You can’t have banh tet or banh chung without pickled and fermented vegetables. Well, you can, but it just won’t be as complete nor as good.
Dua Mon is Vietnamese pickled dried vegetables. Similar to Vietnamese Pickled Daikon and Carrot (Đồ Chua) it’s made with daikon and carrot. But here the vegetables are first dried then pickled with a fish sauce brine.
Dua Mon is commonly eaten with Vietnamese Savory Glutinous Rice Cakes with Pork Belly and Mung Beans (Bánh Tét) or its square-shaped version, Bánh Chưng
Because the vegetables are first dried, they provide a distinct crunch that’s much different from do chua, another pickled condiment found in Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi) or spring rolls (goi cuon).
How to Cut the Vegetables for Dưa Món
For my recipe below, I actually like to make dua mon with just daikon.
I also don’t peel the daikon because the skin adds to the texture. If there are any blemishes on the skin, remove it with a peeler or small knife but leave the rest of the skin intact.
Start with cutting a large daikon into 4-inch chunks. Then divide each chunk into small wedges. Daikon will shrink considerably once dried. Transfer the cut daikon to a large mixing bowl and add a good amount of salt. Let the daikon sit for 2 hours to release its water. Once daikon has given up most of its water, give it rinse to get rid of the salt then it’s time to dry.
How to Dry out Daikon for Dưa Món
Once daikon is salted and rinsed, you can use a food dehydrator to dry it out. If you don’t have a food dehydrator, you can leave them out in the sun. In a hot climate, you can completely dry out the daikon in a few hours. In cooler climates, you might have to wait a few days. If you don’t have enough sun, another method is to use the oven. Place daikon on a wire rack over a baking sheet and set the oven to the lowest temperature, typically 170°F. Dry it out for two hours or longer, if needed.
Once daikon is completely dried out, transfer to a jar with a lid.
Dưa Món Brine
The brine for dua mon is a combination of fish sauce, water, sugar, fresh chili peppers and garlic.
First heat up the fish sauce in a small saucepan. Add sugar until it’s fully dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool then add to the dried vegetables.
Dua mon is ready after one day and will taste better over time as the flavors meld together. Keep this in the fridge and it can last up to 8 months.
Recipe below.
Related Posts
If you enjoy this recipe, you might also enjoy these other Vietnamese Tết recipes:
- Red Sticky Rice (Xôi Gấc)
- Sticky Rice Cakes with Pork Belly and Mung Beans for Lunar New Year (Banh Tet)
- Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt)
- Caramelized and Braised Pork Belly with Eggs (Thit Kho Tau)
- Candied Coconut Ribbons for Lunar New Year (Mứt Dừa)