Vegetable Acar The Flavoured Tropical Vegetable Pickle

Vegetable Acar

My wife decided to make Acar from cucumbers, carrots, napa cabbage and grounded peanuts. It was a simple process with some patience. After cutting the vegetables into one inch strips, add sugar, rice vinegar, sugar cane vinegar and a pinch of salt  for taste. Mix everything together and then place into bottles. The acar in the bottles is then kept in the fridge for about three days before it can be consume or flavourful enough for consumption. This type of pickle is very popular among the indigenous people of Malaysia. The Chinese came along and perfected the process and made it even more flavourful.

Favorite Acar

The Baba Nyonya of Malaysia, loves the Acar. We have many versions of Acar, not only vegetable ones. I have made Fish Acar using mackerels or hasa hasa. And when we make Acar, we make it in large portions and share the vegetable pickle with the rest of the community. For those that like the Acar a little spicy, just add either chilli flakes onto the Acar or add real chillies. Cut the chillies like the other vegetables and mix them all up.

Acar Acar

Acar is not a cuisine that is aromatic as curry and others. It does not fill the room with beautiful aroma when processing. In fact it does not require any cooking except for the roasted peanut. But once put into the mouth, the flavours and taste of the sauces absorbed into the taste buds even before chewing starts. The Acar can be considered the Kim Chee of the Baba Nyonya people of Malaysia. When refrigerated, the Acar can be preserved for a long time.