Gochujang carrots
Gochujang carrots
Thanksgiving and Xmas are coming – not that anyone needs a reminder, mind you – so I’ve decided to focus on some vegetable sides that could adorn our festive tables when the time comes. That gives me a little break from a test kitchen overflowing with festive desserts too, so that’s a double win.
I’m hoping to bring you a cracking dessert this Saturday (fingers crossed my final test cook goes well), but in the meantime, how about a plate of beautifully roasted carrots smothered in spicy sweet Korean-inspired glaze? Unconventional, I know, but when you are vegan you don’t get to eat many conventional things anyway so why not?
I went all out and used cute looking Chantenay carrots for this dish, which tend to turn up in shops in this pre-Xmas period. They are served alongside a traditional Xmas roast dinner over here, prepared in a classic French way – boiled (often to within the inch of their life sadly) and then smothered with lots of butter – but I much more prefer roasting them in the oven, which gives them a chance to caramelise and sweeten. I pre-baked them first, coated them in a sweet spicy gochujang marinade then roasted them some more to get that beautiful caramelisation going. They are delicious and pretty to look at. I hope you’ll give them a go.
- 500 g / 17 oz small carrots*, scrubbed clean
- 10 ml / 2 tsp neutral oil
- 15 ml / 1 tbsp Gochujang*, adjust to taste
- 15 ml / 1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for GF version)
- 5 ml / 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 15 ml / 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp finely grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- salt, to taste
- squeeze of lime / lemon (optional)
- toasted and crushed sesame seeds (or peanuts)
- fresh coriander, chopped
- Set the oven to 200° C / 390° F (no fan) and line one large baking tray with baking paper.
- Wash the carrots well and dry them – I used a clean kitchen towel and then dried them in a low oven for about 10 minutes. You can also air-dry them.
- Top your carrots and cut them in half lengthwise, leaving the very small ones whole. Coat in oil and roast until cooked through (about 20 minutes). Give them a good stir halfway through the baking time.
- In a small bowl, combine gochujang paste, soy sauce (or tamari), toasted sesame oil, maple syrup, ginger and garlic.
- Increase the oven temperature to 225° C / 435° F and coat the carrots in the spicy marinade (I like to return them to the bowl I used for coating them in oil to do that).
- Return the carrots to the a baking tray and roast for about 10 minutes, until the marinade is caramelized in places.
- Season with salt to taste and sprinkle with a little lime or lemon juice if you find the dish too sweet.
- Place roasted carrots on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and fresh coriander.
*GOCHUJANG (KOREAN CHILLI PASTE): if you haven’t got any to hand, you could replace it with (Middle Eastern) harissa, sesame oil with olive oil and sesame seeds with roasted almonds, for example.
These carrots have been requested by family members since.