Another great addition to your fridge is Đồ Chua, a delicious Vietnamese pickle. It is a key ingredient of Banh Mi, the amazing Vietnamese sandwich. While the name “Đồ Chua” translates to pickle, there are only two veggies you will usually find in Do Chua: Daikon and carrots. These two, especially in their pickled form, provide a delicious tangy crunch with a distinct flavour from the daikon. Its flavour and texture make a great complement to lots of other dishes. Personally, I always associate it with Banh Mi, but its contrasting flavour works fantastic with so many things. For example, I am also using it as a topping on bowls. This Do Chua recipe is super simple to make and only needs a few ingredients! Let’s try it out together.
Ingredients for making Do Chua:
- Carrots
- Daikon
- White wine vinegar
- Water
- Salt
- Sugar
As the main ingredients, you need carrots and daikon. I like both ingredients in equal quantities, but you can customize the ratios to your liking. Adding more carrots will result in more crunch, while more of the daikon will lead to a more intense flavour. Additionally, you will only need white wine vinegar, water, salt and sugar to pickle the veggies.
Do Chua Recipe:
This Do Chua recipe is very simple. Firstly, peel the carrots and daikon, and julienne the vegetables. You can practise your knife skills on this or use a mandoline with a special attachment for julienne cuts. After cutting the vegetables, generously salt them, and put them into a sieve. Let them sit for 20 minutes, so the salt can draw moisture out of the daikon. This will help the vegetables to preserve their crunch better. Press the vegetables gently to release liquid before rinsing them thoroughly with cold water. You want to remove the salt as well as possible. Press the vegetables gently again, and pat them dry. In the meantime, you can boil water and sterilize your jar of choice.
Afterwards, you can put your julienned vegetables into the jar. Heat a pot on your stove, and add equal amounts of white wine vinegar and water. Heat the mixture to a boil, add sugar and salt and stir. Once everything has dissolved, allow the mixture to cool before pouring it over the vegetables. Allow the vegetables to pickle at least two hours before using, but it will taste even better when pickling it for longer!
How long will the Pickle keep:
The Do Chua will keep fresh for weeks, if not months if properly stored in the fridge. There should always be liquid covering the vegetables, so you can top the Do Chua with additional vinegar after using some of it, should there be too little liquid left. As the dish is only pickled and not properly canned, you should not keep it outside your refrigerator. But you should always check if something smells or looks off before consuming it.
What Recipes to use Do Chua with:
As said, my all-time favourite is vegan Banh Mi. The Do Chua is absolutely essential for the dish. The freshness and crunch, as well as its vinegary tang, work so well with a spicey siracha mayonnaise, tofu, cilantro and bread!
You can also use the Do Chua to spice up any other dishes you make where its bright, tangy flavour could make an interesting complement. For example, having it with buddha or sushi bowls makes an interesting addition. Or just snacking it as a side. Let me know what you like to have it with! I hope you liked this Do Chua recipe!
Some more Pickle Recipes:
- Crunchy pickled red onions are an absolute staple in my fridge.
- Pickled radish is beautiful and tasty.
- Don’t miss out on this delicious pickled red cabbage.
- Pickled garlic is amazing.
- Pickled cauliflower is a seriously underrated pickle.
- The one pickle to rule them all: Pickled dill cucumbers!
- Simple pickled carrots make a fantastic snack.
- Pickled red beets are amazing!
Do Chua (Vietnamese Pickle)
Course: SidesCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Easy1
Jar1
hour5
minutes120
Ingredients
3 carrots
½ daikon
100ml hot water
100ml white wine vinegar
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
Directions
- Firstly, peel the carrots and daikon, and julienne the vegetables.
- After cutting the vegetables, salt them with two tablespoons of salt, and put them into a sieve. Let them sit for 20 minutes, so the salt can draw moisture out of the daikon.
- Press the vegetables gently to release liquid before rinsing them thoroughly with cold water. You want to remove the salt as much as possible. Press the vegetables gently again, and pat them dry.
- Boil water and sterilize your jar of choice.
- Put your julienned vegetables into the jar. Heat a pot on your stove, and add equal amounts of white wine vinegar and water. Heat the mixture to a boil, add 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp salt and stir. Once everything has dissolved, allow the mixture to cool before pouring it over the vegetables.
- Allow the vegetables to pickle at least two hours before using, but it will taste even better when pickling it for longer!