Chili crisp carrot salad with lime & ginger
This chili crisp carrot salad is one of those recipes I lean on when I want something fresh, flavorful, and almost always in season.
It’s crunchy, bright, a little spicy, and easy to adjust to your own tastes. It works as a side, over rice, or next to your favorite protein or tofu.
It’s especially good for those weeks when you haven’t been shopping in a minute, or when you just need to reset your fridge by finishing off a bag of carrots.
What makes this carrot salad so handy
The base is simple: thinly sliced carrots with green onions and cilantro, dressed with lime, salt, chili crisp, ginger, honey, toasted sesame seeds, and a neutral oil, heated until hot.
It comes together especially fast if you have a food processor or mandoline, but a sharp knife works just fine too. And the spice level is completely up to you.
Why carrots are the perfect seasonal staple
There are a few vegetables that carry us through most of the year on our farm. Carrots are one of them.
At Sweet Season Farm, we’re harvesting carrots from late spring through fall, and then pulling them out of cold storage well into winter.
That means carrots are almost always somewhere in our cooler… and in our fridge at home too.
Carrots are dependable because they last for weeks, if not months. You truly can’t go wrong. And when life gets busy, that matters. Learn how to store carrots and other produce so it lasts longer in our free downloadable veggie storage guide.
Chili crisp carrot salad with lime & ginger
Adapted from Munching with Mariah
Ingredients:
½ lb. carrots, chopped into matchsticks (about half of a bunch)
2-3 green onion tops, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp sesame oil or other neutral oil (NOT toasted sesame oil)
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp finely grated ginger
1-2 tsp chili crisp
Salt to taste
Directions:
Chop carrots into 3” pieces, then slice into thin matchsticks using a food processor, mandoline, or knife.
Slice green onions into thin matchsticks.
Chop cilantro.
Toss carrots, green onions, and cilantro with lime juice and a generous sprinkle of salt. Set aside 5–10 minutes to release some water.
Add toasted sesame seeds, honey, ginger, and chili crisp to a heatproof bowl.
Heat neutral oil (not toasted sesame oil) on high until it shimmers.
Pour hot oil over the chili oil mixture to flash-cook the ginger and bloom the flavors. Stir well.
Drain excess water from the carrot mixture.
Toss with the chili oil mixture. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
Serve immediately.
Cut carrots into thin matchsticks using a food processor, mandoline, or knife. Slice green onions into similar size pieces using a knife and combine with chopped cilantro.
Pour hot neutral oil over the toasted sesame seeds, honey, ginger, and chili crisp to flash-cook the ginger and bring out the flavors.
