This Asian Carrot Salad is a vibrant, flavourful side dish of carrot ribbons in a sesame vinaigrette that’s made in under 10 minutes from start to finish. Serve this alongside any grilled or roasted meat or fish, or stir a can of tuna into a serving for an excellent and speedy healthy lunch.
Let me tell you what. If you’re looking for a simple and speedy side dish, this is the one you need in your back pocket. Need a way to increase your vegetable intake? Look no further.
People. This is a magical little side salad. I have made this a couple of times a week for the past month or so and I’m not tired of it yet. My husband and I tucked into a batch and ate it all by ourselves for lunch a couple of weeks ago.
It’s hard to stop eating it once you’ve started. Luckily, it’s actually incredibly good for you, so you don’t really need to stop yourself!
Asian Carrot Salad
What makes this raw carrot salad so irresistible? It’s a riot of textures and bursting with flavours and freshness.
Naturally sweet raw carrots are shaved into ribbons with a peeler then tossed with sliced scallions in a vinaigrette of fragrant toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, and a hint of honey and ginger. Everything about this salad invites you to take just another bite or two.
That the vivid orange ribbons are visually appealing is just a bonus. And hey! You can whip up a big batch at the beginning of the week and it holds up well in the refrigerator for 5 days! It is just so good in every way possible.
Obviously, this is a superstar of a side dish, but don’t stop there! You can even tuck these into wraps and sandwiches or serve on top of rice with a fried egg.
Just imagine your carrot ribbon salad between two slices of excellent sourdough bread with a generous smear of hummus and some cucumber slices. Talk about a veggie sandwich made in heaven.
Carrot Ribbon Salad
There are two real keys to making this salad so good. First is the simple vinaigrette which is made by adding all of the dressing ingredients to your carrots in the mixing bowl.
Second is using a good vegetable peeler to slice long, thin ribbons of carrot. Slicing the carrots into ribbons increases the surface area of the pieces of carrot so they can carry more of that delightful dressing.
But it also makes eating a giant pile of carrots much more achievable texturally. Somehow they’re tender and crisp at the same time with zero cooking. And -not to belabour the point- all of this is done in under 10 minutes.
This is -of course- much faster if you’ve got an excellent vegetable peeler. I’m fond of this Y peeler and this old-school peeler both.
Ingredients
Carrots: I grab a big bag of fresh carrots. Orange or multi colour work equally well.
Scallions a.k.a. Green Onions: Green onions bring mild onion goodness as well as a super fresh green pop to the salad.
Rice Vinegar: I love the mild tang of unseasoned rice vinegar. If you can’t find it, I would recommend using white wine vinegar.
Toasted Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds: The mild nutty deliciousness of the toasted sesame oil and seeds echo each other. The sesame seeds add a little pop of texture to the salad as well.
Soy Sauce: This provides umami to our dressing, giving it that special touch of magic that keeps you coming back for more. You can substitute coconut aminos or tamari sauce for a similar flavor or really ramp it the savouriness and substitute in fish sauce in equal amounts.
Honey: Mild honey plays so nicely with and amplifies the natural sweetness of carrots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need some ideas of what to serve this with? Try this with our Salmon Sushi Bake. Baked salmon sushi satisfies your cravings for salmon sushi rolls and is a healthier option for a crowd-pleasing dish while being kind to your budget at the same time!
Or try it with smoked whole chicken. You will never believe how easy and spectacular this smoked whole chicken recipe is until you try it yourself. You could also serve it with the juiciest, crispy-skinned smoked turkey wings for a stunning way to serve turkey year round. If you break out these unbelievably simple gigantic wings at your picnic or tailgate, you’ll be a superhero!
Unfortunately, frozen carrots will not work well with this particular salad. They might be tasty with the same vinegar based dressing, but they’ll lack the texture that makes this salad so delicious.
Technically yes, but I don’t recommend it. Bagged pre-cut carrots are often either too dry or too wet and lack the sweetness and flexibility of freshly shaved carrots, so you’ll miss out on the delightful texture that you get from peeling long, thin strips of carrot.
Additionally, the long, thin strips of freshly peeled carrots are better at soaking up the flavours of the vinaigrette.
Most of the ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten-free, but soy sauce can be tricky. If you don’t have a soy sauce that is specifically marked as being gluten-free, there’s a good chance it has wheat in it. I’d recommend checking your label carefully or subbing in gluten-free tamari sauce or coconut aminos.
100%! In fact, it tastes just as good 3 days after it was made as it does the day it’s made! It’s a fantastic option for meal prepping.
Yes, but with a caveat. Whether you use the frozen pucks of minced ginger or dried ground ginger, you’ll want to whisk it into the vinaigrette ingredients and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before combining it with the carrot strips.
Making your carrot ribbons is easiest if you jab a fork deep into the fat end of a carrot to hold it while you run the peeler from one end to the other. That way you’re not getting dangerously near your knuckles with a peeler while fighting to keep a carrot on the cutting board.
This recipe is not a good candidate for serving, much like most raw salads. When you freeze raw vegetables, the water in the cells expand and break down the cell walls, leaving the vegetables watery and mushy or rubbery when they thaw.
It’s best to enjoy this salad freshly made or from the refrigerator within 5 days.
Asian Carrot Salad
Rate RecipeEquipment
- 1 vegetable peeler
- 1 fork
- 1 set of measuring cups and spoons
- 1 silicone spatula or wooden spoon
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 6 carrots
- 3 scallions trimmed and thinly sliced, 1 teaspoon reserved
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds 1/4 teaspoon reserved
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh shredded ginger or ginger paste or 1/8 teaspoon dried ground ginger, see notes
Instructions
- Stick a fork firmly into the fat end of a carrot and use that to hold the carrot securely against a cutting board. Use a vegetable peeler to shave long ribbons from the fat end to the narrow end of the carrot, shaving the entire carrot or as much as you can. Repeat the process with the remaining carrots.
- Add the carrot ribbons, all but 1 teaspoon of the green onion slices, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, all but 1/4 of a teaspoon of the sesame seeds, and the ginger (see notes) to the bowl. Toss well to coat.
- Garnish with the remaining scallions and sesame seeds and serve.
- Store leftovers in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Toss or shake again before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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