The chef at my favorite Thai restaurant in Cincinnati gave me the recipe for this carrot salad. One of the most popular salads/appetizers was his carrot salad. People would purchase many takeout meals to bring this dish to a gathering. Making this the day before is even preferable.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, coarsely grated
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons Thai red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup finely chopped unsalted peanuts
Instructions
- Place grated carrots in a large bowl.
- Combine sugar, water, and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a boil; cook until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic, fish sauce, and curry paste to sugar mixture and simmer until flavors blend, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool dressing completely, about 30 minutes.
- Stir lime juice and red pepper flakes into dressing and pour over carrots. Add peanuts and toss to coat. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
- I usually double this recipe since a large bag of carrots yields lots of salad.
- Using tamarind is the traditional method; however, it is hard to find in regular grocery stores. Any Asian grocery store will have it. Lime juice makes a reasonably good substitution.
- The amounts of Thai red curry paste and red pepper flakes can be increased to suit your taste (it is Thai food, after all).
- The dressing is very similar to one of the dipping sauces usually served with Thai spring rolls, so the dressing can be made on its own for that purpose. I have also used this as a dressing for a thinly sliced cabbage slaw.
Reviews
Great salad! Loved the salad dressing although I did reduce the sugar and red pepper flakes by half and added additional 1/2 lb. carrots. Everything else remained the same. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Very sweet. I cut down all the dressing in half and it’s still a little wet. I’d also add some more peanuts by doubling the amount.
It’s great but I agree w/ others regarding too much liquid. I like spicy so I doubled the red pepper flakes & it was perfect. I don’t do tame food.
Way too much liquid, even when I used 2 lb of carrots. Also too sweet for my taste. If I make it again, I will reduce water, vinegar, and sugar by half and maybe the crushed red pepper. Adjust to taste with a little salt and pepper after chilling.
I didn’t have white sugar so I used raw sugar and it still turned out perfect! Love the flavors and so did my family. This was a home run!
I’ve never cared for raw carrots, but this salad is utterly addictive. I can eat it several times a week and it never gets boring. Thanks so much for sharing!
This is a very easy and wonderful recipe.. Tried to make it the first time without curry paste. Had Chili Garlic Sauce in the frig. Big mistake. Do think it is much better made a day ahead. Also, serve nuts separately. Nuts are kind of a personal preference as to how man, if any. Like the look of them on the plate not coated with dressing. Think the salad keeps better in the frig without them.
It was quick to prepare,refreshing,and a good side for any Asian dish. Next time I’ll double the carrots because there was too much sauce.
I thought the vinegar dressing was a lot of volume but worth it! I made it with a spicy Thai coconut chicken soup.
Delightful. I served this with Asian Beef Stew and Indian Potatoes with Pickling Spices. The dinner reminded me of food served at Burma Superstar in Oakland, CA. Asian Beef Stew had Chinese or Vietnamese spices. This will be a make=again but I might decrease the sugar by half.
I saw this recipe about a couple of hours before dinner and needed a veggie dish. I had all ingredients on hand so decided to try it. LOVED it!!! Simple to follow and very fresh with lots of great Asian flavores. I did not use the chilli flakes as the red curry paste added enough heat for our pallets. I will make it again and next time I’ll cut back on the sugar. Instead of a cup maybe reduce to 1/2 cup and try that. Five stars!
I used a bit less sugar and fresh red chilli. Didn’t have red curry paste so used yellow. It was great. Will try again when I get some red curry paste. Yes, it made a lot of dressing but I think it needs to soak in this for full flavour, so I strained it off. Used left over dressing for All Recipes’ Thai Cucumber Salad.. And so we had 2 delicious salads!
This recipe is a very authentic tasting Thai salad. All the flavours are working well together. My first thought was how can only carrot make this salad good tasting? Well it certainly does. The dressing is so flavourful. Very yummy. I made the half of the dressing and it was the perfect amount. Very very nice salad. Thanks you.
The sauce seemed to be more than was needed, so I saved it and have made the salad at least 3 times with the leftovers. Also added some fresh diced pineapple once, which made it even better. I just sprinkle the nuts on top. Many compliments! Thanks for the recipe.
Tasted just like it does in any Thai restaurant, which is a compliment. The second time I made it I substituted sucralose for the sugar and it came out great. That’s 774 fewer calories! I would also advise that you half the amount of red pepper flakes.
Really tasty and went well with other dishes, even those that weren’t Asian in origin, bringing them to life with a real pop of flavor. Another time I would use less sugar and more carrots as others have suggested, to reduce calories, and will try with the red pepper flakes when not offering it to children.
Surprisingly good. My taster who dislikes vinegar went for seconds. The dressing would work for 1.5 pounds of carrots. I used 1/2 the sugar (plenty sweet) and did not use red pepper. Next time I’ll use more of the red curry paste. I’ll definitely use this for a potluck.
I doubled the carrots like others said and it turned out great!
I love this salad and I like it spicy, easy to make if you have all the ingredients on hand. I often substitute lemon juice for lime. I sprinkle the cold salad with fresh cilantro.
Made half the dressing. This is a great salad.
Nice, I find it really sweet though. Double carrots/half dressing, even then the carrots are swimming in it!