If a little extra labor work is not a problem for you, I would say 80% of the time try to shave the Japanese burdock root with a knife. And don't worry about uneven thickness. The goal is aiming for the uneven, flat, and wide cutting surface.
That way, you can get the most flavor out of burdock root, and on the other hand, the burdock root slices get to absorb most of seasonings in the dish. Just a bit of muscle work though. If that sounds too troublesome or tiring, simply cut the burdock root into thin sectioned strips instead.
Japanese burdock root and pork stir-fry -
Ingredients?
- 2 feet/about 60 centimeter long burdock root
- 500 grams pork belly slices
- 1 big garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Some toasted white sesame seeds
Sauce mixture:
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sake or Chinese rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
How?
It's up to you if you would like to peel the burdock root or not. I usually do due to texture preference.
So have a big bowl filled with icy cold water. While shaving down the burdock root or cutting through it, transfer the burdock root to the water. Just let it sit there while prepping other ingredients.
Use semi-fatty pork slices, this will help giving a smoother bite to the woody burdock root in the end. Slice the pork to smaller or shorter pieces if needed. Mix the pork slices with 1 tablespoon of corn starch all around. Peel and grate one big garlic clove.
Premix the sauce by combining 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1 tablespoon of sake or Chinese rice wine, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Try to stir a bit to help the sugar dissolve.
When ready to cook, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and switch to medium heat. Add in grated garlic and let it warm up a little. Just a quick moment, otherwise the heat will burn the garlic soon after.
Drain out the water for the burdock root. Further pat dry with paper towel then add to the pan. Switch to medium high heat here since there's no more worries about burning the grated garlic. Stir-fry and cook for couple minutes.
Push burdock root to the side then add in the pork to empty area. Cook till separated and about set. You can also stir-fry a bit to break the pork from sticking to one another.
Pour in the premixed sauce and stir-fry with all the ingredients in the pan. Make sure everything has been coated with the seasonings. Continue to cook till the sauce has been reduced and even appear darker brown on some parts.
Plate and sprinkle some toasted white sesame seeds.
By the way, I got this premium double roasted white sesame seeds from Kuki 九鬼, a prestigious brand from Japan. The easiest way to describe its aroma difference is by comparing to the regular white sesame seeds that we often tasted.
Such as the white sesame seeds from a bun then. Frankly speaking, it basically tasted like nothing. But the double roasted white sesame seeds I've got here, was like 10 times the nutty aroma. More so like a milder version of peanut butter. Highly recommended to give it a try if you ever find one at the supermarket.
Other recipes using burdock root (gobo):
- Kinpira gobo きんぴらごぼう (burdock root cooked in Japanese seasonings)
- Chicken and gobo takikomi gohan (鶏ごぼうの炊き込みご飯)
- Not quite the regular miso soup, it's tonjiru time (豚汁)
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