gobo – Goboroot.com

Goboroot Turns 1 Year Old!

It’s kind of late for “Happy New Year” but I wish all of you fantastic readers out there a great year with lots of love, peace, great health and of course, good food!

Since we came back from our trip to Japan almost a week ago, things have finally started to settle down. Although I’m still lingering over the vibrant memories that we created with our friends and family during the trip, I am refreshed and very much looking forward to another exciting year to come.

I meant to upload some photos during the trip in Japan, but then there was so much happening in the city, so many materials to see and so much scenery to observe. So I decided to live in the moment, completely abandoning the idea of posting news, totally cutting myself off from emails and online activities and soaking up the culture that I had truly missed. This act really helped me a great deal to feel rejuvenated and renewed. No computers, no Internet. I even enjoyed using pay phones everywhere we went; however, it was very hard to spot them! I appreciated the simple things in such a technologically advanced country.

As I was wondering what I would post for goboroot’s 1-year anniversary, I received an email in the nick of time from one of my readers asking if I had a recipe for gobo “French fries” in my archives. He was on a business trip to Japan last week and seemed to have enjoyed lots of gobo in many different dishes. What better way to celebrate the website’s anniversary than to share this delicious recipe! I quickly went into my kitchen and used the last batch of gobos I had saved from last year, turning them into these mouthwatering snacks. Oh, it was a worthy usage of my precious gobos!

So thank you for the great inspiration, Mike. Comments like this from readers have always kept me inspired to update my blog and have encouraged me to pursue my journey. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who supported me along the way!

I will post some photos from the Japan trip with some news very soon. So stay tuned!

Deep Fried Gobo

Serves 4

1 lb gobo, preferably organic

Sea salt

All purpose flour

Cornstarch

Vegetable oil

Wash gobo root thoroughly to remove the dirt. Using the back of a knife, remove coarse hair and skin. You can leave some skin on, as it is said by Japanese culinary experts that the skin contains more nutrients.

Cut into ¼ to ½ inch strips and soak in cold water for 10 minutes. Continue to change water until it becomes clean.

Fill a large pot with water and cook the gobo on high heat until tender (but it should still have a bite to it), for about 10 minutes. Drain well and pat dry.

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan to 180C. Combine the salt, flour and starch in a large bowl. Add the gobo, coat well with flour mixture and then remove excess flour.

Deep fry until the gobo turns a golden colour. Sprinkle salt over top if you like. Serve hot.

Caramelized Sweet and Salty Gobo

If you have any leftovers, try this recipe, as we frequently devoured them with a big bowl of rice for breakfast while in Japan. Thanks to my auntie, who enthusiastically introduced this dish to us along with mentaiko (spicy raw Pollock eggs) and nori in the morning.

Leftover deep fried gobos

1 tablespoon brown sugar (I used Okinawa black sugar and loved the rich flavour)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Roasted white sesame seeds

In a medium pan, heat the sugar and soy sauce over medium heat until bubbling. Add the gobos and stir continuously to mix until the texture of the sauce is sticky. Sprinkle sesame seeds over top. Serve hot or at room temperature with some rice.

Kuri Gohan & Tonjiru

After my mom left, many kind hearts looked after my sister and me. We were consoled by my grandma, our aunties and uncles, and my father’s colleague Mrs. Tajima. We were about 8 years old and Mrs. Tajima had children who were in junior high, so sometimes she came to our apartment to help us with chores or brought us to her house after school. This was when I discovered a love of chestnuts. Boiled, steamed or roasted, I loved eating these nuts, as to me they encompassed a whole autumn season on a plate.

Mrs. Tajima’s children taught us how to spoon the nutty dense meat out of the steamy hot chestnuts. My fingernails ended up all yellow and sweet, with hard brown shells piled up on a table. After working hard to extract the chestnut meat, we happily ate the delicious chestnuts with a glass of milk. Today, when I close my eyes and discern the flavour of each chestnut in the rice, I wonder how Mrs. Tajima is doing, and suddenly remember the way she wiped my wet hair in the evening light with me burying my head around her tummy and wondering if this was how my mother would smell. Cooking chestnuts always brings back this memory and the warmth of Mrs. Tajima.

Kuri Gohan (Chestnut Rice)

Serves 6

30 plump chestnuts

1¼ cups white rice

1 cup (250ml) brown rice

2½ cups water

2 tablespoons sake

½ teaspoon salt

For sprinkling

Roasted black sesame seeds

Sea salt

Rinse the chestnuts, place them in a large bowl, and cover with cold water over night.

Next day, rinse the chestnuts and place them in boiling water for a few minutes. Let them cool off in the water. Peel the skin with a small knife, being careful not to break the chestnuts. Soak them in water for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, wash the rice well and change water a few times until water becomes clear. Place in the bowl of a rice cooker with 2½ cups water.

Rinse the chestnuts and drain well. Place the sake and salt in the prepared rice and stir to mix. Lay the chestnuts on top of rice evenly and cook (If you don’t use a rice cooker, you can cook the same way you normally cook the rice in a pot).

