I’ve attempted Vietnamese pickles a dozen times. And all the many times, testing a balance between vinegar and water, and adjusting the sugar and salt levels. Little did I know that my final recipe would only use 2 tablespoons of vinegar as the liquid content. Look ahead for your new go-to quick Vietnamese pickle recipe (aka, Đồ chua) – it’s so ridiculously addictive.

I’m not going to say these are instant pickles – but it’s pretty darn close! This recipe was created for bun cha (coming soon!), and it was absolute perfection, floating in sweet, sweet fish sauce.

Pickles ready in 30 minutes. No joke.

Why this recipe works

  • Salt the radish and carrot and wash well! This allows for a crunchy pickle as all of the moisture is extracted, and leaves more taste of that sweet & sour pickle.
  • Thinner slices of radish and carrot allows for quicker pickling due to the surface area.
  • Create pickles to your taste or ratio. Want more radish over carrot? Go for it. Prefer shallot, cucumber or cabbage? Do it! Just as long as the total of add-ins is 2 cups. I’m also thinking of my next pickle to include chili, slices of garlic, or whole black peppercorn.
  • Create those iconic “flower” patterns of carrots, either handling carefully with an edge of a knife, knicking “v” cuts, or using the edge of a zig zag peeler
  • Refrigerate the leftovers! Best enjoyed within 5-days, otherwise the radish smell becomes more pungent.
  • Perfect for banh mi. Slice julienne strips instead, either with a mandolin or a zig zag peeler

Easy Pickled Carrot & Daikon (Đồ chua)

Makes: 2 cups
Preparation time: 30

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Ingredients:

1 cup Carrot, sliced 0.5mm
1 cup Daikon, sliced 0.5mm
1 tsp Salt
1½ tbsp White Sugar
2 tbsp White Vinegar

Instructions

  1. Peel carrots and radish, ready to slice. For carrots, I cut in 3 “v” strips with a knife to create flowers. For the radish, a sliced into 1.5cm thick blocks, then sliced into 0.5mm thickness or less.
  2. Place sliced vegetables into a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and massage well until covered. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to extract moisture.
  3. Rinse carrot and radish under running water 3 times, and drain water.
  4. Dissolve sugar in vinegar, and add carrot and radish, mix well. Allow to rest for 20 minutes, and mix for 10 minutes to allow even coverage of vinegar and sugar. Ready to eat!

My favourite way to enjoy these – floating in sweet nuoc mam cham with bun cha.