Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots ( đồ chua) are a sweet and tangy condiment used on Banh Mi sandwiches and Vietnamese noodle bowls.
They are easy to make and can be enjoyed additionally as a crunchy snack, stuffed in spring rolls, or a topping for salads, sandwiches, and rice bowls.
"I love your Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots. They're very original and look delicious. Trying new ideas, especially for food is my kind of thing. Thanks so much for your recipe."
★★★★★-Jenny
I cut these Vietnamese pickled daikon (white radish) and carrots thicker for snacking. If you are making them specifically for bánh mì, you will want to cut them thinner into a matchstick thin size.
I personally make several batches of these to keep on hand for snacking, sandwiches, and salad toppers. I hope you love them as much as we do. Enjoy! Xoxo -Katie.
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Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make quick Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots:
- daikon-Daikon are the very large, long, white radishes. If you can not find them in the grocery store, you will find them in your local Asian grocery store.
- carrots
- white sugar
- white vinegar- Dồ chua translates into "sour stuff" but refers to pickled daikon and carrots. Some recipes use a rice vinegar. Rice vinegar is sweet. This recipe uses white vinegar for the tart, sour, tangy flavor it adds.
- water
- salt- Use the cheap table salt for removing the liquid from the daikon and carrots. You do not want to use a pickling salt. You can use a Kosher or sea salt for the brine.
*Full recipe with ingredient measurements is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Steps to make pickled daikon and carrots
Follow these steps to make pickled daikon and carrots.
- Peel and slice daikon and carrots to uniform sizes (matchstick size for Banh Mi and a little thicker for snack size). In a bowl, generously salt the vegetables evenly. Toss to coat. Allow the salt to remove the moisture from the vegetables 1 to 3 hours. (If cutting small for Banh Mi, you will only need to salt the vegetables for 45 minutes.)
- Give the vegetables a good rinse to remove the salt. Squeeze the vegetables while rinsing to remove any extra salt and liquid.
- Pat vegetables dry. Leave to air dry while you make the brine.
- In a sauce pan, cook sugar, vinegar, water, and salt. Boil until sugar is completely dissolved, then remove from heat. Allow the brine (pickling liquid) to cool to room temperature.
- Pack mason jars with vegetables.
- Pour brine over vegetables. Screw on the lids and refrigerate. You can eat them within 24 hours, but they are best after 3 days of pickling.
Watch how to make
Cutting Tip
Tip: Try to cut your vegetables in the same size. If you are slicing them really thin for Banh Mi, you may want to use a mandolin slicer or a julienne peeler.
Salting Tip
Don't skip out on the salt bath. The salt actually draws out the extra liquid in the vegetables allowing them to remain crunchy and easily soak in the brine. It also helps remove some of the odor from the radishes.
Brining Tip
If you add the brine while it is still hot, the heat will soften the carrots and daikon. Therefore if you allow the brine to cool to room temperatures, your pickled vegetables will be more crunchy.
How long do pickled daikon and carrots last?
The pickled daikon and carrots last up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator. After 4 weeks they begin to loose their flavor and crunch.
About the recipe
This recipe came from my sweet beautiful dear best friend, Ann and her mother Anh. Ann is my partner in crime in most of my dinner shenanigans. If you follow my Instagram feed, you have probably seen her in my feed and Instagram stories.
Anh is known for her incredible gift of cooking Vietnamese food.
She made incredible homemade Vietnamese sandwiches and Pho for me to devour. With the dishes, she had a batch of these pickled daikon and carrots and her homemade hot pickled peppers.
Using Anh's dồ chua recipe, Ann came over personally to make a big batch with me just for you. It is so special sharing delicious recipes from my close friends with my readers. I hope you enjoy!
Please leave me a comment below if you make these pickled daikon and carrots; and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your pickled veggies on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
Vietnamese Pickled Daikon and Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds daikon
- 2 pounds carrots
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- table salt to remove moisture
Instructions
- Peel and slice daikon and carrots to uniform sizes (matchstick size for Banh Mi and a little thicker for snack size). In a bowl, generously salt the vegetables evenly. Toss to coat. Allow the salt to remove the moisture from the vegetables 1 to 3 hours. (If cutting small for Bnah Mi, you will only need to salt the vegetables for 45 minutes.)2 pounds daikon, 2 pounds carrots, table salt to remove moisture
- Give the vegetables a good rinse to remove the salt. Squeeze the vegetables while rinsing to remove any extra salt and liquid.
- Pat vegetables dry. Leave to air dry while you make the brine.
- In a sauce pan, cook sugar, vinegar, water, and salt. Boil until sugar is completely dissolved, then remove from heat. Allow the brine to cool to room temperature.2 cups sugar, 1 cup vinegar, ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon salt
- Pack jars with vegetables.
- Pour brine over vegetables. Screw on the lids and refrigerate. You can eat them within 24 hours, but they are best after 3 days of pickling.
Giangi Townsend says
I love any pickled veggies. It was delicious, easy to prepare and the veggies were crunchy. Love it! Thank you.
Jenny says
I love your Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots. They're very original and look delicious. Trying new ideas, especially for food is my kind of thing. Thanks so much for your recipe.
Moop Brown says
I appreciate how versatile this recipe is and can see it pairing it well with a variety of different recipes.
Loreto and Nicoletta says
It was only this year that I had the chance to try pickled daikon. I am in love with it! 😋 ❤️ We are loving your version with carrots. Definitely going to try this. Perfect with grilled meats! Thanks for sharing! ❤️
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
OMG this on an al pastor pulled chicken sandwich was AMAZING! It was so perfectly balanced and with just the right amount of zing! LOVED the addition of carrots!
Cathleen says
I am already planning on making this recipe again next weekend, it was so good! Thank you so much for sharing, it was a hit with my family!
Erin says
I made these for some Banh Mi and they were the perfect addition! I'll always have these on hand from now on.
Vicky says
This was so delish! I used it in a rice bowl, so yummy! Will make again, thanks!
veenaazmanov says
I love this Bottle in my Kitchen. Best Appetizer for any meal or a topping too. My family favorite too.
Bernice says
I love banh mi and vermicelli bowls especially when they have pickled daikon and carrots. Quick pickling is so easy to do and adds so much flavour to Vietnamese dishes. Thanks for the recipe!
Ann says
I have never tried to pickle carrots before. These sound delicious! I will have to try these with my garden fresh carrots.
Sean says
Such a tasty and easy way to pickle. I love pickled vegetables.
Savita says
Pickled daikon and carrots at home and in such an easy way, definitely trying this recipe out. These look absolutely amazing.