Pickled Carrots & Daikon Radish (Do Chua)

Thin strips of pickled carrot and daikon are served beside a jar.

5 from 37 votes

Pickled Carrots & Daikon Radish (Do Chua)

This Pickled Carrots & Daikon Radish is brightly flavored and palate-cleansing in every crisp bite. It brings your fried and grilled entrees, sandwiches, and salads to new heights with an explosion of fresh and sweet-tangy flavors. Also known as Do Chua, this popular Vietnamese pickled side dish is so easy to put together with 5 inexpensive ingredients.

Prep Time30

Cook Time0

Marinate1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese

Diet: Vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 70kcal

Author: Stefan

Equipment

Ingredients

1 one-pound daikon radish
2 large carrots
½ tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup rice vinegar
5 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Peel and rinse the daikon and carrots, and julienne them into fine strips. (You can use a mandoline for this, or you can take the opportunity to practice your knife skills.) Put the daikon and carrots into a bowl and toss with the salt. Set aside for 20 minutes.
Put the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure the sugar's dissolved, then remove from the heat and let cool.
Transfer the daikon and carrots to a colander, and rinse thoroughly. Squeeze out small handfuls of the vegetables to remove as much water as possible, then transfer them to a bowl. Pour the cooled vinegar-and-sugar mixture over, and toss to combine.
Let the mixture marinate at room temperature for an hour, then either serve or transfer to a container, cover, and refrigerate. The pickles should keep around three weeks. (When you open up the container, the daikon will have a distinct smell. It's not entirely pleasant. It won't taste bad or anything, but you can open up the container, leave the room, and come back in a little bit if the smell's not doing it for you.)

Notes

Let the flavors meld. The pickles' flavor improves over time, so the longer you allow the flavors to meld together, the better!
Play with the amount of vinegar and sugar to your liking. Add more vinegar if you want a tangier Do Chua, or add more sugar if you prefer it sweeter. Also, you can also add a few chili pepper slices or a sprinkling of chili flakes if you want it on the spicy side. Alternatively, you can also add red shallots and garlic for a more savory punch.
Opt for rice vinegar. Having made this with both rice vinegar and white vinegar, I can say that it's worth getting the rice vinegar if you don't already have some in your pantry. There's something off and a little aggressive about these pickles when made with white vinegar, which probably has to do with rice vinegar's lower acidity level.
Make your prep time easier. Use a mandoline if you have one. You can also shred the vegetables with a grater or the grating disk on a food processor.
Don't be bothered by the smell. When you open up the container, the daikon will have a distinct smell. Do not throw it away as this does not mean it has gone bad.

Nutrition