Combine the sesame seeds and salt in a small bowl. Serve immediately with sesame mixture lightly sprinkled on top.

Tonjiru (Pork & Vegetable Miso Soup)

I always make a plenty of this dish because the flavour gets even better the next day!

Serves 6-8

1 large gobo, skin removed and cut lengthwise and then, into 1 inch pieces

6 inch daikon, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

1 lb pork centre loin chop, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups water

2 sheets abura age, cut into ½ inch strings

2 leeks, cut into ½ inch pieces

1/3 cup to ½ cup red miso and white miso (I like mixing half and half)

Soak the gobo in cold water, changing the water a couple of times until it becomes clear, about 20 minutes. Drain well.

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium high heat and sauté gobo. Then, add daikon, carrots and pork until they are nicely coated with oil, for about 15 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil. Skim occasionally and simmer for 30 minutes.

Rinse the abura age by pouring boiling water to remove the excess oil. When cool, squeeze the moisture out and add to the soup.

Add the leek and cook further, about 10 minutes or so.

Turn the heat down to low heat, place the miso in a ladle and melt gradually into the soup. Never boil miso soup, as this will destroy the subtle umami flavour.

Gentlly simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve while hot.

Ohitashi with Cabbage

½ head of cabbage

½ organic lemon

1 Thai pepper, chopped thinly

2 tablespoon dashi stock or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Boil water in a medium pot and submerge the cabbage for about 5 minutes. Drain well.

In the meantime, extract lemon juice for about 1 tablespoon. Peel the rind and cut into thin strips for ½ tablespoon. Combine the juice, dashi and soy sauce in a small bowl.

When cabbage is cool, squeeze the moisture out and cut into ½ inch pieces.

Mix the cabbage, lemon rind, pepper, and lemon juice mixture and serve immediately.

Goodbye Peaches and Hello Roasts

While I am still lingering on the remnants that summer has left behind, it is impossible to deny that the air has turned cooler. Peaches are finishing their season, Fameuse apples are ready for harvesting after having matured for four years in my garden and undoubtedly, it gets dark at 7:30 at night.

With the peaches I have picked up at the farmer’s market, I made peach crisps to say farewell to summer (or at least tried to). I like this time of year; no longer summer, not yet fall, the season in between. It is the time for preparing our minds and bodies for the coming season. So I welcomed the chilly evening with a kind heart and a pot of roasted beef with gobo roots. I feel that we are going to have a good autumn.

Peach Crisp

Serves 6

6 large peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into ½ inch thick wedges

2 tablespoons cane sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup water

½ cup rolled oats, roughly milled using a food processor

½ cup all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour or spelt flour

½ cup cane sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, cut into ½ inch pieces

In a large bowl, toss the peaches, sugar, vanilla and water. Mix well, then let stand for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F. In the meantime, place the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until flaky.

Squeeze the flour mixture in your fingers, form into small patties and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

Butter a shallow baking pan. Place the peaches inside, and lay the patties over them.

Bake until top becomes golden and juice is bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Braised Cross Rib Roast and Gobo Roots with White Wine Tomato Sauce

Serves 2 plus leftovers

4 lb cross rib roast

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

3 tablespons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 large onions, cut into 1 inch wedges

2 x 1’ lengths gobo root

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon cane sugar

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

A sprig of fresh rosemary

1 ½ cups dry white wine

1 cup water

Clean gobo by scraping the skin with the back of a kitchen knife under running water. Cut into 2 inch pieces and cut in half in lengthwise. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes and change water. Repeat this process a few times until the water no longer becomes yellow. Drain well.

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325F. Pat dry the beef and rub the salt and pepper all around.

In a heavy bottomed ovenproof large pot, heat the oil until hot but not burning and brown the beef on all sides. Transfer to a large plate.

In the same pot, sauté the onion, garlic then gobo until golden over relatively high heat. Stir constantly so as not to burn the vegetables. Add the tomato paste, thyme, and rosemary and adjust with salt and pepper. Add wine and water, and then bring to a simmer.

Return the beef to the pot, cover tightly and braise in the oven, turning the beef once in the mid way until done about 80 minutes to 1 ½ hours or a meat thermometer reads 145C for the medium rare in the centre of the meat. Adjust time to your liked doneness.

Take the pot out of the oven. Let the beef rest on a plate covered with a piece of aluminum foil. Transfer the vegetables to a serving plate with a slotted spoon, leaving as much the liquid in the pot as possible. Reduce the tomato-y liquid over medium high heat to half of the amount, stirring occasionally until it attains a thick consistency. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.

Carve the meat into ½ inch thick slices and serve immediately with the wine tomato sauce and the vegetables.

Adapted from www.epicurious.com.

Roasted Carrots

Serves 2 plus leftovers

10 large carrots, cut in half or quartered lengthwise

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the carrots in a large baking sheet, drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes.

Serve immediately with the cross rib roast. Follow by the peach crisp with ice cream.