5 Ingredients or Fewer

Georgia Freedman & Tusheng Shiguan’s Carrot Greens Salad

by:
February 26, 2019
4
3 Ratings
Georgia Freedman & Tusheng Shiguan’s Carrot Greens Salad
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 2 minutes
  • Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups
Author Notes

Despite what you may have heard, carrot greens are not poisonous. And all you have to do to take them from unruly to proper salad is to give them a blanch—aka a dunk in boiling water, rinse, squeeze, and chop. This trick works well with other hardier leafy greens too, or other cold, cooked vegetables, tofu, or meats in the genre of salads known as liang ban—especially with a dressing as simple and powerful as this one. Adapted slightly from Cooking South of the Clouds by Georgia Freedman (Kyle Books, 2018). —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Georgia Freedman & Tusheng Shiguan’s Carrot Greens Salad
Ingredients
  • 6 cups packed (1 pound) carrot greens
  • 5 teaspoons Shaanxi vinegar (or substitute Chinkiang black vinegar—see note)
  • 4 teaspoons light soy sauce (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Thai chiles
Directions
  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the greens until the thick parts of the stems are tender and pliable, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the greens, rinse them with water until cool, then squeeze out all the excess water. Cut the greens into 1 ½ to 2-inch-long pieces (you will have 1 ½ to 2 cups of greens).
  2. Transfer the greens to a small mixing bowl. Just before serving, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and add more vinegar or soy sauce if needed, then transfer to a serving plate.
  3. Notes: Chinkiang (Zhenjiang) can be easier to find but more bright and tart than Shaanxi—when substituting, start with about 1/2 to 3/4 of the amount, and adjust to taste. Follow the same principle if you need to substitute darker or heavier sodium styles of soy sauce or a milder green.
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Deniz Gungor
    Deniz Gungor
  • Lazyretirementgirl
    Lazyretirementgirl
  • Hollis Ramsey
    Hollis Ramsey
  • Kristen Miglore
    Kristen Miglore
Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

Popular on Food52

11 Reviews

Deniz G.
Deniz G. June 17, 2020
I tried this recipe but for some reason it just did not turn out the way I imagined it would. Even after blanching the carrot tops for longer than a couple minutes and after adding the dressing it was very bitter and not pleasant
 
Deniz G.
Deniz G. June 17, 2020
I tried this recipe but for some reason it just did not turn out the way I imagined it would. Even after blanching the carrot tops for longer than a couple minutes and after adding the dressing it was very bitter and not pleasant.
 
Marionw
Marionw April 7, 2019
So pleased I tried this recipe - I love that I can now make good use of the greens I was previously wasting! Unable to locate the specified vinegars, I substituted with a combination of Rice Vinegar and Mint/Lemongrass-infused Balsamic Vinegar. I used these carrot greens as the base for a one-bowl salad meal complete with diced cucumber, snow peas, and lentils. Delicious!
 
Lazyretirementgirl
Lazyretirementgirl March 27, 2019
Amazon does have the shaanxi vinegar. I really like the chopped pork belly idea - thanks, Hollis E.
 
Wendy R.
Wendy R. March 27, 2019
thanks for this recipe!!! i've been getting gorgeous carrots from my local csa, with the craziest, healthiest, hearty greens attached. so far we've enjoyed carrot greens pesto and carrot greens chimichurri. so, so fabulous! i will try this salad this week.
 
Hollis R.
Hollis R. March 6, 2019
i'm going to try this with either frozen thawed or canned chopped spinach, maybe throw crumbled bacon or crisped-up pork belly into the mix ...
 
Hollis R.
Hollis R. March 2, 2019
if i could get my hands on those greens, i'd be very happy. that's not the kind they sell at the Walmart Superstore behemoth i shop at. i got the black vinegar and light soy sauce online and i have a bag o' garlic bulbs, but my only Thai chilies are dried chilies. i DO have jalapenos and serranos, but idk they'd go.
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. March 4, 2019
Sure, a little jalapeño or serrano would be a fine substitute! And don't let the carrot greens stop you—another hardy green like collards would be great, you'll just want to tweak the dressing amount to taste following step 3. Hope you love it!
 
Hollis R.
Hollis R. March 4, 2019
thanks, Kristen; that's great to know, as i have (frozen) chopped collards handy. i think this would go well with D'Artagnan's *cassoulet-in-a-kit*, which is rather a bargain at ~$72 (the confited duck legs alone come to ~$40 for three!). even though they're two wildly different cuisines, i think collards dressed like the greens are here would cut through the heaviness of the cassoulet and bring a welcome sweet-salty-sharp-hot puckery taste to the party.
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. March 6, 2019
I completely agree!
 
Hollis R.
Hollis R. March 27, 2019
i'm also thinking of making a jalapeno cornbread so leftover cassoulet can be ladled over it. i intend to make the cassoulet rather soupy so the leftovers won't be too dry and there'll be broth for the cornbread to soak up.