Are you ready to nosh on fresh and vibrant Vietnamese Pickled Shrimp and Vegetables? These quick Asian pickles are bursting with fresh carrots, radishes, ginger, lime, fresh chilis and juicy shrimp in a flavorful brine.
We just can’t stop eating this delicious snack over crispy rice paper crackers or in an avocado boat for a healthy lunch. It’s the perfect topping for banh mi sandwiches, salads or just straight out of the jar.
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Quick Pickles with a Twist
Traditional Vietnamese Đồ chua (which translates to pickles) is usually made with carrots, daikon radish, a ton of sugar usually takes a few days to ferment. Our easy Vietnamese Pickled Shrimp and Vegetables is savory and sourer with a punch of heat from the chili and fresh ginger. It requires no fermentation, no cooking, it’s low in sugar and you can pretty much be enjoying it within the 30 minutes it’s prepared. You got to love that!
It's a great idea for spring and summer gatherings, picnics, and a fun last-minute appetizer. If you are huge pickle lovers like us, be sure to try these quick Asian pickled shrimp and vegetables, lemon daikon refrigerator pickles and spicy garlic cucumber pickles at your next gathering.
Ingredients
Fresh ginger – now this is something special – bright and a bit warming. If you are not keen on ginger, this can be omitted but you have no idea what you have been missing out on.
Cooked Poached Shrimp or Prawns– To save time we used medium frozen poached and peeled shrimp, or you can poach your own. I left the tails on the shrimp because of the photoshoot. However, for personal use, I would remove the tail to make it easier to eat.
Carrots – add the natural sweetness and a crisp texture to the pickles.
Radishes – We used the regular red radishes as they are in season right now. However, you can also use daikon radishes, like we use for daikon bacon radish cake or Chinese beef noodle soup.
Coriander/Cilantro Stems – this is an optional ingredient but adds so much flavor to brines, salad dressing and sauces like prik nam pla. Most people enjoy the cilantro leaves and throw away the stems. However, the stems have so much flavor and they don’t disintegrate in the brine like the leaves do.
Lime Slices – Give that punch of floral sour and fresh signature Vietnamese flavor.
Fish Sauce – Savory and funky flavor we love. We used the Red Boat fish sauce to keep it gluten free.
Rice Wine Vinegar – but you can also use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
Honey – for just a touch of sweetness to melo out the acid from the vinegar and lime juice.
Fresh Chili Peppers – of course optional! However, if you like a little heat, then it is a must. You can use fresh chili peppers of choice or even just a jalapeno.
How to Make Vietnamese Pickles
- Thaw frozen cooked (poached) shrimp or poach raw shrimp and cool. Peel and remove the vein.
- Peel and julienne slice ginger and carrots.
- Julienne slice radish and limes.
- Chop coriander stems and slice optional chili peppers. In a medium bowl add microwaved honey, fish sauce and vinegar and mix well.
- In a clean mason jar or sealable food storage device, layer the julienne sliced ginger, prepared shrimp, carrots, radish, limes, coriander, chili peppers. Pour the brine of fish sauce, vinegar and honey over the shrimp and veggies. Shake well and refrigerate for at least an hour before enjoying.
Quick Tip: Julienne slicing your veggies makes it easier and quicker for the brine to penetrate the veggies and soak up all that delicious goodness.
Shrimp Tips
- Using medium or smaller shrimp is preferred so it takes less time for them to pickle.
- From a texture perspective it is nicer when everything is similar in size. You could even slice larger shrimp in half lengthwise like we did in our fresh summer rolls, for optimal flavor absorption.
- It is best to remove the tail from the shrimp to make it easier to eat. We left it on just for the photo shoot – hey it’s all about looking cute in the shot!
- To keep it simple we used frozen already cooked shrimp with the shells off. See the FAQ section below to learn how to poach raw shrimp from frozen.
Recipe Tips
- For making quick pickles, glass jars are preferred because they are non-reactive. This preserves flavor in acidic brines. While food-grade plastic containers can be used, I worry about plastics leaching out into the food. In addition, avoid materials like copper or iron that may react with the acid and make the pickles taste metallic.
- Do not worry if the brine does not fully cover the shrimp and veggies. Initially it leaves some exposed, but after a gentle shake, the brine works its magic. It causes the veggies to soften and gradually sink below the surface, fully immersing them in the flavorful liquid.
- As this recipe includes fish sauce and fresh limes, the brine will turn slightly cloudy in a few hours, and this is okay.
- Allow at least 30 minutes before enjoying and best enjoyed within 24 hours. Vinegar and lime juice can cook or breaks down the protein structure the shrimp as it sits. It can change the texture of the shrimp, so it is best used within the same day.
- If you want to keep the pickled shrimp longer, do not add the brine until about 30 minutes before you are ready to serve.
