Korean carrot salad

Recipe of Korean carrot salad was invented by Soviet Koreans. As there was neither beloved by Koreans napa cabbage (for kimchi) nor any other specific food in the USSR. That’s why this salad is unknown for people that live in both Koreas. And I feel pity for them.

Because firstly it’s extremely cheap dish. Secondly Korean-style carrot is very easy to cook and it can be stored up to 2 weeks in a fridge (and I suppose even more). And thirdly it’s not only very tasty salad, but healthy too. To let body absorb all the vitamin A that carrot contains, one has to mix it with oil, and that’s what we will do. And also when will you have a desire to eat so much carrot at once? 😉

According to this recipe you can make beetroot salad, just omit the sugar or reduce the amount twice.

Ingredients:

• 2 kg of carrot
• 2 tsp of salt
• 200 ml of flavorless oil
• 1 small onion bulb (~50 g)
• 2 tbsp of whole coriander seeds (whole seeds will be more fragrant, if you ground them right before adding to salad)
• 4 tbsp of sugar
• 1tsp of paprika (sweet bell pepper) powder
• 1 tsp of chili pepper powder
• 50 ml of vinegar, 9%
• 3 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic (~8 g)

The exact amount of sugar depends on sweetness of carrot. Try to cook Korean-style carrot using my proportions (taste the carrot prior to adding the rest of ingredients) and next time you’ll be able to understand, how much sugar you need only by tasting carrot.

You can exclude chili pepper if you don’t eat any spicy food, or add more, if you like it. Note that if you add more garlic, the aroma of the salad will become too garlicky. Kind of “you’d think twice before eating and going later out”.

Instructions

1. Peel carrot and grate it. As you see on the first picture, one needs to grate carrot Asian-style. Some food processors are equipped with special disc. Unfortunately there are no suitable slicers for my food processor, so generally I grate carrot thinner than it should be. It means that my carrot is usually less crispy. But it reduces my labor while the taste is still good.

2. Put grated carrots in a bowl of 5 l capacity (to stir it easily). Add salt and mix it well. Leave for 15-20 min.

I recommend using rubber gloves to prevent your nails and skin from being colored orange (especially if they were manicured).

3. While carrot is producing juice, peel onion and cut it in thick (~3 mm) rings. Add oil to a frying pan and put onion rings in it. Ground coriander seeds (use coffee grinder or pestle and mortar).

4. To pour excess juice off carrots you need to squeeze it with hands first. The amount of juice depends on carrot – 200-250 ml from juicy autumn carrot and 50-100 ml from stored one. We won’t need this juice for the recipe. So generally I drink it. Salty carrot juice tastes strange, but it’s good for health and I don’t think it’s a good idea to throw vitamins away.

5. Add grounded coriander, paprika and chili pepper, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar to carrot. Mix it well.

6. Mince garlic and put it right in the middle of grated carrot.

7. Put the pan with oil and onion on a stove. Switch on high heat. As soon as the onion will become slightly brown, take it out (we won’t need onion, one can eat it or throw away). Now pour boiling oil right on the garlic.

8. Mix Korean-style carrots well. If you wish, you can put it in a smaller (2,7-3 l) bowl. Tamp carrot down, cover and leave it to marinate in a fridge for at least 1 night (24 hours will be perfect).