Vietnamese Pickled Carrots and Daikon – Do Chua

This simple recipe for Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon requires only 5 ingredients. This condiment is usually served in Vietnamese banh mi, dipping sauces, and spring or summer rolls. A monk taught me how to make this.

Ingredients:

daikon (1 is plenty)
carrots
vinegar
sugar
water (boiled and cooled)

Note: Standard pickling solution for this is
1 part vinegar, 1 part sugar, and 2 parts water. You can adjust it from there. I prefer using 3/4 part of sugar and vinegar with 2 parts of water. So make sure you have plenty of sugar and vinegar in hand if you are making a large amount.

Direction:

1. Peel and cut the daikon and carrots. Shred it for dipping sauces or for Vietnamese (goi) mixes.

I cut it this way for my spring rolls.

2. Place the cut carrots and daikon in separate bowls. I mixed the pickling solution enough to cover the amount of carrots and daikon and then pour it into the bowls of carrots and daikon. The reason why I kept it separately is because the coloring from the carrots will make the daikon kinda orange too and that won’t look attractive at all.

Note: Soak the carrots and daikon in the pickling solution for at least three to six hours.

4. Strain the carrots and daikon and store it in an airtight container. (I stored mine in Ziplock freezer bags.) Keep refrigerated.

Behind the scene:

Chef Grace: Mommy, can I help you? Can I cut the carrots with your knife?

Mama Snow: NO No no.

Chef Grace: Okay. But can I use MY little knife?

When it was food photography time, she took her orange hats out and asked me to use it as the backdrop to make it pretty. Wow…my future little photographer there.