This simple Korean Carrot Salad will WOW you! If you enjoy kimchi, pickled ginger or anything similar, this flavorful and bright Asian carrot salad is for you!
Sometimes the simplest foods are just surprisingly flavorful. Case in point, this easy Korean Carrot Salad. All you need are some fresh carrots and a handful of pantry staples and you are ready to go. You have to love simplicity and flavor like this Dense Bean Salad witch is the similar make once eat often idea.
This raw carrot salad recipe is crunchy, flavorful and has a great tang to it. My husband compared it to pickled ginger, however it's crunchier than that.
This vegetable side dish is also called Morkovcha is often referred to as Russian Carrot Salad or Ukrainian Carrot Salad where I live. It was a Ukrainian friend who first introduced this salad to me years ago. Lately, it's been popping up all over TikTok.
TIP I have found the perfect marinate time for this Korean Carrot Salad is 24 hours in the fridge, however it's almost just as good after 4 hours or 48 hours.
Where I live in Bucks County Pennsylvania, and neighboring outlying areas of Philadelphia, we have a large community of both established and recent immigrants from Russia and Ukraine. So in just about every direction, within 10-15 minutes, I can find myself in a Russian market of some sort.
They have some amazing prepared foods and packages foods (even if I can't read them or in most cases communicate with those working there). Their fresh salad bars are incredible! I love trying many of the goods they carry. I am half Polish, so some of the prepared salads and soups are similar to what my Babci, grandmom and Polish aunts made while i was growing up.
This fresh carrot salad is so flavorful, yet simple. It has an amazing crunch. You can enjoy it as is as a light meal of snack or as a side dish to many meats. Sometimes I top a salmon bowl or a sandwich with a big bunch of this, yummy!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Fresh whole carrots
- Salt and black pepper
- Vinegar (rice wine, plain or apple cider)
- Sugar (optional)
- Fresh garlic and onion
- Avocado or olive oil
- Red pepper flakes, coriander, paprika & sesame seeds
- Fresh parsley
Carrot Salad Variations
- Use sesame oil for a stronger Asian flavor.
- Experiment with flavored vinegar.
- Use white or black sesame seeds or a mixture of both.
- I enjoy this salad with thick ribbons of carrot, however you can julienne carrots or in a pinch use pre-shredded carrots (although fresh shaved carrots are much better IMO).
- If you like spicy, add in a spoonful of chili crisp or chili garlic paste which I often do, yum!!
Storage
This Korean Carrot Salad is a great make once and eat for days recipe. Store in a sealed glass jar in your refrigerator for up to 4 days. Shake or toss again before enjoying.
Korean Carrot Salad Recipe Tips
- I use a potato peeler for this. I drag it along large, fat carrots, whittling away to get long, wide, thin carrots ribbons. You can also use a mandolin or choose to julienne the carrots.
- TURN you carrots to another side as you press and peel, creating an easier way to get the job done evenly.
- Save the wobbly centers and ends by popping them in a freezer bag or container for making stock.
- Allowing the carrots to sit for 8-24 hours makes them better.
- I know many use sugar in their Korean Salad Recipe / Russian Carrot Salad Recipe. I do not. I almost always use rice wine vinegar for this which leans sweeter vs plain vinegar (or even apple cider vinegar for that matter).
I hope you enjoy this flavorful carrot salad! XO Colleen
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Colleen Kennedy is the author of 3 cookbooks and has appeared on QVC and other shows inspiring home cooks of all levels. She has a popular TikTok channel @Colleen'sCooking with hundreds of short recipe videos. Colleen lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and kids, she started Soufflé Bombay in 2009.
Korean Carrot Salad
Equipment
- potato peeler
Ingredients
- 3 whole big fat carrots about 1.5 pounds
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon sugar see notes
- 3 TBS rice wine vinegar or regular vinegar more or less to taste
- 3 cloves garlic (3 BIG cloves or 5 smaller ones)
- ¼ cup minced Vidalia onion
- 1 TBS sesame seeds, divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- a few shakes of red pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper) as much or as little as you enjoy
- 3 TBS avocado or olive oil
- 3 TBS fresh parsley or more to taste
Instructions
- Peel the outer layer of your carrots to clean them up. Next, lay carrot down and using peeler, firmly press down and run it the length of the carrot 6-8 times. Cutting fat long ribbons of carrot.
- Flip the carrot every 6-8 ribbon slices to help make things even. Save the ends and center in a freezer bag or container for stock making. Repeat with remaining carrots.
- Place carrot ribbons in a large bowl and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt. Toss aggressively and set aside.
- Once you have all of your ingredients in place, place the garlic onto the carrots, just plopping in in the center.
- Combine, black pepper, red pepper flakes, coriander, cumin, paprika in a small ramekin.
- Heat oil, once hot, add onions and sauté for 1 minute. Quickly add spice mixture, stir aggressively for 15 seconds and them scrape it onto the carrots. Mix well..
- Add vinegar and toss.
- Add sesame seeds, parsley and the other ½ teaspoon of kosher salt (and if using dollop of chili crisp or chili garlic sauce).
- Taste and adjust.
- You can eat this right away, however its best if you allow it to sit a couple of hours or overnight before enjoying.
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