Vietnamese Pickles Carrots & Daikon , My Family Recipe
This Vietnamese Pickles recipe is my go-to for so many dishes. Everyone knows that a family recipe is a special one, with special nuances and flavors unique to ones family history and story. My Vietnamese banh mi pickles are less sweet than most recipes, yet simple and delicious.
Easy Vietnamese Pickles Recipe
I never feel as if one family recipe is ever “better” than another. Each one is different and wonderful on it’s own merits because of what it has meant to those who made it over generations. And for those who grew up eating favorite family recipes, the flavors and comfort these dishes bring are priceless.
My Vietnamese recipes are usually rooted in family tradition, reflective of where I was born and the birthplace of my ancestors. Grandparents hailed from the Northern Viet-nam and escaped the Communist regime to Central Vietnam during the war. Family stories that were passed down from my elders who had survived the wars. Accompanied with each memory was a recipe that was a window to the past, a reflection of their lives back before I was even born.
Video: Vietnamese Pickles Recipe
My Inspiration: Mom’s Pickles
I always consider my Mom to be the queen of Vietnamese pickles. When mom gives a gift of love to those she cares for, I can almost guarantee that it would be in the form of pickles. And of course, all made from the heart. Her delicate touch and emphasis on fresh crunch in each jar of her pickles was passed down from my Maternal Grandmother. If you were to taste the pickles, you would know it’s brined in my family tradition and regional flair.
My Vietnamese Pickles Recipe is Less Sweet
The Vietnamese carrot daikon pickles I grew up with weren’t too sweet and more on the salty side. My father grew up in Northern Vietnam, where the foods were more subtle, less fiery and sweet than their Southern counterparts. When Dad would see Mom pickle huge jars of vegetables for her nail shop ladies (most of which grew up cooking in the sweet South), he was always remind her to “not to add too much sugar”! Over the years I’ve modified my Vietnamese carrot daikon pickles family recipe and found a balance that fit my eating lifestyle the most. I do love the salty brine of pickles, but am appreciating more of the slightly sweet balance in my pickles. This recipe is a reflection of both flavors.
Favorite Tool for Shredding Carrots and Daikon
You can cut the carrots and pickles thinly with a knife. It does take a little longer and sometimes inconsistent. To make these pickles super easy and quick, we use our favorite tool. It’s the julienne tool that cuts carrots so fast. More info here: OXO Julienne Tool
Easy Vietnamese Pickles for Banh Mi
I always grew up eating is Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon radish and they’ve become a staple in my pantry. These Vietnamese carrot daikon pickles or (do chua) are most well known for making appearances in Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. But I know them just as do chua and eat them with rice, noodles and spring rolls.
Chose your favorite dish and these wonderful Vietnamese carrots and daikon pickles will enhance any meal that needs that fresh, salty crunch. Thanks and lots of love to Mom, Grandma and preserved family recipes that make food and sharing so special. Have fun making this Vietnamese pickles recipe. Are there any special family recipes or traditions you hold close?
Some Favorite Vietnamese Pickles Ingredients and Tools:
It can sometimes be hard to find good Vietnamese ingredients and tools. Here’s some of the favorites for pickling and beyond:
This little tool makes julienning the carrots and other ingredients a breeze.
The Weck Jars have such a great style. They hold 1/2 liter each (about 2 cups) making them perfect for smaller batches of pickles and other tasties.
This has been our house fish sauce for decades. Great stuff! We’ll use it to make our dipping sauces as well as marinades.
100% all natural first press extra virgin Vietnamese fish sauce. One of the best craft fish sauce producers.
These are another of our favorite shapes of Weck Jars. A larger tulip shape, they hold 1 liter each (4 cups) making them perfect for bigger batches of pickles and other tasties.
Our house favorite hoisin sauce. Great flavor. We use it to make a dipping sauce for spring rolls.
Vietnamese Pickles with Carrot and Daikon Radish (Đồ Chua)
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. (227 g) carrots – julienned or cut into thin match-like strips
- 1/2 lb. (227 g) daikon radish , cut same as carrots
- 4 cups (1 l) water , slightly warm enough to dissolve the salt and sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) salt
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup (120-180 ml) distilled white vinegar or rice vinegar (or to taste)
Instructions
- Prep carrots and daikon, set aside. In large pitcher or large bowl, mix water, vinegar *see note at end of step, sugar and salt until everything is dissolved and combined well. (Start with 1/2 cup of vinegar and taste the mixture. If you like it more tangy/vinegary, add few more vinegar to taste.)
- Place carrots and daikon in a clean, sterile jar. Fill with vinegar mixture until carrots and daikon are completely covered in liquid.
- Cover jars and set in the refrigerator to pickle for at least overnight. Our ideal timing is to let the pickles sit for 3 days before eating. Pickles can last for about 3 weeks in the fridge. I like my pickles to sit for at least 5 days so that the carrots and daikon become more flavorful and sour. They will definitely be more pungent. You can eat them the next day and they'll be less vinegary, and definitely less pungent.
