Vietnamese Pickled Carrot and Daikon-Đồ Chua

A simple sweet and sour compliment in Bánh mì/Vietnamese sandwich, Rice noodle, Springroll, etc.or in daily meals. It is very easy to make and you can adjust the taste by altering the ratio of water, vinegar and sugar.  A cheap simple waving tool can be found at Oriental stores or mini cookie cutter, or a mandoline, coarse box grater may be used to make unique shapes but a knife is all you needed.

Daikon or daikon radish is shaped almost like a carrot with white color.  It has firm, crisp texture and  a sharp pungent, biting and slightly spicy flavor.  It is loaded with fiber, vitamin and minerals.  You can buy a small piece of daikon or a whole large one.  The remaining daikon can be used in making stock, broth, or soup.  Pickled daikon is best served after overnight in the fridge so the sharp pungent and spicy flavor would be tamed in the pickled solution.  I like to use 50:50 mix of carrot or daikon but we can just use carrot by itself.

This recipe is adapted from PokPok of Andy Ricky-The James Beard Foundation's best Northwest chef award winner.  It is served with his famous wings but I found its taste is very close to the pickled carrot and daikon from some Vietnamese sandwich shops so enjoy.  Add them to anything you like sandwich, salad, noodle/rice vermicelli salad, or next to your famous wings.

1 medium carrot
1/2 medium daikon
Pickled solution, about 1¾ cup:
   1 cup water
   1/2 cup sugar
   6 Tbs white vinegar

1. Peel and slice daikon and carrot to 1/8 inch thick and 3 inch length and julienne (cut in strips) with a knife or use a mandoline, or mini cookie cutters.
2. Mix carrot and daikon together and add to a clean container. Gently press them down and add water to barely cover them.  Measure the water volume and use it as a guide for pickled solution volume needed.
3. Mix water, vinegar and sugar in a bowl.  Stir until sugar resolved and pour  into the carrot & daikon container.  Add more pickled solution to cover all carrot and daikon if needed. Cover and store in the fridge overnight, up to 2 weeks.  

Notes:

• Sometime, carrot and daikon is slightly sprinkled and tossed with a little salt and set aside 10-15 minutes.  Then gently squeeze to press most of the liquid out. Rinse with water and squeeze again before add to the pickled mixture.  
• The pickled solution can has some salt and be bring to a boil and cool down before adding to the veggies. 
• If you want to make a quick pickles, omit water in the pickle solution. Check here for quantity of ingredients.  
• 1 cup=240 ml, 1 Tbs/tablespoon=15 ml