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I’m not a big fan of eating raw carrots. This probably had been the case ever since I was young. The habit of eating raw vegetable was simply not there in our family tradition. I’m always amazed by toddlers who are munching raw baby carrots so deliciously! (good for them). I tried that before, but couldn’t make that habit lasted for long though. As you can probably predict already, I mostly used carrots in soups, stew, or stir-frying. This vibrant carrot salad though, it’s raw. The carrot is raw. What made me eat them was all the toppings and herbs that were put in there to perk it up and believe me, I don’t feel like eating raw carrots. Savory and that hint of lime is just so good. A little crunch from the fried-shallot crisp and peanuts are really a nice touch to this salad. Not to mention the beautiful vibrant color! Your eyes will sure feast first before your tongue!
CARROT SALAD WITH DRIED SHRIMP AND FRESH HERBS
Ingredients
- ½ lbs of carrots peeled and coarsely grated
- ½ cup of peanuts
- ½ cup of good quality medium-size dried shrimps
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp of fish sauce
- Toppings:
- 2 Tbsp of fried shallots crisp available at Asian grocery store
- 1 Tbsp of the dried shrimp powder
- 2 Tbsp of chopped peanuts
- Small pinch of salt to taste
- Small pinch of cayenne pepper optional
- Small bunch of Vietnamese Coriander/rau ram or substitute with half coriander leaves and half mint leaves roughly chopped
Instructions
Prepare the peanuts and dried shrimps:
- Soak the dried shrimps in warm water for about 5 minutes. Rinse off water and pat dry with paper towel. Preheat a small skillet on high heat without any oil. Add in the dried shrimp and saute until fragrant and dried up further, about 5 minutes. Let them cool down. Place into a food processor and process into fine shreds. Set aside
- Rinse the skillet with clean water. Preheat on fire again. Add in the peanuts and stir to roast the peanuts, but don’t burn them, about 3-4 minutes. Let them cool and chop coarsely on the food processor. Set aside
Preparing the salad:
- Place the grated carrot in a large bowl. Season it with fish sauce and lime juice and toss to mix. Then add in 1 Tbsp of dried shrimp powder, cayenne pepper and toss to mix again
- When ready to serve, sprinkle on the fried shallots crisp, 2 Tbsp of chopped peanuts, and coriander leaves. Serve immeidately
