(about 3 pints)
From time to time I get lunch from a Vietnamese restaurant which serves these pickles with every dish. These sweet and sour pickles are delicious, so much so I often devour them first before touching anything else on my plate. They are incredibly easy to make and will keep well refrigerated for several weeks. They are quite wonderful with grilled meats. I prepared them to go with the tandoori chicken I had yesterday.
This week the daikon were sold in bunches of three, so I made more than my usual amount. If you haven't purchased these radishes before, then look for firm ones around 1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter. These are generally the tastiest, if they get too large they can become rather bitter.
1 lb daikon radishes
1 lb carrots
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 1/4 cups warm water
Wash and peel both the daikon and carrots. Cut both into even matchstick style pieces and place in a non reactive bowl. I used a package of snacking carrots, so I cut the diakon to match their length.
Sprinkle the salt and sugar over the cut up vegetables and toss a few times. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes, tossing once or twice.
Combine the 1/2 cup sugar, vinegar and water. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the carrots and daikon and place in a colander. Rinse with cold water, the return the vegetables to the bowl.
Add the sugar and vinegar mixture and toss to combine everything evenly. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours (even better, overnight) before serving.
These will keep up to 3 or 4 weeks refrigerated. I have heard that the daikon can become quite "smelly" over time needing to be "aired", but I have yet to experience this.
5 comments:
Love the virbant colours of this! I think I'll have to go to the Chinese supermarket if I want to make this, though, for the radishes since I don't think they sell those at the "normal" supermarket here.
Maybe the daikon I bought was old or something... but when I made this last month it was so stinky I didn't want to eat it. I made it four hours before I planned to serve it and when I took it out of the fridge the smell was just terrible :( The container is still sitting in my fridge, I'm almost afraid to open it!
lovely pickle looks wonderful
SA.. I had a quick look online about the stinky daikon and I'm not sure if it has anything to do with age. It appears that it's not "bad" either. Several people suggest leaving it out on the counter to "air", and to "run from the room" if the odour is too strong, lol. After the air has cleared, it's quite edible.
I'll leave it open for a couple hours with the windows open and see if that makes a difference, thanks :)
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