GOBOU TO GYUNIKU NO ITAMENI

BURDOCK ROOT & BEEF ITAMENI-STYLE

In my opinion, the combination Gobou(burdock root) and Gyuniku(beef) is very good. Soaked delicious Dashi, it will keep the nice taste even when cold. Cold rice and beef seasoning are better than warm ones because the beef flavor has soaked into the rice.

Photos:May 04 1997, Made on: May 27 1997, Translated: April 12 1998

Reference books: none

I wonder if this dish should be named "Stirred Burdock root and Beef in Sigure Style", but I'm not sure. Where did I learn it? After stirring ingredients with sesame oil, add Sake, soy-sauce, (Mirin) and Dashi, and then simmer. This way called "Itame- Ni"(Stir and then simmer). Almost all food can be cooked in Japanese style, if you follow this way. So can this recipe. It's better to add genuine Dashi to enrich its taste.

Ingredients (Serves: 4)

1 Burdock root
300g sliced beef
About 1/2 cup Dashi
2-3 tablespoons soy-sauce
2-3 tablespoons Sake
1/2-1 tablespoon Mirin
1-2 tablespoons sesame oil

Beef thigh and sirloin are both OK, use the one you like. The amount of beef is greater than the amount of burdock root for my family. Generally, 150-200 g beef / 1 burdock root is normal.....?

Cooking
time
(min.) Pictures Comments

2
-
3
Preparation

Slice beef into small pieces (2-3 cm). In a bowl of water add 1-2 Tbs vinegar for the sliced burdock root. This is one of Japanese cooking methods. This way the burdock root excess bitter taste is removed.

5
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7
Cut burdock root into Sasagaki pieces

Even you feel it is bothersome, you should buy burdock root with clay. There is nothing like its peel's aroma. Scrub the peel using a Tawashi lightly. Sasagaki means shave rolling vegetable such as burdock and carrot like sharpening a pencil. If ingredients are thin, shave them just like that. But if an ingredient is thick, cut it vertically and then in half again. And then shave into Sasagaki pieces like sharpening a pencil.

Place them into the bowl with water and vinegar to removed the burdock's excess strong bitter taste. If you don't have vinegar, just water is OK, too. Because recently it doesn't seem that burdock root has as strong bitter taste as before. Place in water for 4-5 minutes, then drain the water. Rinse burdock root using water to remove excess vinegar well. Preparation is finished. While soaking burdock root in the water, heat a pan with plenty of water.

15
-
20
Itame-Ni(stir and then simmer)

Sesame oil about the amount shown in the picture. Rarely I use measuring spoons, so don't follow the recipe exactly. Stir burdock root over medium heat and add beef. Before beef is well cooked (while some part of it remains red) add soy-sauce, Sake and Mirin and keep frying. When the color of beef changes, add Dashi till it barely covers them like the picture's. Stir them lightly and then simmer with a lid for about 5 minutes over medium low heat.
Take the lid off, and then increase to high heat and let sauce evaporate until thicken. It takes about 10 minutes after removing the lid. Now you've got "GOBOU TO GYUNIKU NO ITAMENI". I prefer the rice which has absorbed the excess sauce for lunch-boxes.