Thursday, September 16, 2010

Acar (Pickled Vegetables)


Mom cooks quite a lot of delicious Nyonya food, though she is not from Peranakan family. For example, she cooks very nice loh bak, assam curry, chai boey, jiu hu char, assam prawn, curry chicken, bubur cha cha, and many more.

Recently I brought up a topic that is related to the food that mom has not cook for very long. I thought about Acar - the pickled vegetables. I volunteer to cook with mom on my off day, so that I can learn how it is prepared. I want to learn mom's home cooked food. I want to pick up her dishes as much as possible.

About Acar, it's a kind of Nyonya pickled vegetables. It has cucumber, long bean, pineapple, carrot, cabbage and chili. Before cooking, some veggies are marinated with salt and rice vinegar, and some is boiled vinegar-salt water. Then the veggies are stir-fried with chili paste and seasoned with turmeric powder, vinegar, salt, sugar and light soy sauce. Once it's done, mix it with grounded roast peanut powder and top with roasted sesame seeds. It tastes sweet and sour, with a hint of spiciness and aroma of roasted peanut. Hmm...and viola!

Mom used to make a big portion of Acar, so we can keep the left over in fridge for the next few days. It can be served either warm or chilled.

13 comments:

ann low said...

Acar! I remember my old classmate's mother made very good acar and she was very kind to give me a bottle of her delicious acar every time when I visited her...how I miss her ...
I must learn this from you :)

Little Inbox said...

Anncoo, I haven't hands on to make on my own yet, hehe...Later I'll share the recipe once I successfully make one. :)

Stella said...

I've never had acar but the combination of veggies and fruit with chili sounds awesome! I can see why you wanted to stay home and learn;)

Little Inbox said...

Stella, my house is quite near to my parents, and I take my lunch at my parent's place almost every working day. Hehe...I hook to mom's home cooked meal. :)

daphne said...

Lucky u!!!! Having Acar certainly opens up one's appetite. Personally, I like the crunch of the veges, spicyness with the peanuts! Can't wait till the time u share the recipe! kekekeke.

tigerfish said...

I enjoy Acar. Yours look chunky. The ones I have tried so far are usually in thinner strips and shreds.

Little Inbox said...

daphne, yes, it's really a nice appetizer.

tigerfish, we like it in this way, so that we can enjoy the crunchiness.

Noob Cook said...

I love acar... it's a great appetite booster and tastes so good. Will you be featuring your mum's recipe? :)

Anonymous said...

I love a good, spicy acar dish.

TasteHongKong said...

So much flavors and veggie in one bowl, I love to have this any time.

Little Inbox said...

noobcook, my mom don't have the actual measurement of ingredients, so I can't share her recipe. Unless, I cook it. It'd not going to be so soon.

Mei Teng, it's very appetizing dish, right?

TasteHongKong, it's really flavorful.

Joanne said...

Pickling vegetables gives them such a nice briny flavor! What a great recipe...moms are so awesome.

Little Inbox said...

Joanne, yup, agree!

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