Burdock Stew
Nourishing Burdock Stew (Vegan)
Herbal Infusion: (2 cups dry herb) Red clover, Nettle, Oatstraw, Astragalus (2 sticks)
1 cup dry mushroom of choice (Chaga, Reishi, Maitake or 1 Tbs powered mushroom
Simmer herbal mixture and mushrooms slowly in 6 qts of water for 20 minutes.
Let infusion sit (on the counter or in the refrigerator) for 12 hours. (Long cooking/extraction time needed to extract minerals). Let the broth come to room temperature, strain.
Broth:
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked adzuki bean
1 cup stewed tomato
1 onion (chopped)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
3 Burdock root (sliced or diced)
3 carrots (chopped)
Salt, pepper, minced parsley, thyme, sage rosemary, to taste
Sauté onion and garlic, burdock, carrots until the carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork, then stir in cooked rice, beans and remainder of ingredients.
Cover with prepared herbal broth. Simmer again for 20 minutes to meld flavors.
Burdock Root Soup
1⁄2 cup burdock root, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 broccoli stalks, coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 cup or 1/4 cauliflower, coarsely chopped 1/3 cup fennel, sliced
2 beets, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 inches of fresh ginger root, chopped fine 3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander, ground
2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
Salt to taste
Place all ingredients in soup pot. Cover with water. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. Leave chunky or blend. Or half chunky and blend the other half to make it creamy.
Burdock Chicken Stew
6 Chicken drumsticks, marinated in salt and pepper
2 ft long thin Burdock Root, peeled and cut into 1-cm thickness
2 medium carrots
2 medium potatoes
1 large onion
2 stalks celery or leeks
4 dried Shitake mushrooms, soaked in water and cut into quarters 2 tbsps miso
2 tbsps chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup cooking wine or sweet rice wine
Salt, sugar & pepper to taste
Water
1) Cut peeled carrots and potatoes into chunks. Cut celery diagonally.
2) In a wok or deep pan, heat up a little oil and fry chopped garlic until golden and fragrant. Add miso. Stir for 1 minute.
3) Put in the chicken drumsticks and sauté for about 3 minutes to seal in the juices.
4) Add the rest of the vegetables, and stir for about 3 minutes just to let the aroma come out.
5) Add the soy sauce and wine, and stir for a minute or 2.
6) Add enough water to just cover the chicken and vegetables. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. You can add more water is you like. Or you can leave this to simmer in a slow cooker.
7) Thicken with corn flour solution if necessary, and season to taste.
Burdock Pork Stew
Cook Time 80 minutes
450 grams pork belly cut into bite-size chunks
2 scallions, white parts chopped, green parts thinly sliced
2.5 centimeters ginger, fresh, sliced into 8 coins
1/4 cup sake
6 cups water
6 centimeters dashi kombu
160 grams burdock root (~1 burdock root)
1 large carrot cut into bit-size chunks
200 grams konnyaku (konjac) cut into bite-size chunks (sub potato) 200 grams baby taro peeled and cut in half (sub potato)
1/4 cup yellow miso (to taste)
Put the pork belly into a cold pan, and turn on the heat to medium. The pork should release some fat as the pan heats up so you shouldn't need to add any oil. Once some oil has rendered out, add the white parts of the scallions and ginger and sauté until the surface of the pork is cooked and a brown crust has formed on the bottom of the pan. Turn up the heat to high and then add the sake. Use the liquid to scrape up the brown found on the bottom of the pan, and boil until there's almost no liquid left. Add the water and kombu, and then bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that accumulates at the surface until there's no more foam accumulating. Cover with a lid and turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook for about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, fill a bowl with cold water, then add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Working quickly, peel the burdock, then use a sharp knife to whittle away chips of burdock as you rotate the root with your other hand.
Remove the kombu and ginger. Skim off as much excess fat as you can. Drain the burdock and add it to the tonjiru along with the carrots, konnyaku and taro. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Turn down the heat to low, then add the miso. Because the salinity of miso varies by brand, taste the soup and add more miso if it needs more salt. Add the green parts of the scallions, and serve.
