Kinpira is a traditional Japanese dish that incorporates many root vegetables and is enjoyed by many families as a side dish. You can enjoy this dish by its self or with other things like rice. The soft and crunchy texture and sweet, salty, and a bit spicy taste make it hard to resist. It is very simple and easy but very nutritional to add to your meal!
Many people who cook Kinpira often include burdock root. I did not have any in hand at this time, so I did not include it. However, I included a version of the recipe that you would use if you would like to include burdock root. Burdock root is known for the many excellent health benefits, including being an antioxidant, lowering blood sugars, ‘cleansing’ the blood, reducing inflammation, and even treating and preventing some cancers. There are many other health benefits to the other root vegetables that are included in this dish as well.
If you do not have some of the vegetables listed in the ingredients, that is ok. It is truly delicious if you can get all of the ingredients, but some could be hard to find unless you go to an Asian or Japanese grocery store. However, I tried this recipe with just carrots for the vegetables, and it was really good as well. I have not tried other vegetables that are not listed in the ingredients, but it may be fun to experiment with!
What you will need:
Lotus root - This is what gives the crunch to the dish. Lotus roots can be a bit hard to peel and slice. So, please be careful!
Carrots - I like to leave the skin on, but if you would like to peel the skin, that works too!
Daikon radish - Many of the dishes that use daikon radish often need to have it peeled. I have always felt wrong to toss it away, but I found out that it can be used for this dish! Of course, you can use the inside/ the whole daikon radish for this recipe, but if you have some daikon peels to spare, you can use them here! :)
OPTIONAL: Burdock root - If you are adding burdock root, I would suggest replacing half of the amount of daikon radish with this. For this recipe, it needs 200g of daikon radish. Therefore, if you are including Burdock root, the amounts you will need will change to 100g of daikon radish and 100g of burdock root instead.
Sesame oil - Sesame oil gives a toasty and nutty taste to this dish. But if you are allergic to sesame, please use the oil you prefer instead. And if you would like to avoid using oil, adding a bit of water instead of the oil to the pan in the beginning, it will help the vegetables from sticking to the pan.
Mirin - Mirin is similar to sake, but has more sugar and lower alcohol content. It is made from rice, cultured rice, and distilled rice liquor. It adds a deep flavor and umami to the dish, similar to the sake.
Sake - I recommend adding both Sake and Mirin. The sweet sake and mirin have a great balance with the saltiness of the soy sauce.
Soy sauce - you can substitute this with tamari or coconut aminos. You may need to add more or less depending on brand and type.
Red pepper - I used chili peppers, but I believe you can use other peppers to make it a little bit spicy too. If you do not like spicy, you can lessen the amount or skip it!
Sesame seeds - Toasted sesame seeds give an exceptional quality to this dish. There have been researched findings that found toasted sesame seeds that were toasted a couple of days ago lose many of their health benefits. So, I would suggest toasting raw sesame seeds right before cooking this dish or even just cooking it with the dish! I toasted it beforehand and sprinkled it on top because some people in my family are allergic to it.
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Vegan Kinpira きんぴら(Japanese side dish)
Ingredients:
Vegetables
Lotus root (Renkon) - 275g
Carrots - 170g
Daikon radish (peels and/or whole)- 200g
Optional: Burdock root - replace 100g of daikon (Change to: Burdock - 100g, daikon -100g)
Seasonings
Sesame oil - enough to cover the frying pan (about 1 tbsp)
Mirin - 2 tbsp
Sake - 2 tbsp
Soy sauce - 3 tbsp (or to taste)
Red pepper (sliced) - 1 tsp
Toasted sesame seeds - 1 tbsp (optional)
Water - 1 cup
Instructions:
Gather and wash all vegetables.
Slice carrots and daikon radish thinly (about 2 inches in length).
Peel and then thinly slice the lotus root. Soak the thinly sliced lotus root in water with a little bit of vinegar until you start to cook them to prevent browning and oxidization. (I used rice vinegar). Make sure to drain lotus root from the vinegar water before cooking in the pan.
Optional: If you are adding burdock root, peel the skin and thinly slice them. It should be similar in length and thickness to the carrots and daikon radish. Similar to the lotus root, to prevent the burdock root from getting browner and oxidizing, soak in water with a little bit of vinegar until you start to cook them.
Heat the pan at medium-high heat.
When the pan is heated, add the sesame oil to coat the pan.
Put the lotus root into the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until it becomes more translucent. Stir occasionally. Optional: add burdock root at the same time as the lotus root.
Add red peppers, water, soy sauce, mirin, and sake to the pan.
Add carrots and daikon radish to the pan and cook for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Turn to low heat when some of the liquid evaporates but still leaving some and vegetables starts to golden.
Taste some of the vegetables to see if it is salty enough. Add soy sauce if needed.
Keep on low heat until the carrots, and daikon (and burdock root if added) are tender. The lotus root should be cooked and soft enough to bite through, but it will still have a crunch to it.
Optional: Add sesame seeds to the pan or your plate after serving it.
You can enjoy it hot, warm, or chilled! After the kimpira has cooled down, make sure to store it in the refrigerator.
Please let me know what you think or if you have any questions in the comments! And if you try the recipe and post it, make sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see it :)
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