CHEF SAMBRANO: GOBO or BURDOCK ROOT

Friday, February 5, 2016

GOBO or BURDOCK ROOT

When I was a kid growing up in the plantation camps until I was about 8 years old, my mom cooked a lot of Japanese foods. One may wonder why since we are Filipino. Well one reason is we had several neighbors in the camp that were from Japan, hence my mom learned how to cook what they served up in their homes. And my mom reciprocated.

One of the dishes she used to make was pork with vegetables, the standard carrots, bean sprouts, maybe some green beans or any greens. But there was this one vegetable that just stood out, it tasted kind of earthy, it was a contrasting vegetable I've never tasted. Carrots can be sweet, onions just the same. Some beans are bland. This vegetable wasn't bland, it's really hard to explain. All I can say was when she finally cooked the dish, I made sure I was there watching her.

So she comes back from the supermarket with all of the ingredients, and then she takes out Gobo. Or Burdock root. It's a root, not like a potato, but more slim. I remember her washing it, and then soaking it in water to soften it up more. Then she'd slice it into strips, and then cook it. She was a very simple cook, sautéing the pork with ginger and garlic, then adding in a concoction of soy sauce, sugar, water, and then the other vegetables including the Gobo. And in about a half an our we had a meal. The Burdock root, or Gobo would be seasoned with the sauce, but it still had a unique flavor. All I can say is you to to try it.