- Do not freeze fresh refrigerator pickles because the texture is just not the same after the thaw.
Would you like to know how we made these 5-minute easy rice paper crackers? Let us know in the comments below.
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
If you have a julienne peeler, it makes the carrot prep easier. However, we do not have one. So, this is the process we use to julienne carrots.
1. Use a standard peeler to peel the carrots.
2. Depending on the size of the carrot, cut into half or into thirds.
3. With the same standard peeler, we peel thin slices with the carrots.
4. Stack a few of the thin carrot slices together and make thin longitudinal slices.
5. Repeat the process with the rest of the carrot slices.
With smaller and shorter veggies like red radishes and ginger. Just peel, slice thinly and then cut diagonally into thin slices.
1. Fill a pot with water and aromatics like lemon or lime peel, bay leaves, peppercorns, spring onion or cilantro.
2. Bring to a boil and add the shrimp. We like to remove the shrimp veins but keep the shell on to cook.
3. Remove from the heat and place the lid on the pot.
4. Leave the shrimp set in the pot with the lid on for approximately 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp, or until pink and no longer translucent.
5. Carefully drain shrimp and plunge into an ice bath.
6. Peel the shrimp.
The poached shrimp are ready to be used in the Vietnamese pickled shrimp and vegetables, Thai shrimp mango salad or in your favorite recipes.
I don’t even want to confess how many jars of pickles we consumed while testing this recipe, but we enjoyed every delicious minute. We hope you do too!
More Vietnamese Recipes
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Vietnamese Pickled Shrimp and Vegetables
Equipment
- glass jar with lid
Ingredients
Shrimp and Vegetables
- 8 ounces shrimp thawed from frozen or fresh raw poach (cook) 12 ounces and then remove veins and shells) *see recipe notes
- 5-6 radishes
sliced thin and julienned - 1 medium carrot peeled and julienned
- ⅓ cup ginger fresh, peeled and julienned
- 1 lime sliced thinly and cut in half
- ¼ cup coriander stems sliced
- 1 - 2 chili peppers fresh sliced (optional)
Pickling Brine
- 2 tablespoons honey microwaved for just 10-15 seconds (or maple syrup)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
* see recipe notes for alternatives
Garnishes and Serving
- sesame oil to drizzle on top (optional)
- cilantro leaves optional
- avocado sliced in half (optional)
- crispy rice paper crackers or crackers of choice (optional)
Instructions
- Prep the shrimp and vegetables as described in the ingredient list. Set Aside.
- In a medium bowl combine the microwaved honey, fish sauce and rice vinegar and stir well.
- Clean a glass container with a tight fitting lid. Layer in the glass container the julienne sliced ginger, poached and prepped shrimp, sliced limes, carrots, radishes, coriander stems and sliced chili peppers.
- Pour the pickling brine with the honey, fish sauce and rice vinegar over the shrimp and vegetables. Shake well.
- Let the pickle mixture sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Enjoy over an avocado half drizzled with sesame oil and chopped coriander leaves. Delicious served over crispy rice paper crackers or crackers of choice for a healthy snack.
Video
Notes
- Fill a pot with water and aromatics like lemon or lime peel, bay leaves, peppercorns, spring onion or cilantro.
- Bring to a boil and add the shrimp. We like to remove the shrimp veins but keep the shell on to cook.
- Remove from the heat and place the lid on the pot.
- Leave the shrimp set in the pot with the lid on for approximately 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp, or until pink and no longer translucent.
- Carefully drain shrimp and plunge into an ice bath.
- Peel the shrimp.
- For making quick pickles, glass jars are preferred because they are non-reactive.
- Our glass jar was 16 ounces.
- If you do not have rice vinegar, you can substitute with apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
- Do not worry if the brine does not fully cover the shrimp and veggies. Initially it leaves some exposed, but after a gentle shake, the brine works its magic.
- As this recipe includes fish sauce and fresh limes, the brine will turn slightly cloudy in a few hours.
- Allow at least 15-30 minutes before enjoying and best enjoyed within 24 hours.
- If you want to keep the pickled shrimp longer, do not add the brine until about 30 minutes before you are ready to serve.
- To keep gluten-free, we used Red Boat fish sauce.
- Feel free to use any fresh vegetables of choice such as cucumber, daikon radish and more in this quick pickle recipe.
Priya says
This looks so delicious 🙂 I am soon prepparing vegetarian version of this.
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Priya! Great idea- you are going to love the Vietnamese pickled vegetable version. Try adding any crisp veggies you have in your refrigerator.
Michelle says
What an interesting pickle with the shrimp! We certainly love do chua, but haven't come across this version with shrimp. Will have to give this a try soon!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Michelle! The addition of shrimp to the pickles takes this recipe to a whole new level. We hope you give it a try soon. Take Care