I first tried burdock root salad 7 years when a friend decided to order it at Izakaya restaurant on Front St East (it’s no longer there). I thought the name sounded totally strange and had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised with the crisp texture that held the strong flavour of the dressing which had hints of sesame, soy, ginger and chili. I purchased prepared burdock root salad at Sanko over the past few years.
On my last trip to Hong Kong, I rediscovered burdock root salad in the prepared foods section of Apita, a Japanese department store that was close to where I stayed.
I so enjoyed the slightly spicy, savoury taste and crisp texture of this salad that I bought it several times for lunch. When I came back to Toronto, I asked Chef Melissa Saunders if she had tried burdock root salad and she had many years ago as well and quite enjoyed it. I’m very excited she has put it on her menu this week. I cannot wait to try her version.
In addition to being a crisp root vegetable that lends itself to tasty flavouring, burdock root is high in fibre and potassium, and has small amounts of iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C and E. The fibre in burdock root is naturally occurring inulin, a soluble fibre and prebiotic, which is now commonly added to foods to boost nutritional value and fibre content. Try burdock root salad when you get a chance for the interesting taste and nutritional benefits.
