Burdock fettuccine with red pepper and anchovy 牛蒡のペぺロンチーノ

When I buy gobo 牛蒡, I usually get one gobo at a time but this time, the minimum amount I could buy was two. So, besides my usual, kimpira 金平 or nituske 煮付け, I decided to expand my repertoire of gobo dishes. Emulating noodles by using julienned and/or long shavings of vegetables (such as potato, nagaimo or daikon )(for that matter, spaghetti squash does not even need to be cut into a noodle shape) is not unusual but making noodles from gobo is new to me. I saw this in e-recipe and decided to try it.

Gobo: I used the stem half of gobo for two servings. After I scraped off the skin using the back of the knife under running water, I used a vegetable peeler to make nice thin long strips. I immediately put the gobo strips in acidulated water. I changed the water several times until the water became clear. I drained and patted the gobo strips dry using paper towels.

Cooking: I heated olive oil (1 tbs) in a frying pan on medium-low flame. I added garlic (two cloves, finely chopped) and anchovy (2 fillets, finely chopped). When the garlic and anchovy became fragrant, I added the gobo strips and red pepper flakes. I stirred it for 2 minutes more or so and seasoned it with salt (taste before adding salt, the anchovy may be salty enough) and black pepper. I added chopped fresh parsley at the end.

This is a surprisingly good dish.  It has a nice spiciness and the gobo provides a pleasing firm texture. The garlic, anchovy, and red pepper create layers of flavors that all go well together. This is a perfect drinking snack. Any drinks including cold sake (not warm sake), wines (especially a nice peppery Australian syrah) and beer will pair well.