Shredded Carrot and Serrano Chile Salad

Ingredience

1 pound carrots, peeled

½ cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

⅓ cup chopped fresh mint

⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro

¼ cup thinly sliced scallions

1–2 serrano chiles, stemmed and sliced into thin rings

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons grated lime zest plus 3 tablespoons juice (2 limes)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon table salt

Poznámky

If you don’t have a shredding disk for your food processor, shred the carrots on the large holes of a box grater. If you’re spice averse, use only one chile and consider halving the chile and removing the ribs and seeds. We recommend wearing rubber gloves when handling the chiles. Brown sugar can be substituted for the granulated sugar.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS A classic carrot salad leans toward the sweet side by including raisins, but we wanted to take our flavors in a different direction. To make quick work of shredding the carrots, we set aside the handheld box grater and opted for the shredding disk on a food processor; this gave us finer shreds (which in turn soaked up more dressing). For the dressing, we found that using potent fish sauce gave a salty, complex umami boost that amplified the flavor of the earthy, sweet carrot shreds. We cut serrano chiles into thin rings to add a bit of heat with good pepper flavor. Chopped cilantro, mint, and scallions provided a range of fresh notes and an extra touch of color. Toasted sesame oil brought a savory, deep element that anchored the bright flavors, and chopped peanuts added a nutty crunch with nibs of richness.