Soy Sauce

Mirin

Water

Ginger

Carrots

Shiro Miso

Aka Miso

Garlic

 Almost everyone who does not live in Japan has at some point try to solve the problem of how to make (cook) their own Menma at home. I'll tell you a secret: It's impossible. Whatever you manage to make, while it can be tasty, will never come close to the original. The problem is the quality of the bamboo shoots, as well as their difficult preparation, fermentation, drying, etc. If you try to conjure up something with bamboo shoots from a can, you are doomed from the start.

Well, so what now? You can try to make something completely different :) Really i mean that.  It is completely different, but it serves same porpouse, can have very similar texture and also a deeply complex flavor without necessarily having to seek out exotic ingredients. Welcome to carrot tsukemono.

The preparation is not complicated. Peel the carrots and cut them into the pieces that work best for you. Some types of ramen want a thicker cut, others thinner, just like in case of menma.

Blanch the chopped carrots in boiling water. Time in this case affects the resulting texture. Ofc shorter blanching time brings a crispier texture, a longer time more tender. The size and thickness of the individual pieces of carrot also play a role here. I let the classic thickness blanch for about two minutes.

Drain the carrots and cool under cold water. Then put all of them in a large ziplog bag. Add a clove of crushed garlic, a piece of ginger and a mixture of two types of miso. Shiro miso in a ratio of 2:1 to Aka miso. Add water until a liquid marinade is formed, taste and, if necessary, balance with soy sauce and mirin. The end profile of the marinade depends totaly on your palet, but it is important not to make the marinade too salty or too garlicky, you will be surprised how much flavor carrots can absorb.

Squeeze the excess air out of the bag and leave to marinate in the fridge. After two days it should be ready. My last batch lasted me around three weeks before I used it all up. Otherwise, it would last much longer in the fridge. Don't worry about it, no air and plenty of salt in miso will keep it fresh.

Carrot Tsukemono

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Carrot Tsukemono

Ingredients

Used in these Recipes:

More Content by Ra_Ramen

Collections with this Recipe

More Content by
Ra_Ramen