If you would like to include more lacto fermented foods in your life, but getting bored with pickles and sauerkraut, these Lacto Fermented Korean Carrots are a good variation. They are very spicy, with a slight resemblance to kimchi (minus theΒ smell!), crunchy, tangy and a bit sweet.
KOREAN CARROTS ARE VERY POPULAR IN RUSSIA
This dish became a staple in many Russian households due to the influence of Korean migrants who have established large communities across the former USSR. From my understanding, there is no such dish in the Korean cuisine, it’s more of a Russian interpretation of the Asian flavor they liked using a vegetable that was widely available.
UPGRADE FROM PICKLING KOREAN CARROTS TO LACTO FERMENTATION
The popular recipes are based on raw carrots pickled in vinegar and spices overnight; this is my own version that tastes exactly like the original but is made with lacto fermented carrots and ghee instead of vegetable oil.
Lacto fermented vegetables provide us with an extra high dose of vitamins B and C, by-products of microbial metabolism, and a variety of live probiotic cultures, which make our bodies more resilient to disease and stress.
Slicing carrots with a tool like this makes for a beautiful presentation and nice mouthfeel. Or you can use any mandolin slicer with a julienne attachment.
TURMERIC
Turmeric is getting a lot of press because of the amazing health benefits of curcumin. Curcumin is an active component of turmeric root. It gives turmeric bright yellow color that we all love in our curry. Curcumin is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer (source).
Try this Turmeric Golden milk or Probiotic Turmeric Mango SmoothieΒ to add more turmeric to your diet.
HOW TO MAKE LACTO FERMENTED KOREAN CARROTS
- 5 or 6 lacto fermented carrots made like thisΒ
- 3 lacto fermented garlic cloves, I use garlic that I fermented with carrots
- 1/2 onion, very finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons pastured ghee (how to make ghee)
- 1 cup of pickling juice from the carrots fermentation
Spice mix
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea or Himalayan salt
- 3 tablespoons of unrefined sugar
- Julienne carrots with a slicer like this, or any tool that would make very thin long slices (almost spaghetti thin).
- Press garlic through a garlic press, and mix with sliced carrots.
- Saute chopped onion with ghee until soft and fragrant, leave to cool.
- Combine the spices; add to the carrots and garlic; mix well.
- Add cooled onion/ghee and mix again.
- Add pickling juice, mix, put in an airtight container and allow to sit in the fridge overnight. It gets better with time.
- Immediately after the mixing, the salad tastes excessively spicy but it mellows down after resting overnight.
- If you don’t care for spiciness, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper.
Lacto Fermented Korean Carrots
Ingredients
- lacto fermented carrots
- 3 lacto fermented garlic cloves
- 1/2 onion chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons pastured ghee
- 1 cup pickling juice from fermented carrots
SPICE MIX
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper1/4 teaspoon fine sea or Himalayan salt3 tablespoons of unrefined sugar
- 1 teaspoon coriander powdered
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powdered
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powdered
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons unrefined granulated sugar
Instructions
- Add pickling juice, mix, put in an airtight container and allow to sit in the fridge overnight. It gets better with time.
- Press garlic through a garlic press, and mix with sliced carrots
- Saute chopped onion with ghee until soft and fragrant, leave to cool.
- Combine the spices; add to the carrots and garlic; mix well.
- Add cooled onion/ghee and mix again
- Add pickling juice, mix, put in an airtight container and allow to sit in the fridge at least overnight.
Notes
- Immediately after the mixing, the salad tastes excessively spicy but it mellows down after resting overnight.
- If you don't care for spiciness, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper.
5 comments
Beautiful blog and a great post.
I was looking for lacto fermented version of Korean carrots. I have never pickled carrots separately. What do you think of pickling the carrots after making the korean mix using milk whey or pickle brine in moderate quantity.
Best of luck with your blog, I am a fan now!
Thank you, Yuliya! Love your blog, and can’t wait to dig in deeper π
I bet it would work to julienne the carrots, and mix them with spices, water, and pickle brine for a few days, then add sauteed onions at the end. It would even be easier, lol. I always have fermented carrots on hand so that’s how this version came about π
Have you ever fermented all of these raw ingredients and spices leaving out ghee adding more salt?
Hey Jeff, I haven’t tried that but I bet it would taste great too, just will be different from those classic Korean carrots that us Russians are used to π
This dish, Korean style carrots, ΠΌΠΎΡΠΊΠΎΠ²ΠΊΠ° ΠΏΠΎ-ΠΊΠΎΡΠ΅ΠΉΡΠΊΠΈ, Morkovcha, was invented by Koreans, who were moved to Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan, from Far East before WW2.
Awesome blog, btw