Acar (Spicy Malaysian Pickled Vegetable)
 
Prep time
Cook time
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Mouth watering pickled vegetable with the perfect balance of spicy, sour & sweet infused with aromatic spice paste. So appetizing & addictive.
Author:
Recipe type: Side or Condiment
Cuisine: Malaysian
Serves: 4 cups
Ingredients
  • 5 French beans (or long beans), cut into 2" length
  • 3 small carrots, julienned
  • 5 Persian cucumbers, deseeded and julienned
  • ⅓ small cabbage, roughly chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • Spice Paste
  • 10 shallots (short variety)
  • 1½" galangal (blue ginger root)
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, white part only
  • 4 Fresno chilies (deseed half for mildly spicy pickle)
  • 6 candle nuts
  • ½ tsp belacan, shrimp paste in block form (optional)
  • 3 tbs oil
  • 2-3 tbs white vinegar
  • 7-8 tbs brown sugar
  • Salt to taste
  • ¾- 1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, roughly ground
  • ¼ cup sesame seeds
Directions
  1. In a bowl, add the French beans, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, salt and sugar. Toss to combine well. Let sit for 1 hour. This is to extract moisture out from the vegetables and keep them crunchy. Rinse the vegetables and drain.
  2. Use a paper towel dab dry them as much as you can. Spread them on a wire rack set on a baking sheet and place the sheet in the oven at the lowest setting and 'dry them' further for 10-15 minutes; stir occasionally.
  3. Blend the ingredients for the spice paste. Over medium low fire, fry the paste for 10 minutes until fragrant. If the paste becomes too dry, add oil or water 1 tbs at a time. Add the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Add the peanuts (more or less depending on how thick or thin you want the sauce to be). Taste and adjust seasoning until you reach your preferred balance of sour, sweet, savory and spicy.
  4. Add the vegetables to the sauce and sprinkle the sesame seeds. Mix and let cool. Store in a clean airtight container in the refrigerator. Best to enjoy after 3 days when the flavors have developed more. As sides, they go perfectly with coconut rice dishes (like Nasi Lemak) or any Asian meal really. This can be kept in the refrigerator for a month.
Recipe by Curious Nut at https://www.curiousnut.com/acar-spicy-malaysian-pickled-vegetable/