Kinpira (Burdock roots cooked in soy sauce and sugar) (金平)
Kinpira is one of Japanese side dishes. It is a salty-sweet dish made by cutting ingredients into thin strips and stir-frying them with sugar and soy sauce.
Root vegetables such as burdock roots, lotus roots, and carrots are commonly used as its ingredients, but it also tastes good with thick peel of daikon (Japanese radish) or yacon. Basically, mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) (or sake [Japanese liquor] and/or sugar), and soy sauce are used for seasoning, and if desired, red pepper or sesame is added. In some cases, dried bonito is used.
It is said that the term kinpira was named after SAKATA no Kinpira, a son of SAKATA no Kintoki known as Kintaro. Since a burdock root was thought to be a nutritious food, people borrowed a name from Kinpira who was known for a legend of being strong.