knows this stage is reached when the pan smells of toasted earthiness rather than raw root.
3. 3
   Add the sake to the pan. It will hiss and steam sharply; allow it to reduce for thirty seconds or so to cook out the alcohol. Add the mirin and allow the liquid to reduce until it begins to coat the vegetables and the sharp alcoholic note has left the steam. This is the point at which the glaze begins to form — the steam will smell sweet rather than raw.
4. 4
   Add the soy sauce. Reduce the heat slightly. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: the soy must not enter a scorching-dry pan — it must fall into a pan still carrying liquid from the sake and mirin, so that it glazes rather than burns. Toss and stir continuously until the liquid reduces to a lacquering glaze that clings to each piece of gobo and carrot. The vegetables must retain slight resistance when pressed — not fully soft. Taste a piece: the bite should meet a firm centre beneath the sticky, sweet-salty glaze.
5. 5
   Remove the pan from the heat. Scatter the togarashi over the vegetables and toss once. Add the toasted sesame seeds and toss again. Applied off the heat, both retain their aromatic intensity. The surface of the kinpira should appear lacquered and deep in colour; each piece distinct, not clumped. Serve at room temperature, or cool and refrigerate for bento use.