Blistered Baby Carrots with Soy Butter, Lime and Shichimi
/Sticky, sweet, salty and super smoky. These baby carrots definitely hit the Umami Jackpot! Friends from the US, if you haven’t yet discovered those Les Petit Carrots of Many Colors at Trader Joe’s then I urge you to run and pick up a bag stat! Hands down one of my top 5 TJ products. The technique of making the soy butter and pairing with lime can be used in other vegetables or even for Egg on Toast.
*I eat it with some sticky rice, roasted nori and silken tofu but feel free to stuff in a sandwich wrap or serve as a small plate in a dinner party spread.
Ingredients (serves 4 as a side)
1 lb Baby Carrots, whole & peeled
2.5 tbsp Vegan Butter (substitute with regular Unsalted Butter if not keeping vegan)
1 small garlic clove, grated or crushed
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce (substitute Tamari or Coco Aminos)
1 tbsp Maple Syrup
1/2 tbsp Mirin
1.5 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
Zest and juice of 1/2 Large Lime
1 tsp Shichimi Togarashi (substitute with 1/2 tsp chile flakes + 1/4 tsp+ toasted black sesame seeds + 1/2 tsp crushed toasted Nori)
1-2 tsp Roasted Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Finely chopped cilantro or scallion greens for garnish
Directions
🥕 Bring a large pot of water to boil, add carrots and let them boil/cook for 13-15 mins or until tender but firm enough to hold shape. Drain and keep it aside
🥕 Melt butter in a large skillet, then add garlic. Fry for 45 sec then add soy sauce, using a whisk or spatula keep stirring on medium or low heat so that it’s well emulsified. Immediately add carrots and turn off heat. Coat the carrots well with soy butter, then blow torch thoroughly so that it has black patches all over and very smoky. If not using blow torch then transfer into a baking dish and put it under grill / broiler for 2-4 mins while giving it shakes in every minute
🥕 Transfer the carrots onto a platter reserving the buttery juices. Now transfer those juices into a microwave safe bowl, add maple syrup, mirin, vinegar and lime juice into that. Give it a good whisk & microwave for 30-45 seconds and pour this concoction on top of the carrots.
🥕 Finish with lime zest, shichimi, sesame seeds & greens. Serve at room temp or straight away! Highly recommend alongside a sushi or soba noodle dinner spread.