Vietnamese Daikon and Carrot Pickles

I made this yesterday! We have some Costco meatballs so I thought they'd be good in a banh mi sandwich and I think that banh mi is not complete without pickled daikon and carrots in it. The recipe is from Simply Recipes site. 

I only used one big carrot and half a daikon.  I halved the other ingredients. And I'm not skilled enough to julienne anything so I just used a grater.

 

Ingredients

2 pounds carrots (about 5 medium-sized carrots), peeled

2 pounds daikon (about 2 large daikon), peeled

1 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

2 cups warm water (warm enough to dissolve sugar)

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Julienne the carrots and the daikon radishes: Cut them first crosswise into 2 1/2 inch long segments. Then cut 1/4-inch thick slices lengthwise. Stack the slices and cut them again into 1/4-inch thick batons.

2 Massage with salt and sugar: Place the carrots and daikon radishes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 4 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of salt. Use your clean hands to toss the carrots and daikon with the salt and sugar until well coated.

Continue to mix the carrots and daikon with your hands until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. They are ready once you can bend a piece of daikon all the way over without it breaking.

3 Rinse: Transfer the carrots and daikon to a colander, rinse with cool water and drain well.

4 Make vinegar sugar mixture: In a bowl (a 8 cup pyrex measuring cup works great for this) mix together one cup of sugar, the white vinegar and the warm water, until the sugar dissolves.

5 Pour vinegar mixture over carrots and daikon in jars: Prepare clean jars. Pack the daikon and carrots tightly into the jars. Pour over the pickling liquid to cover. Seal. Refrigerate.

The pickles should sit at least overnight before eating; their flavor will improve with time. They should last 4 to 6 weeks in the refrigerator.