Vegetable
Gobo
S tier
Gobo is the Japanese market name for cultivated burdock root—long, slender, dark-skinned roots grown in deep loose soil for maximum length and minimal branching. Flavour is clean-earthy with a pleasant chew after cooking; raw matchsticks stay snappy in salads when soaked. Supermarket gobo is usually straighter and milder than foraged European roots. Classic kinpira gobo with soy, mirin, and chili defines the taste for many. Also good in nimono and as a crunchy tempura stick. Keep roots moist; drying toughens the exterior.
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History
Japanese farmers specialised deep-bed gobo production for straight long roots.
Kinpira and other Edo-period dishes fixed gobo in everyday washoku.
Plastic-wrapped long gobo became a standard Japanese supermarket item.
Export and Japanese groceries spread the gobo name internationally.