I like carrot kinpira, but I got the idea for carrot ribbons from one of my favourite okowa shops near where I live - they use the carrot ribbons to fill in the gaps of their bento, and I think they're more efficient at for this than carrot matchsticks. Basically, I just used a carrot peeler to make long ribbons from a carrot, and then simmered them in about a tablespoon each of sake, sesame oil, and mirin, as per Maki's recipe.