Acar [ Indonesian Pickle ]

Acar is a type of pickling made in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is a localised version of the Mughlai Achaar. The South East Asian variations are usually made from different vegetables such as yardlong beans, carrots and cabbage which are pickled in vinegar and dried chillies. The vegetables are then tossed in ground peanuts.
Acar is commonly served as a condiment to be eaten with a main course. In Indonesia, acar is commonly made from small chunks of cucumber, carrot, shallot and occasionally pineapple, and marinated in a sweet and sour solution of sugar and vinegar. Some households add lemongrass or ginger to spice it up.
The salad has also been adopted into Thai cuisine where it is called achat (Thai: อาจาด). It is made with cucumber, red chilies, red onions or shallots, vinegar, sugar and salt. It is served as a side dish with the Thai version of satay (Thai: สะเต๊ะ).

Ingredients

• 2 small cucumber, remove the seeds and cut into cubes
• 2 small carrot, peeled and cut into cubes
• 25 Thai chili, remove the stems
• 15 shallot, peeled and half each shallot
• 500 ml water
• 150 gram sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon vinegar

How To Make

1. Wash and drain cucumber, carrot, chili, and shallot. The total amount of vegetable should come to about 2 cups.
2. Place chopped vegetables in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt to make them crispier. Wash and strain after 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. To prepare the pickling liquid, bring water, sugar, salt, and vinegar to a boil in a sauce pot. Remove from heat when all sugar has dissolved.
4. Add the vegetables into the pickling liquid and let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Transfer to glass jars and let them rest for at least 1 hour before the acar is ready to be enjoyed. Store the jars of pickles in refrigerator, it should keep fresh for up to 2 weeks.

Categories: Common Ingredients