Vietnamese Pickled Daikon & Carrots for Bánh Mì (Đồ Chua)
What had me occupied all morning? I really wanted Vietnamese sandwiches (Banh Mi) and had no pickled daikon and carrot (Do Chua).
- 1 1/2 lbs thinly sliced daikon (1 large daikon)
- 1/2 lb thinly sliced carrot (1 medium carrot)
- 1 tablespoon fine ground sea salt
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- Peel the daikon and carrot and cut into matchsticks.
- In a large bowl, toss together daikon, carrot and salt. Let it sit for 1 hour to pull out the water. Discard water. Squeeze out remaining moisture with your hands then transfer to at least a 24 oz jar.
- In a medium size heat proof bowl/cup, dissolve sugar with hot water. Mix in vinegar. Allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature, if needed. Pour liquid into the jar of daikon and carrot and screw on the lid. Leave it at room temperature and it’s ready to eat in one hour. You can also store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
A Vietnamese sandwich without pickled daikon and carrot is incomplete. The same goes with the cilantro and slices of fresh cucumber that also go into a Vietnamese sandwich. So what is a girl to do? Simple. Make it from scratch. Thankfully, it’s so easy to make!
Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrot not only provide a tart and sweet crunch to Vietnamese sandwiches but it is also added to salads and topped as a garnish to many Vietnamese grilled meat dishes.
What is Daikon?
Daikon is a type of white radish. It’s mild in taste and resembles a large albino carrot.
How to Cut and Prep
You can cut the daikon and carrot with a food processor with a julienne blade, a mandolin or simply by hand. Start off by peeling both the daikon and carrot. If cutting by hand, slice the daikon and carrot into thick coins at a diagonal for more surface area. Line up the oval slices, slightly overlapping each other, then cut them into matchsticks all at once. Alternatively, make a small stack of the slices then cut them into match sticks. I like to cut the daikon into slightly thicker matchsticks so they have equal density as the carrots. Once daikon and carrot are cut, salt them and set them aside for one hour. This will pull out the moisture to keep the vegetables crunchy. No need to wash out the salt.
Pickling Liquid
The pickling liquid is a combination of water, vinegar and sugar. There’s a bit of salt from salting the daikon and carrots beforehand. You can always adjust the sugar and vinegar to your liking. I like mine on the sweeter side.
