RECIPE // Đồ Chua (Vietnamese Pickled Daikon + Carrots)

Whenever summer arrives, the hot weather often curbs my appetite. I find myself eating salads, sandwiches and cold noodles to beat the heat. (+ lots of smoothies and ice cream, of course!) One of my favorite summer dishes is Vietnamese vermicelli noodles. It is super easy to make and can be switched up with different types of meats so you can continue to keep it interesting. One of the key ingredients that highlights this dish is đồ chua. In Vietnamese, this literally translates to “sour stuff”. Chances are you’ve come across đồ chua in bánh mì. Its sweet and sour pickled taste often complements well with salty and fatty foods.

Before I can even consider making Vietnamese vermicelli noodles, I have to make sure to have đồ chua in stock. Luckily, it is incredibly easy to make! The only difficult part is having the patience to wait for the daikon and carrots to pickle. So, don’t let your eagerness get the best of you and know that every extra day will make this taste so much better!

First off, you will need to get some carrots and daikon. The proportion of daikon to carrots is entirely up to you.

Đồ Chua Recipe (Makes 3-4 pints)

Ingredients:

1 cup julienned carrots
1 cup julienned daikon
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar

Julienne the carrots and daikon. This doesn’t have to be done with any precision and can be coarsely julienned. Here, I am using equal portions of both, but feel free to mix it up any way you want. I highly recommend using a mandolin since it can be painstaking to slice all these vegetables.

Afterwards, stuff clean and dry 1-pint mason jars with your julienned daikon and carrots.

In a separate bowl, combine warm water with the sugar, salt and rice vinegar. The warmer the water the better since it will allow the sugar to dissolve more easily in solution. Pour the mixture into each jar to the top so all daikon and carrots are submerged.