This carrot salad is very popular in the Russian cuisine. The crunchy grated carrots are dressed with oil from caramelized onions and seasoned with coriander and garlic.
This carrot salad is most often called Koreiskaya Morkovka, literally translated Korean Carrots and has been a popular dish in the Slavic cuisine since the 80s. Some say that it is a Korean recipe and others say it is Slavic. I’m not a nutritional anthropologist, so I don’t know for sure, but this recipe is really delicious and has certainly been adopted by Slavic people and becoming a favorite with many.
It is often served as an appetizer for the holidays and special occasions, like weddings and parties. Although there are many variations to this recipe, most use a similar approach. Today I am sharing my Mom’s recipe and the way we like to make it in our family.
The wonderful thing about this salad is that is is made in advance, which makes it really convenient for parties. The carrots are shredded into thin matchsticks. I like using a fine julienne grater. With the flavors of caramelized onions and garlic, the flavors of the carrots get more and more pronounced when it has a chance to “marinate” in the refrigerator for at least a few hours or up to days in advance.
You can make it as mild or as spicy as you like and adjust the seasonings based on your preferences. In our family, we like using ground coriander, paprika, ground black pepper and some cayenne pepper for a bit of heat.
Ingredients For Russian Carrot Salad:
- Carrots
- Onions – I use yellow onions for this recipe
- Oil – most high smoke point oils will work such as avocado, sunflower, grape seed oils
- Ground coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper – use as much or as little of these spices as you like. If you want the carrots to be spicy, add more cayenne pepper.
- salt, ground black pepper, sugar
- fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro) I like using either or both of these fresh herbs when I am serving this salad.
How To Prepare the Carrot Salad
- Grate the carrots on a grater. For this particular salad, it is best to use a fine julienne grater/slicer and try to get long and thin strands of carrots.
- Slice the onions into half circles, or chop them coarsely.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook the onions on medium low heat until they are golden brown, 7-10 minutes. They shouldn’t be completely caramelized, but have a lovely golden color.
- While the onions are cooking, mix the carrots with the coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper, sugar and season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix to combine.
- For the garlic, there are two options. 1. If you want the garlic to have a more mild flavor, add the minced garlic to the onions during the last 30 seconds to a minute of cooking. Garlic burns really quickly, so you don’t want to add it to the oil too soon. 2. If you want the carrot salad to have a more intense garlic flavor, place the raw minced garlic into a large bowl. Place a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and pour the hot oil from the skillet right over the raw garlic and strain out all the onions. The hot oil will slightly cook the garlic, but it will still be halfway raw.
- The cooked onions will NOT be used in the salad. They add so much delicious flavor to the salad, but the actual onions are not added to the salad. Of course, they are so delicious, so don’t toss them:). I like to add the onions to soups, pasta, rice or potato dishes. They are also an excellent topping to a steak, chicken or even seafood.
- Add the oil along with the garlic to the carrots. You can choose to strain out the garlic or add it to the salad, depending on what flavor you are going for. Mix to combine.
Storing and Serving the Carrot Salad
Store the carrot salad in the refrigerator until ready to serve. For the best results, marinate the salad for at least a few hours before serving or overnight. The salad can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week.
My favorite way to store the salad is in a glass mason jar with an airtight lid. From 2 lbs of carrots, I usually get one full 4 cup mason jar of salad packed in tightly.
As the carrots marinate, they will exude some liquid. Before serving the carrots, mix them up evenly to distribute all the juices, spices and oil evenly. Use a large fork or a slotted spoon to take out the carrots and don’t serve it with the extra liquid. (If you have leftovers, place them back into the jar with the marinating liquid into the refrigerator.)
Garnish the carrot salad with fresh herbs before serving.
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Pin Description
This carrot salad is very popular in the Russian cuisine. The crunchy grated carrots are dressed with oil from caramelized onions and seasoned with coriander and garlic.
Ingredients
2 lbs carrots, peeled and grated on a fine julienne grater or mandolin
1 lb onions, sliced into half circles
1 cup oil (avocado, sunflower, etc.)
salt, ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4–6 garlic cloves, minced
fresh herbs, to garnish (parsley or cilantro)
Instructions
Grate the carrots on a fine julienne grater.
Slice the onions into half circles. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the onions. Season with salt to taste. Cook on medium low heat for 7-10 minutes, until the onions are golden brown.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, season the carrots with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add the sugar, ground coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper and mix to combine.
Finely mince or press the garlic cloves through a garlic press and place in the bottom of a large bowl. When the onions are cooked, strain the onions through a fine mesh sieve, pouring the hot oil right over the garlic. You can choose to strain out the garlic as well or even add the garlic to the onions during the last 30 seconds of cooking if you want the garlic to have a much more mild flavor in the salad. The other option is to add in the garlic along with the oil to the carrot salad, mixing all the ingredients to combine. The cooked onions will not be used in the salad. Add them to other recipes.
Store the carrot salad in the refrigerator. You can serve the salad right away, but for the best results, marinate the salad in the refrigerator at least for a few hours or overnight before serving.
Mix to combine again before serving the salad. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Store the salad in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Keywords: carrot salad, russian carrot salad, korean carrot salad, koreiskaya morkovka, how to make a carrot salad, coriander carrot salad
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