Kinpira (金平) is a Japanese cooking style that can be summarized as a technique of sauté and simmer. [1] The most common dish made with this technique is Kinpira Gobo, braised burdock root. [2] Kinpira is commonly used to cook root vegetables such as carrots, burdock root, and lotus root; [1] [2] skins of squash such as Kabocha; vegetables such as mushrooms or broccoli; [3] [4] seaweeds such as arame and hijiki; [4] other foods including tofu, capsicums, and wheat gluten (namafu); and meat such as chicken thigh, pork, and beef. [5] [6] The base sauce is made up of soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and chili peppers. [2] [7]
Kinpira is named after the son of Kintarō, a Japanese folk hero. [8] [3]