Gobo, ninjin, renkon no kinpira / kinpira saute with gobo burdock root, carrot and lotus root

Crunchy! Great with meals, beer, sake... and wine, too.

<Ingredients>

20-30 cm gobo burdock root
5-7 cm carrot
4-5 cm renkon lotus root
1 red chili pepper (sliced)
1 tbsp sake
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil (not in photo)
Salt & pepper, to taste (not in photo)


<Directions>
1.

Sasagaki diagonal slice gobo, and immediately soak in cold water.

Cut lotus root lengthwise, then slice crosswise 4-5 mm thick, and immediately soak in cold water.
Julienne carrot.

After soaking gobo and lotus root for 5 minutes, drain.

2.

In a frying pan, heat sesame oil.

Add gobo and saute on medium heat for a minute or so.

Add red chili pepper, and saute until gobo becomes somewhat translucent.

Add lotus root, and saute until somewhat translucent.

Add carrot, and saute until somewhat tender.

Add sake and quickly stir, making sure all vegetable come in contact with sake.

Salt and pepper.

Add soy sauce, and quickly stir. Turn off heat.

<Notes>

• Soaking gobo and lotus root in water removes their harsh taste and prevents discoloration.
• This tastes good hot or at room temperature.
• Kinpira is a general term for vegetables sauteed and flavored with soy sauce, sake, and mirin or sugar. Root vegetables are common choices, but other vegetables such as green pepper and broccoli as well as such items as konnyaku yam cake are prepared as kinpira. One story traces the name "kinpira" to a tough guy character called Kinpira in a popular joruri puppet theater play from about 350 years ago. Gobo sends its root deep into the soil. It is a strong vegetable, just like the main character in the play. Sounds like a bit of stretch.