Discover the most incredibly delicious and unique way to enjoy carrots — straight from the beautiful island of Okinawa, Japan!
This spectacular carrot recipe features tender julienned carrots stir fried in flavorful tuna oil with savory canned tuna, a silky whisked egg, soy sauce, and fragrant sesame oil — all coming together in just 15 minutes for the most wonderfully savory and deeply satisfying Japanese side dish imaginable!
Serve warm or at room temperature alongside Japanese Teriyaki Chicken or Japanese Pork Katsudon for the most authentic Okinawan dining experience!
Jump to:
Inspired By A Trip To Japan
We recently returned from a trip to Japan. Our memories are full of this amazing country and its people, places, and of course delicious Japanese food.
The very first meal we enjoyed was at an Okinawan restaurant in Narita, Japan. We had no idea when we walked in that it was an Okinawan restaurant. LOL The very first dish we tried was Okinawan Carrots, aka Ninjin Shirishiri.
I was still dreaming about the savory taste of these Okinawan Carrots when I returned home. So I couldn't wait to make this recipe and share it with others it's THAT GOOD!
Our Okinawan Restaurant Experience
We stumbled into the restaurant, realized they only took cash so had to go get money from an ATM. Once we returned, we were given a menu only in Japanese. Then when the waiter realized we had no clue what we were looking at, he presented us a menu in 4 languages (including English) with delicacies such as “3 Kinds of Fish Guts Pickled in Salt." LOL
I have no idea how the Okinawan carrots ended up on our table. Maybe we ordered it? But I think the waiter just brought it over for us to enjoy while we were trying to figure out the menu! Whatever, it was delicious!!
My husband Steve ordered a delicious Pork stir fry with Vegetables after perusing the menu. I then tried to explain to the waiter what I wanted to order and we continued snacking on the delicious carrots. In the end, only the pork stir fry showed up, and unfortunately we couldn’t communicate with our waiter so my order never arrived! Never mind, I was just happy to be in Japan so all was good!
🥘 Ingredients
Just a very few simple ingredients are all you need for this most delicious of dishes! Carrots, egg, canned tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, pinch of salt and pepper, and water! Can you believe that's it?!
You should be able to find all of these simple ingredients at your local grocery store.
🔪 Instructions
The method to cook this great side dish is very simple.
Peel and julienne your carrots into thin sticks. The finer your carrots are julienned, the quicker they will cook! Click here for a tutorial on how to julienne carrots.
Whisk one egg in a small bowl and leave it to the side.
Heat up a skillet or frying pan to a medium heat. Pour the oil from the tuna can into the skillet and heat up. Once the oil is heated, add your julienned carrot. Stir frequently for approximately 10 minutes or until softened. Add a bit of water here and there to help the carrots cook. You don't want it watery though, so if you add water be sure to let the water burn off. If necessary you can lower the heat to prevent the carrots from burning or browning too much.
Once the carrots are soft and pliable, add the ½ can of tuna, breaking it up and stir. Then add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and pinch of salt and pepper.
Lastly, add in your whisked egg, and continue stirring until the egg is cooked.
Remove and serve immediately, garnished with green onion and some sesame seeds if you like!
Suggestions For Serving This Japanese Carrot Dish
Are you ready to try these? I promise you won't be able to stop eating these they are so delicious and may become your favorite way of enjoying carrots!
This humble dish can be served warm or at room temperature.
I recommend serving these as a side dish to accompany Japanese Teriyaki Chicken or Japanese Pork Katsudon.
It's also a very healthy and nutritious snack!
Some Other Japanese Recipes You May Enjoy!
If you love Japanese cooking, then try these delicious recipes:
- Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl
- Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
- Easy Japanese Pickled Cucumber
Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!
If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
Okinawan Carrots
Equipment
- skillet or frying pan
Ingredients
- 3 carrots medium to large sized
- 1 egg whisked
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 5 oz tuna canned tuna in oil - you will only use around ½ keep the rest to snack on!
- salt pinch of
- pepper pinch of
- water for cooking the carrots
Optional Garnishes
- 1 green onion sliced for garnish
- ⅛ ts sesame seeds
Instructions
- Peel and julienne your carrots. The finer your carrots are julienned, the quicker they will cook!
- Whisk one egg in a small bowl and leave it to the side.
- Heat up a skillet to a medium heat. Pour the oil from the tuna can into the skillet and heat up.
- Once the oil is heated, add your carrots. Stir frequently for approximately 10 minutes or until softened. Add a bit of water here and there to help the carrots cook. You don't want it watery though, so if you add water be sure to let the water burn off. If necessary you can lower the heat to prevent the carrots from burning or browning too much.
- Once the carrots are soft and pliable, add the ½ can of tuna, breaking it up and stir. Then add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and pinch of salt and pepper. Lastly, add in your whisked egg, and continue stirring until the egg is cooked.
- Remove and serve immediately, garnished with green onion and some sesame seeds if you like!
Leave a Reply