Japanese Kinpira Recipe

Kinpira is a style of cooking. In this Japanese kinpira recipe I used konnyaku and carrots. It can be made with peppers, baby bamboo sprouts, chikuwa and others. It is often made with gobo and called kinpira gobo. Gobo is difficult to find in the US, except at Asian supermarkets, so in this recipe, I just use konnyaku and carrots. The sauce is made from soy sauce, dashi, sugar, and water.

Japanese Kinpira is often served as an appetizer (otoushi) in Japanese restaurants and often made at home. Kinpira is versatile as it can be served both hot and cold. My mom often made it for me when I was a child and put it in my lunch box (bento). Kinpira is a healthy vegetable dish that can be part of your healthy diet. I highly recommend making kinpira a common dish at your home.

Tips for Making Japanese Kinpira Recipe

• In this recipe, I added red pepper. If you do not like spicy food, you can omit it from the recipe, and keep the remaining spices the same.
• Also, I added sesame seeds on top as a garnish, but this is not necessary for you to enjoy the kinpira flavor.
• You can also add additional vegetables such as peppers, bamboo sprouts, and gobo. You will often see recipes for kinpira gobo. Kinpira gobo is similar to this recipe, but contains gobo in addition to the carrots and konnyaku.
• This dish is versatile and can be served both hot and cold. My mom often made kinpira and added it in our lunch boxes.
• In Japan, we often serve meals with multiple sides. Kinpira gobo is often one of these sides. My mom would cook a large batch of kinpira for the whole family for about a week and serve it as a side for each meal.

Japanese Kinpira Recipe

Kinpira is a style of cooking. In this kinpira recipe I used konnyaku and carrots. It can also be made with peppers, baby bamboo sprouts, chikuwa and others. It is often made with gobo and called kinpira gobo. Gobo is difficult to find in the US except at Asian supermarkets, so in this recipe, I just use konnyaku and carrots. The sauce is made from soy sauce, dashi, sugar, and water.

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Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Japanese

Ingredients

  

Main Ingredients

• 170 g konnyaku (konjac) 6 ounces
• 1 carrot

Kinpira Sauce

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 50 mL water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 0.5 tsp dashi
• 1 tsp red pepper
• sesame seed (Optional)

Instructions

 

Ingredient Preparation

• Slice the konnyaku into thin, bite-sized slices
  
• Wash the sliced konnyaku with water
• Peel and slice a carrot into thin slices
  

Cooking Kinpira

• Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil into a pan
• Add the sliced konnyaku and carrots into the pan and fry over high heat for 2-3 minutes
  
• Add 50 mL of water, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 0.5 tsp of dashi, and 1 tsp of red pepper into the pan
• Fry until liquid level decreases
• Serve and top with sesame seeds if desired
  

Video

Keyword Carrots, Kinpira, Konnyaku

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