Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Kimpira is a side dish that is usually made of root vegetables. Most commonly it is made from,
gobo,
renkon and carrots, although
daikon and goya (bitter melon, I'm not talking about the canned food) are also good.
Gobo/carrot and renkon kimpira are my favorite kimpira dishes, I don't think I could choose which one I liked better. I don't like it, however, when it's been simmered or braised. Kimpira should be shari shari (sound of the vegetables against your teeth) and have a nice bite to them.
The important thing to note when making any kind of kimpira is to cook it briskly in oil before adding in the sauce ingredients, and to not simmer it for a long time.
Ingredients (4 Servings)
2 cups of sliced and prepped
renkon
2 teaspoons of sesame seed oil
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of mirin or sake
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/8 teaspoon of dashi powder (optional)
sprinkling of sesame seeds
1) Wash, peel and slice the renkon into thin slices. (about 2mm thick)
If the renkon is large, cut them into quarters but if they are small, leave them as is.
2) Soak the renkon in water as you're cutting for
aku nuki.
3) Drain and try to shake as much water out as you can.
4) Get a pot or large frying pan hot. Add the sesame oil and coat the bottom of the pan.
5) Add the renkon and stir fry so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir fry constantly for about 4-5 minutes.
6) Add the mirin, then sugar and then soy sauce in that order. You can also add the dashi powder last but that's optional. The reason you don't want to put the soy sauce and sugar first is because it will burn.
7) Stir fry constantly until the flavors are absorbed. (About 1-2 minutes.)
8) Serve in bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cut the renkon in half length-wise and then slice in half. (This is for a large renkon).
Stir constantly while stir frying in sesame seed oil. This will ensure that the kimpira is crunchy. I double the recipe here.
Add the sauce ingredients and keep stiring constantly.
Serve kimpira in bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
