Karl’s Japanese Quick Pickled Carrots

I made some shredded pickled carrots for Jan, while her mouth was healing. I did not think they were anything special, but she really liked them. Today, I was at the Japanese store and saw some nice carrots. I decided that I would make some more for my Japanese dinner tonight.

Karl’s Japanese Quick Pickled Carrots

Karl’s Japanese Quick Pickled Carrots

Ingredients

1 lb. carrots
2 tsp. salt

½ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. dashi (leave out for Vegan)
½ cup water
¼ cup mirin
2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. black sesame seeds

Directions

1. Rinse, peel and shred the carrots.

Tip: You can go to all of the effort to carefully cut the carrots into match sticks or you can buy a vegetable shredder for only a few dollars and do it in seconds.

2. Put the carrots in a bowl and sprinkle the salt over them.

3. Let the carrots sweat for at least 30 minutes.

Tip: Tossing the carrots every five minutes to redistribute the salt.

4. Rinse off the salt and drain the carrots well.

5. Add the vinegar, mirin, dashi, sugar and water to a small pot and bring the mixture to a boil.

6. Remove the pot from the heat and add the carrots. Cook with the heat of the marinade, tossing the carrots constantly, for 30 seconds.

7. Put the carrots and marinade in a air tight container.

Tip: If you have a plate or plastic lid that is slightly smaller than your container, use it to press the carrots into the marinade. The Japanese have spring loaded pickling containers for this step, but I do not do it often enough to be worth the expense.  If the carrots are not completely submerged add a bit of hot water until they are covered.

8. Refrigerate the carrots for at least 30 minutes.

Tip: The longer the better.

9. Drain the carrots, toss with the black sesame seeds and serve.

Tip: You may toast the sesame seeds to enhance their flavor.