Vegetable pickle - dưa chua
Makes 1, 900 ml (30½ fl oz) jar
"A basic vegetable pickle for use with nước chấm or to accompany a cuốn platter or part of a meal," says Thi Li, author of Viet Kieu.
150 g (5½ oz) carrot
150 g (5½ oz) daikon (white radish)
150 g (5½ oz) kohlrabi
100 g (3½ oz) red Asian shallots
3 tablespoons table salt
400 ml (14 fl oz) rice vinegar
210 g (7½ oz) granulated white sugar
2½ teaspoons sea salt
1½ teaspoons black peppercorns (see note), toasted and coarsely cracked
1 Peel the carrot, daikon, kohlrabi and shallots, then slice them about 3 mm (⅛ inch) thick. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with the table salt and leave to sit for 30 minutes.
2 Wash the vegetables to remove the excess salt. Shake them dry and place in a large sterilised jar.
3 Place the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar and salt. Pour the pickling liquor over the vegetables.
4 Leave to stand overnight with the lid ajar. The pickles can be eaten the next day, but are best eaten after 3–4 days. After this time, seal the lid on the jar and keep in the fridge, where your pickles will last for up to 6 months.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
NOTE Toast the peppercorns in a dry frying pan over medium–high heat for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Remove from the pan and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then finely grind using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
Images and text from Viet Kieu by Thi Le with Jia-Yen Lee, photography by Mark Chew. Published by Murdoch Books.