- Serve pickles in banh mi sandwiches, as a side dish or with a salad. There's so many differnet ways to enjoy these pickles.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Enjoy the pickles with Vietnamese Banh Mi Recipes Here.
Here’s my personal recipe for Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dip and click here for all our popular Vietnamese Recipes that are sometimes traditional and definitely sometimes not. Check out more Vietnamese Recipes Here.
Best Pickle Recipes
We really love pickles. If you’re pickle lovers like we are, check out more of our pickle recipes.
- Curry Cauliflower Pickles
- The best bread and butter pickles recipe EVER
- Sweet pea and asparagus pickles
- Quick pickled sugar snap peas with mint.
- Here’s more great pickle recipe ideas for you.
Love this pickles on my Banh Mi sandwiches. I add strips of jalapeno peppers without seeds or ribs for less heat. I also eat them as a side with some other dishes. Love Vietnamese. My friend Mr. Phan says it’s all great tasting when I make it.
Thanks for this recipe! We found it on your blog and made amazing banh mi with it!
In the Philippines my auntie used to make pickled chayote, with a KG of peeled and sliced chayote, the size of shoe string fries, 1 medium sized carrot, 1 red bell pepper, both carrot and bell pepper sliced the same way as chayote, 3 tbls of sweet raisins, 1 big red onion sliced thinly, Arranged in clean glass jars, then for the pickling liquid, 4 cups of vinegar, 3 cups of sugar, half a cup of rock salt, 1 tbls of cracked black pepper, 6 pcs bruised garlic, boil till sugar and salt are dissolved, then pour inside the jars and cover immidiately, it will take 2 months before it get spoiled without refrigeration.
Hi Diane,
I am a mix bag (Vietnamese and Chinese heritage), love reading your article/story. My grandma side they made lots of delicious Vietnamese food, I loved them all. I love the pickles. I left home when I was really young, and sadly many of my relatives had passed away before I have the opportunity to ask them for the recipes. Good news though these days I can search up/get help from the online recipes. I have mastered may exotic recipes and now I am ready for the Vietnamese pickles. Have a question – how do I sterile the jar ? Please reply. Thanks Lee
hi, i made this recipe as per instructions, but it turned slimy..no foul smell, just slimy…why could that be ?? its pretty cold here atm… should i keep it near the heater where the temp is more like room temperature, could that be the problem ?? any help is appreciated, as i love the recipe and daikon is growing in my garden…thank you
Hi, not sure why it’s slimy. The smell is from the daikon, which gives a pungent odor when pickled. But not sure about where the slime would come from.
Hi, I love this recipe but when I made it, the daikon smelled horrible. Did I do something wrong? is there something I could do to kill the smell?
Thanks
Hi Christina, there’s not much to do unless you just only pickle the carrots and eliminate the daikon, which is ok! What you can also do is to open the jar outside and let the daikon “air out” a bit before you eat it. ๐ Daikon releases a very strong pungent smell when pickled. But for this traditional recipe, the daikon is what gives that punch of flavor everyone loves.
Would it be ok to use Apple Cider Vinegar?
Should work just fine. Slight different taste, but still good.
Having used this recipe many times, I also consider your mum to be the Queen of Vietmanese pickles, and whenever I want to make them I search for white on rice couple banh mi!
I’ll definitely be trying this. I was silly enough to let my mum pass away without learning her recipes which in my case was particularly sad because we’re vegetarian and pretty much all her recipes included her own modifications (particularly stocks), she was a quite naturally gifted cook. She did show me this once though and her little trick was to sugar the carrots first for 10 minutes to draw out the natural sugars from the carrot (much like when you mascerate fruit), then add the rest. Thanks for sharing ๐
Jennie
Hi, I love Daikon pickles! I made this with about 3/4 daikon and 1/4 carrot. The smell was pungent but the flavor was great. Thanks!
Hello! I bought a daikon at the local Asian market today with the plan of trying to pickle it! So excited to find your recipe! I I have a question though…the Vietnamese restaurant that I frequent cuts theirs a little thicker…almost like crinkle cut French fry size…and I love the texture of them. Would your recipe be conducive to larger/thicker cut pieces? Thanks so much!
Do you have to cook/steam/boil the carrots or radish first?
Hi Chichi. No, the carrots and radishes are not cooked at all. Enjoy.
I jsut made this yesterday! I got a little confused though, I made it just as you said and had sterilized the jars and lids, but then got concerned and boiled them afterwards according to the directions on my canning jar box. Will that mess them up considerably? Should I then put them in the fridge or are they okay for keeping out on the counter?
We always make these as quick pickles, something we’ll eat over maybe a month’s time so we don’t ever seal the jars. As with most anything, you just want to start with clean jars and lids. If they store too long we don’t like the texture quite as much. We do store them in the fridge.
Oh My. Thank you for the recipes, the sandwich and pickles are unreal!
Time for some banh mi w/ cha bong. HUNGRY.
Awesome! This looks like the simplest recipe I’ve seen. I had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant today and loves the salad…who knew it was pickling made it so tasty?! What other vegetables can I do this to?