Shooting Star Đồ Chua

I’ve seen some fantastically fun pickles made with mini shape cutters recently. I wanted to bring some of that visual magic to something I make often and see often in my fridge: Đồ chua.

I began enthusiastically, slicing sheets of carrots and daikon, dutifully punching out star after star with a tiny cookie cutter. But, as you might imagine, this got tiring. Before long, I decided that some shapes were better than none, and the standard julienne would have to do for the remaining vegetables. Upon stuffing them all together in a jar, to my surprise and delight, the two shapes combined made the vegetables look like *shooting* stars! Sometimes good things just happen.

What is Đồ Chua?

Vietnamese Đồ Chua is quick pickled daikon radish and carrots.

I like to make mine with black pepper, shallots, and a blend of both rice vinegar and white vinegar, because all of those flavors are my best guess at how Seattle’s Ba Bar makes theirs. (I always want whatever Ba Bar is doing.)

If you want to learn more about Vietnamese cuisine, I’ve learned a lot from Andrea Ngyuen, and I highly recommend checking out her books and her website!

What to Eat Đồ Chua With:

I like to eat Đồ chua on Bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich), and in Vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowls with mint, peanuts, and fried shallots. I also love a hot dog in a banh mi disguise.

Tips for Cutting Stars and Shoots

Start by dividing the carrots and radishes in half so there’s a pile of wide pieces and narrow pieces. Use the wide pieces to slice into sheets and punch shapes out of. Use the narrow pieces to julienne. (Daikon radishes tend to be huge, so there may not be much of a narrow end.)

To make slicing sheets of vegetables easier, look for fat veggies and/or use a mandoline slicer.

If you’re slicing by hand and the sheets turn out too thick, it’s easier to halve the cut out shapes vertically after they’ve been punched out than it is to halve the whole sheet

To save your palms, use something to push the shape cutter into the hard veggies.

I used a marble coaster from Target!

To julienne for the “shooting” part of these pickles, slice off a side of the veggie to create a flat side. This will stabilize the vegetable so it doesn’t roll around.

Then, slice.

Then slice those pieces again to create smaller slivers.

Halve if needed.

Fine Brine

Do chua, and other quick pickles, can be made with a hot or cold brine. Personally, I like to use a hot brine because the salt and sugar dissolve readily, and the heat helps bring out the flavor of hard spices like the black pepper I use in this recipe.

You can use this method to make all kinds of pickles and brines.

Combine everything in a pot.

Cover and turn on the heat.

When the salt and sugar have dissolved, it’s done!

Pour over vegetables. (I used a canning funnel and a strainer for the black pepper because I don’t particularly want to accidentally eat a peppercorn.)

Shooting Star Đồ Chua Recipe