Japanese Inflected Carrot Threads

This is a dish you want a Ben-Riner or mandolin. If you have a sharp grater that produces almost matchstick thick results, that could work also. This dish uses mirin and shiro-shoyu, a.k.a. white soy sauce. This is a very light colored soy with a lighter body and flavor than regular soy sauce. It adds a light umami quality dishes as well as a little salinity, so you can ease up on salting a dish, and helps bring out the nuances of vegetable flavors. It is great when you want the effect of soy sauce without wanting to taste it or have it stand out in a dish. This dish is beautiful when made with multi-colored carrots, but mature chantenay carrots work really well also.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound carrots, scrubbed and cut into 2-2½ inch long matchstick with a Ben-Riner or mandolin

1 medium clove garlic, peeled and minced

¼ cup white wine such as grenache blanc or sauvignon blanc

½ tablespoon shiro-shoyu (white soy sauce)

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon dark agave nectar, or as needed

Salt and Pepper to taste

Grape seed or other neutral oil as needed

Sesame seeds, toasted

METHOD:

Heat a 4 quart chef’s pan or 10 inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Film generously with oil, and heat up.

When oil is hot, add the garlic and toss and stir immediately. As soon as it is fragrant and before it colors, add the carrots and toss to mix and coat with oil. Season with pepper and toss some more.

Add the wine and toss to coat, and cook until almost all the wine is evaporated. Add the shoyu and mirin and toss to mix.

Taste for sweetness, and add the agave syrup. Stir around to coat and cook a little longer to color the carrots just a little.

Taste for seasoning. Add shoyu if you wish, or sweeten it if it needs it. Hit it with a little salt if needed.

To serve, the carrot threads should be flexible but not soft. There should still be a little bite to the carrots. Place carrots into a bowl and scatter with coarsely ground sesame seeds.

Chef’s Notes: If you like sesame seeds and use them a fair amount, you can pick up a sesame seed grinder for very little money in Japanese markets and gourmet food shops. Buy iri goma (roasted sesame seeds) in shiro and kuro (white and black) to feed it and you are set. The black seeds have a deeper flavor, and make a striking contrast on rice.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen