One of the best ways to preserve burdock root, Yamagobo is a standby in traditional Japanese cuisine. It can be eaten by itself but is best known for making vegetable sushi rolls and there's a few different ways it can be flavored and colored. Read on and I'll walk you through a simple Yamagobo recipe that might become your new favorite pickle.

Yamagobo or pickled burdock root recipe cut up on a plate next to a jar of pickles. — Yamagobo / pickled burdock.

What is Yamagobo?

Simply put, yamagobo is gobo root, or pickled burdock root. Burdock is a firm root vegetable that grows around the world, but is probably best known for its place in Japanese Cuisine. It's often used in stir fries and Japanese dishes like kinpira gobo.

A foot standing next to greater burdock leaves (Arctium lappa). — Greater burdock is a very large plant compared to lesser burdock.

Use the pickles to make vegetarian yamagobo maki (yamagobo sushi rolls). Or serve them as a simple pickle. There's two types of burdock that can be used: greater Burdock (Arctium lappa) or lesser burdock (Arctium minus). Great burdock is the variety sold at Asian Grocers.

Foraged lesser burdock root or Arctium minus. — Wild common/lesser burdock is much harder to make this recipe with than gobo burdock.

One thing that makes yamagobo special is in how the pickles are colored. By itself burdock root is white which doesn't make a very attractive pickle. To enhance the color, natural colorings like carrot powder, beet powder, tumeric, or ground fruits like aronia berries can be added.

How to Make Yamagobo

Homemade yamagobo involves a simple pickling process anyone can make. All you need is some fresh burdock roots, salt, rice vinegar, sugar, and a few spices. Some recipes don't call for a lot of seasonings but I like mine rich with herbs and spices.

Yamagobo ingredients: garlic, ginger, tumeric, shallot, chilis, fresh dill, lime leaves, Szechuan peppercorns. — Yamagobo ingredients can be adjusted to your taste. Rice wine vinegar is the most traditional acid used.

You'll also need something to color the pickles like tumeric or carrot powder. The images below describe the process.

Peeling gobo burdock and cutting into 3 inch pieces for pickling. — Peel the burdock root. I love my Kuhn Rikon peelers for this.

A picture of peeled and unpeeled gobo root showing the roots being cut into equal sizes to fit in a pickle jar. — Cut the burdock into lengths that will fit in your pickle jar.

Peeled burdock root being stored in a bowl of lemon water to prevent oxidization. — Hold the peeled roots in lemon water to prevent the roots from turning brown (oxidization).

A close up image of a pot of pickle liquid cooking. — Add the pickle liquid ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil.

A pot of yellow pickling liquid cooked and ready for using. — Cool the pickling liquid.

An image of cut peeled gobo burdock in jars. — Put the burdock root in a jar.

Pickling liquid being added to jars of peeled burdock to make yamagobo. — Add the liquid to the jars.

Adding jars of pickles to a water bath canner. — Add the jars to a water bath canner. And boil for 10 minutes.

Pickled yamagobo being cut into matchsticks with a chef knife. — Cut the burdock into matchsticks for serving.

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5 from 3 votes

Yamagobo (Pickled Burdock Root)

A simple yamagobo recipe for Japanese pickled burdock root. Enjoy the crunchy texture in vegetable sushi, side dishes, or eaten on a pickle plate. Makes 1 pint jar, scale as needed.

Prep Time15

Cook Time5

Total Time20

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: burdock pickle recipe, burdock pickles, yamagobo recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 66kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Cost: 5

Equipment

1 Pint mason jar with lid
1 1 quart sauce pot
1 Vegetable Peeler

Ingredients

8 oz gobo burdock or common burdock
¼ cup water
¾ cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt or 1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoons sugar

Spices (Optional, feel free to make your own spice blend)

5 grams Fresh ginger A few slices
2 tsp Tumeric powder or 1 tablespoon carrot powder, beet powder, etc.
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns / Prickly Ash berries
2 Dried hot chilis
1 Large clove garlic
1 tsp yellow mustard seed
2 Kaffir lime leaves
5 Large allspice berries
1 Small handful Fresh dill

Instructions

Prepare the Burdock

Peel the burdock and cut into 3 inch lengths. You can cut them into large pieces if you use a taller container.
Meanwhile, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil, then cool.
Discard the dill if using.
Spoon the chilis, peppercorns and other solids into the bottom of the jar(s), then add the burdock root. This helps the jars to look nice and prevents spices from being trapped on the top.
Add the pickle liquid to the jar, leaving a ½ inch headspace. Screw the lids on the jars.

Can the Yamagobo

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. There should be enough water that the jars will be covered by 2 inches of water.
Add the jars to the pot, cover with a lid, turn the heat to high. When the water comes to a boil, start a timer for 10 minutes.
After ten minutes, remove the jars. Label, date, and store in a pantry.

Video

Notes

There's many different ways the pickles can be colored. I've seen yamagobo for sale colored with orange food coloring. If you're like me you can skip the food coloring and make your own.

I use turmeric powder in the pictures. Powdered aronia berries add a great purple color. Carrot powder works well too. Beet powder works but isn't as strong as aronia powder.

Nutrition

Comments

HK

April 07, 2025 at 1:27 pm

I think there is a little misunderstanding. Yamagobô generally refers to species of thistle such as Cirsium dipsacolepis, Cirsium borealinipponense, and Synurus pungens (https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A4%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B4%E3%83%9C%E3%82%A6).

It is a bit confusing because Phytolacca species are also called "Yamagobô", especially, Phytolacca acinosa. But at any rate, it does not usually refers to gobô, whether it is cultivated or naturalized.

- Alan Bergo
  
  April 07, 2025 at 1:54 pm
  
  That may very well be, but the funny thing about language is that things can morph and change over time depending on how it's used. My local Asian markets sell pre-prepared yamagobo, and it's definitely made with burdock root.
  
  - HK
    
    April 11, 2025 at 3:56 pm
    
    This site explains what (real) Yamagobô is:
    https://foodslink.jp/syokuzaihyakka/syun/vegitable/yamagobo.htm
    
    Another similar example would be Kombucha. It is a drink made of seaweed, but in the U.S., it is something we call Kôcha Kinoko. To be fair, I did find a Japanese product that used "burdock" as one of the ingredients. So some of Yamagobôs are knockoffs.
    
Jason

January 29, 2025 at 1:51 pm

A little different from what I've had at Japanese restaurants but pretty darn good.

- Alan Bergo
  
  February 01, 2025 at 8:39 am
  
  Thanks Jason.