Recipe: Vegetable recipes - Vietnamese pickled carrot and daikon
2022-07-25:
- 2 days: Liquid starts getting a bit cloudy and slightly sulfuric smell develops. Daikon pieces are nicely crunchy, slightly salty and have the tiniest hint of fermentation.
- 5 days: Liquid still cloudy, sulfuric smells not as strong any more (or have I got used to it?). Bubbles coming up, but not fizzy yet. Daikon is very crunchy and has a slightly sourness/bitterness to it. Carrot is also crunchy with slightly sourness/bitterness, as well as still a bit of sweetness. Leave for another couple of days.
- 7 days: Nice and crunchy, sour but could be more. Bitter note has faded a bit. Harvest!
Conclusion: Both the carrot and the daikon are very crunchy, slightly sour, and still a bit bitter (unpleasant). Also, it smelled really bad (sulfurous) throughout the fermentation, sometimes worse sometimes less bad. Was considering leaving some out a bit longer to see how the fermentation progresses, but I’m a bit sick of the smell. Will probably ferment a bit further in the fridge anyway.
After 1-2 weeks in the fridge, the liquid has got clear (though it’s still fizzing and bubbling a bit) and the bitterness has mellowed out. The acidity has increased slightly as well and is very pleasant now. Especially the carrots taste good, but the daikon is a bit too rotten/sulfuric tasting for my preference. Maybe some sweet note missing to balance that out or cover it a bit?
Try next time without the lemon (might have added bitterness?) and maybe a bit sugar in the brine afterwards when stored in the fridge.
