Ginger carrots

In my eternal quest for tasty things to pack in lunches, I improvised some ginger carrots. It's based on my sweet and sour chicken recipe, of all things, borrowing ideas from Just Bento's orange juice carrots (which are fantastic, once modified so it doesn't involve a pepper).

It's pretty straightforward, very tasty, and I'll report back how they are room temperature (as bentos are meant to be eaten at room temp) and how they reheat (Husband ignores it and heats his up in the microwave).

Paired up with some steamed broccoli and the almost-salty chicken tsukune, I honestly can't wait for lunch.

ALRIGHTY THEN. Note that I didn't actually measure a damn thing when I made these (as usual), so the numbers are just an estimate.

You will need:
Three medium carrots, sliced into sticks
2-3 tbs brown sugar
2-3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs tomato ketchup
1/4 cup white or rice vinegar
ginger to taste
water
Variation: omit the vinegar and add 1/3 cup orange juice. Reduce brown sugar to 1 tbsp.

So. Slice your carrots, if you haven't already.
Huck 'em in a pan. Add all the ingredients, plus water until it just covers the carrots. Once again, I used ground ginger because it's what I invariably have on hand. This could be all sorts of fantastic with fresh, though. I like LOTS of ginger, but Max isn't particularly fond of it - if you haven't used it before, be stingy with it.
Turn the heat up to high and let it get to a nice, full-on boil. Let it boil for four or five minutes. It should stop smelling overpoweringly vinegar-y (not applicable if going the orange juice route).
Reduce heat to medium low. When it has reduced to a simmer, cover the pan. Simmer for a few more minutes, or until the carrots are appropriately tender.

I packed them into the lunches by pulling out the carrots with a fork, then pouring in some of the leftover sauce. Alternately, you could remove the carrots, return the pan with liquid to the burner, get it boiling, and add a cornstarch slurry to make a glaze for them.