so this is burdock (as it's known in europe) or gobo root (as it's known in some part of asia i assume to be japan, from the ingredients in the recipe). despite its appearance in the picture, it doesn't really look like poo. it looks like a root. not necessarily edible looking, but still something vegetal that you could dig up in your garden.
when i searched for burdock recipes, it wasn't that successful. this one http://recipezaar.com/recipe/Kinpira-Gobo-braised-Burdock-Root-100670 was the best-looking one, so i went with it. and it was super helpful. as the author states, burdock really does stain your fingers (you might not notice it as you cook, but in the morning you'll be nice and yellow, like you did a bad job with fake tanner) and it oxidizes quickly (look at the picture - it started white and ended up that brownish grey color). and the recipe was both totally good and apparently rather traditional, as i discovered when i searched "gobo root" (v. "burdock" ) while trying to find the recipe to attribute it here. will need to fill in better on the flavors when i dig up my notes later, but overall, it had a smoky yet light earthiness. very edible and acceptable to a southern californian palate. i would buy it again. i was actually really pleased with this dish.
I was going to say I'd never even heard of this one, but then I remembered the rabbits in Watership Down talking about burdock. Interesting. Are you eating it from a tortilla in the second picture?
ReplyDeletei hope our supermarket has burdock root!
ReplyDeletenot a tortilla, just a plate with a damaged glaze. a tortilla might actually have worked, though, with some hoisin sauce, maybe ...
ReplyDelete