March 19, 2014

Kinpira Gobo/きんぴらごぼう

Today, my wife got lots of vegetables from her brother, including gobo (burdock roots), as well as large amounts of takuan (yellow pickled daikon) and pickled nozawana (a type of green).
I decided to make kinpira gobo using some of the gobo.
今日は、妻が実兄からごぼうなど野菜を沢山と、沢庵(たくあん)や野沢菜漬けを大量にもらってきました。
そのごぼうを少し使って、きんぴらごぼうを作ることにしました。
I used a sheet of aluminum foil to clean the skin.
アルミホイルを一枚使って、皮をきれいにしました。
You can see the crumpled sheet of aluminum foil on the right.
右側にくちゃくちゃになったアルミホイルが見えます。

You need not remove all the dirt from the gobo.
汚れを全部取る必要はありません。
Cut into sticks and soak in cold water for a few minutes.
(Or, you can whittle the gobo.)
棒状に切って、冷水に数分漬けます。
(またはごぼうをささがきにします。)
Cut a carrot into sticks, too. (Or, you can whittle it.) Put some sesame oil in a frying pan, and add gobo and carrot.
人参(にんじん、ニンジン)も棒状に切ります(または、ささがきにする)。フライパンに胡麻油を入れ、ごぼうと人参を入れます。
I heated with a lid on, for a few minutes. I added one red pepper (deseeded and cut into small pieces with scissors). Then, I added a 1:1 mixture of mirin and soy sauce (75 ml each, because of the large amounts of gobo and carrot). Stir-fry until done.
蓋をして数分加熱しました。赤唐辛子(種を抜き、はさみで細かく切って)入れました。次に、みりんと醤油を1:1で混ぜたもの(ごぼうと人参の量が多いのでそれぞれ75 ml)入れました。火が通るまで炒めます。
I was surprised to see that my wife transferred the kinpira to this tiny container. Anyway, I sprinkled some white sesame seeds.
妻がきんぴらをこの小さい器に移したのでびっくりしましたが、とにかく、白ごまを振り掛けました。
I also simmered four slices of ma-dara (a type of cod).
75 ml sake
75 ml water
30 ml soy sauce
30 ml mirin
(sake + water), mirin, and soy sauce ratio = 5:1:1, as usual)
真だらを四切れ、煮付け(につけ)にしました。
お酒 75 ml
水 75 ml
醤油 30 ml
みりん 30 ml
(酒+水)、みりん、醤油の割合 = いつも通り5:1:1)


Simmered for 6 min.
6分煮ました。

I learned from my wife that these particular slices were salted ma-dara! They were a bit salty, but good enough.
この切り身は塩真だらだったことを妻から聞きました!ちょっと塩辛かったですが、十分美味しかったです。

We also had this very substantial miso soup, leftover from last night's supper.
この具沢山の味噌汁も飲みました。昨日の夕飯の残りです。
We also had this simmered hijiki, also leftover from last night's supper.
このひじきの煮物も食べました。これも昨日の夕飯の残りです。

6 comments:

Tea Apprentice said...

Aluminum foil to clean burdock! I never thought of that.

Looks like a great home-cooked meal :)

T Square said...

Hiroyuki, why using the aluminum foil not brush?

Hiroyuki said...

Tea Apprentice and T Square: Using aluminum foil is not my idea. It does clean the burdock just enough, not too much. A brush should work fine for sweet potatoes, for example, but not for burdock roots. You can also use metal wool.

Again, you need not, and should not, clean burdock roots completely, or you will lose much of the flavor.

Sissi said...

I liked kinpira gobo a lot when I was in Japan (I had it every day for breakfast). I should start foraging because burdock is a very popular "weed" in Europe (I think it's the same variety... but no one grows it).
Talking about Japanese plants, I have sown for the first time ice plant (I bought the seeds in Japan). Apparently I might have sown it in the winter... from what I understood looking at the table behind the package. I hope to have my very first negi (I don't know if balcony boxes will be enough...).

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Even if you can't find gobo where you live, you can still make kinpira using other vegetables like daikon, celery, and renkon (lotus root). My wife likes making kinpira with daikon and carrot.

I don't think that ice plant is native to Japan, but anyway, I hope you succeed in growing it!

Are you referring to ao negi, popular in Western Japan, or naga negi, popular in Eastern Japan? I guess negi is relative easy to grow, but it will take rather a long time to harvest.

Sissi said...

Thank you for the suggestion, Hiroyuki. I will try it with other vegetables, though I must say I liked gobo's crunchiness a lot... Renkon is so delicious too... but again only canned or frozen here :-( It's so funny that when I was in Japan I discovered many vegetables thanks to a breakfast buffet changing in my hotel every day. In Europe if you see one or two vegetables for breakfast, it is exceptional!
Haha! I have just checked the packages (I have sown two different plants) and then compared to your post here http://hiro-shio.blogspot.ch/2013/07/negitoro-don.html
I think I have the bottom and middle plants. I will see if they grow... When my friend's mother took me to a gardening shop outside of Tokyo, I just couldn't resist buying new plants...
As for ice plant, I saw it for the first time on a Japanese blog, so I was sure it was Japanese... then I was very surprised to see it written in katakana on the package. I will see if it grows! (It was very expensive: I have only ten seeds inside I think and you know better than me that usually seeds are sold by dozens per package...).