“Dua Mon”- Vietnamese Pickled Dried Daikon and Carrots

Dưa món is simply translated as dried vegetables preserved in fish sauce. Traditionally carrots and daikon radish are used but other popular vegetables are used like Vietnamese leeks, lotus root, kohlrabi and/or green papaya. These extra crunchy pickles are served with Vietnamese Mung Bean cakes (aka Banh Chung) during Tet / Lunar New Year.

So how do these carrot and daikon pickles compare to du chua? Well since these vegetables are dried (by way of dehydrator or sun dried), and then re-hydrated it produces an extra crunch compared to the pickled daikon and carrots that are typically used for like Banh Mi sandwiches.

Here are a few tips when buying daikon radish:

• Buy radishes that feel hard and firm with bright white unblemished skin (no brown/black spots). Don’t choose soft / limp radishes.

• If the daikon has leaves, choose radishes that have nice bright green leaves (not brown or yellow leaves)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb daikon

• 2 1b carrots

• 1 tbs salt sea

2-6 Dry hot chili or thai chili peppers

1-2 garlic cloves, whole

2-3 small Vietnamese shallots whole (if you can’t find, use small regular red shallots and cut in half if needed)

BRINE:

• 2 tbs brown sugar

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 cup vinegar (50/50 white and apple cider vinegar)

• 1/4 cup fish sauce (3 Crab or Red Boat)

PREPARATION

1. Wash and scrub daikon and carrots under running water until white and remove/cut out any blemishes. Peel then cut daikon into thick 1” pieces by 4” or so, you want these nice and chunky, they shrivel up quite a bit.

2. Mix daikon with 1/2 tbs salt, mix, let water drain and pool for about two to four hours.

3. Mix carrots with 1/2 tbs salt, mix, let water drain and pool for about two to four hours.

3. Rinse, squeeze and drain carrots and daikon. Rinse a few times to get most of that salt off the surface of the veggies.

4. Pat carrots and daikon dry with a paper towel. Dehydrate veggies in dehydrator on low-medium for 4-7 hours. You want the outsides of the veggies dry, the inside can be slightly moist still.

5. Add dried carrots and daikon to clean/sterilized jar along with dried peppers and garlic.

7. Heat brine (except fish sauce) over medium heat and stir until sugar has dissolved then add in fish sauce and stir. Let cool to room temp.

8. Then pour brine into the jars. Leave about 1 1/2” of headspace in jar and leave jar at room temp for 48 hours then transfer to fridge. Add 1-2 tbs vinegar if you need a little more tang in the pickles.

Serve alongside your Tet banh chung or banh tet.