Acar
Acar, an easy, beloved vegetable pickle from Singapore and Malaysia, is a culinary treasure that brings a burst of flavours to any meal.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 7 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 shallot
- 1 garlic
- 2 red chillies
- 2 green chillies
- 1 large cucumber
- 1 small carrot
- ¼ cauliflower
- 1 small can pineapple (in chunks, optional)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 250 ml vinegar ((375ml or 1 1/2 cups if you're planning to store it))
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
Instructions
- 1
Halve, then slice the shallot thinly.Slice the garlic widthwise.Slice the chillies up into long, thin pieces. If they are small, leave them whole if you prefer, as I've done with the green chillies here.
- 2
Cut the cucumber into 3 - 4 parts, depending in how long it is. You are aiming for each part to be a finger length.Then, place each piece on its end and slice off the green length straight down in 4 parts, leaving the the middle seeded part, which will be rectangular cube (cuboid) in shape.Cut the green parts into sticks, see image and video. Save the middle parts for salad, or just munch on them, as I do!
- 3
Peel or scrub your carrot, then cut it into similar length sticks as the cucumber.
- 4
Cut up the cauliflower into little bite-sized pieces.
- 5
Heat the oil on medium and fry the shallots for 1 minute.
- 6
Add the garlic, stir, and add the turmeric and stir again.
- 7
Pour in the vinegar, stir and add the carrots and cauliflower, along with the salt and sugar.Stir well, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes, then take it off the heat.
- 8
Stir in the cucumber sticks and pineapple pieces, if using, along with the juice.Taste, and adjust the salt and sugar content if necessary.