Sweets and drinksPreservesVietnam35 minutes preparation, 55 minutes cooking
Candied carrot strips come out bright orange, chewy, and scented with vanilla. Keeping the strips whole is the hard part, since a long spell in the pan softens them until they snap.
A 20 minute soak in lightly salted ice water firms them up. A quick 2 minute blanch and a good drain keep them taut through the whole cooking.
This batch weighs about 880g, at roughly 39 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash the carrots, peel them, trim both ends, then cut them into thin strips of even size.
Prepare a large bowl of ice water, stir in a little salt, and soak the carrots for about 20 minutes so the strips firm up and hold together in the pan.
Lift the carrots out, rinse them once more in cold water, then drain.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, blanch the carrots for 2 minutes, tip them into a colander, rinse in cold water and drain.
Put the carrots in a large bowl, toss with 180g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and the vanilla, cover with plastic wrap and leave for 1 to 2 hours until everything dissolves and soaks in.
Pour off the syrup into a pan and boil it for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the carrots and cook them together, stirring now and then, until the syrup dries into a coating around each strip, then spread them out to dry.
Tips
Look for fresh local carrots with deep orange skin, free of bumps and bruises.
The ice water soak is what keeps the strips from snapping in the pan.
Blanch the carrots for exactly 2 minutes and lift them straight out, since longer leaves the strips soft and they turn mushy in the pan.
Low heat and a gentle hand with the chopsticks keep the strips intact, since vigorous stirring breaks them.
A breezy spot dries the strips fully before they go into an airtight jar.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.