Mirin (rice wine), rice vinegar and miso paste may be ingredients you are not familiar with, but they are well-worth incorporating into your pantry, even if it’s for this dish alone!
Mirin is a type of Japanese rice wine. It’s very sweet and it provides the perfect counterpoint to the salty miso and soy sauce.
Japanese rice vinegar is a light, flavorful vinegar. You may be able to substitute white vinegar if you cannot find Japanese rice vinegar.
Miso paste is a fermented soybean paste absolutely essential in Japanese cooking. There are three main types of miso paste: White, red and yellow. I prefer white miso for this recipe, but just use any miso you can get your hands on.
This recipe uses two pounds of carrots, but you’ll be surprised how they shrink down when roasted. Serves 3-5. Keeps well in the refrigerator and is great for topping salads or adding to wraps.
Miso Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 lbs carrots (about seven cups) peeled, topped and cut into short, squatty sticks, about 1/2 inch in diameter.
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs dark sesame oil
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- 2 Tbs mirin – a type of Japanese rice wine
- 2 Tbs rice vinegar
- 3 Tbs miso paste
- 2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds – to add to the carrots after roasting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients.
- Add the carrot sticks and toss with your hands or with a large spoon.
- Turn the carrot mix out onto a half-sheet baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- As a finishing touch, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
