Carottes Râpées (Grated Carrot Salad)

Variations

• Danggeun rapé: what it is called in Korea and by far the commoner name there now. Usually cut in long julienne with a knife or mandoline and sweetened a little, which makes it sweeter than the French version. Keeping a tub of it in the fridge as a several-day side is a Korean habit too.
• Wholegrain mustard: milder than Dijon with seeds you can feel. Dijon emulsifies more strongly, so many people use half of each.
• North African style: cumin, lemon and harissa, with a little more garlic — the result of this French salad living alongside Maghrebi cooking for a long time.
• Raisins and nuts: raisins, pine nuts or walnuts add sweetness and something to chew. Nuts go on at serving so they do not go soft.
• With lemon: lemon juice instead of vinegar is lighter and brighter, but less acidic, so it keeps for fewer days.
• In a sandwich: the route by which this salad reached Korea at all is jambon-beurre — a split baguette with butter, ham and carrot rapé has become almost the standard build.
• Salads in the same slot: coleslaw does the same thing with cabbage and mayonnaise, while Greek salad and shopska salad barely dress at all. Caesar salad is the other emulsified-dressing salad here, and tabbouleh and fattoush also improve on standing.
• One square of the crudités plate: on a French starter plate or traiteur counter it sits beside celeriac remoulade and beetroot salad. It is also canteen and household basic food.

Tips

• The mustard is a device, not an ingredient. Mucilage from the seed coats acts as an emulsifier and holds the oil and vinegar together. Without it, no amount of whisking survives a few minutes, and the dressing runs off the carrot instead of clinging (emulsions and pan sauces).
• Oil last, in a thin thread. An emulsion is oil broken into droplets small enough to stay suspended; poured in all at once it stays in big pools that never combine. Get the vinegar and mustard fully together first, then add slowly while whisking.
• How you cut it is which dish you get. Grated has more surface area, takes up more dressing and is softer, but wilts within hours. Long julienne stays crisp and keeps for days in a tub. Neither is correct — it depends on when you are going to eat it (knife skills).
• Salt for twenty minutes and squeeze. Carrot is mostly water by weight, and that water thins the dressing and pools in the bottom. Drawn out first, the dressing stays on the carrot (salt and seasoning).
• Skipping the salting is also a choice. Salting softens, so for maximum crunch leave it out, make the dressing slightly thicker and serve straight away. Both are right.
• Start at two parts oil to one of vinegar. A classical vinaigrette is three to one, but carrot is sweet enough to take more acid. Go to 1.5 to 1 if you like it sharp (balancing flavour).
• Use a mild oil. A big peppery extra virgin fights the sweetness of the carrot. A gentle olive oil or grapeseed is easier (cooking oils, olive oil).
• The French version has no sugar. The carrot is sweet already and gets sweeter as it stands. Korean danggeun rapé adds sugar largely to balance it inside a sandwich (what sugar does).
• Do not stir it hard. Pressed about, the carrot bruises, gives up more water and goes limp. Two or three lifts from underneath is enough.
• Leave it at least thirty minutes. Most salads are worse for standing; this one is the opposite. The carrot takes up the dressing, everything comes together and the sweetness rises. Eaten immediately it is at its least good (serving temperature).
• Taste it again before serving. The carrot absorbs salt and acid as it sits, so it reads flatter than it did. A little more vinegar just before it goes into the dish is normal.
• It keeps four or five days. Many people prefer it on the second day. Add nuts and herbs per serving, and pour off any water that collects (reviving leftovers).
• The oil is not only for flavour. The carotene that gives carrots their colour is fat-soluble, so it is taken up better eaten with oil than without. That is part of why this is a dressed salad rather than a plain shredded one (carrot).