This is the super simple acar recipe that’s been in my family for almost a hundred years. Like the refrigerator pickles of the West.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
What is Acar?
Acar is a type of pickled vegetable dish made using a blend of vinegar, sugar, and aromatic spices. Commonly featuring ingredients such as cucumber, carrots, cabbage, and long beans, acar is known for its balance of sweet, sour, and sometimes spicy flavours.
It is a popular condiment in both Malaysian and Singaporean households and is often served as an accompaniment to rice dishes, curries, and grilled meats.
This vibrant and tangy pickle is a staple at festive gatherings and everyday meals alike. It’s piquancy is a great contrast to rich dishes like Beef Rendang. It often makes an appearance at traditional Malay wedding dinners.
Acar Across the World
Acar is not unique to Singapore and Malaysia. Whether it’s called acar (with variant spellings), the Latin escabeche, the Italian giardiniera or just refrigerator pickle, you’ll find it in various forms throughout the world.
In Singapore and Malaysia, we have various types of this vegetable pickle. In its simplest form, this would be acar timun, or cucumber pickle. Acar timun would just be cucumber, shallots, vinegar, salt and sugar. Recipe soon.
Then we build on this with with a few more vegetables and a spice or two. Like my family’s recipe that I’m sharing with you.
But why stop there? We have:
- acar Nyonya
- acar Sarawak
- acar Serani
- acar Mamak
All the above are a little more spiced than the one I’m sharing with you today. In time, you’ll see them here. Fingers crossed.
Language Fun
- acar = pickle
- timun = cucumber
- Nyonya = an ethnic group in Singapore and Malaysia (read more here)
- Serani = Eurasian, another ethnic group (read more here)
- Mamak = The word mamak is a colloquial term for the Tamil Muslim stall owners, derived from the Tamil term for uncle, “mama”
Ingredients
To make our easy acar at home, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Vegetables & Fruit: Cucumber, carrot, cauliflower, canned pineapple (optional)
Any cucumber will do, you don’t need pickling cucumbers - Aromatics: Garlic, shallots, chillies
- Spices: Turmeric
- Liquids: White vinegar
- Sugar and salt
How to cut Cucumbers for Acar
I thought I’d add this in because I often see instructions that say halve the cucumber first, then, scrape the middle bit out. Really?
To make cucumber sticks for acar, you basically discard the middle, soft seeded bits. Well, not really discard – keep them for salads or munch on them.
- We first cut the cucumber into 3 – 4 pieces, depending on its length.
- We then proceed to cut around it in 4 slices, as close to the middle as possible, stopping short of the seeds. See video and the image below. You will be left with a rectangular cuboid.
- Then, we cut the green pieces into sticks.
How much Vinegar to use for this Malaysian Pickle?
You’ll notice that unlike pickles of the West that you may be used to, we don’t use water in this recipe. It’s straight up vinegar.
How much vinegar you use to make acar will depend on how long you plan to store it. If you’re keeping it in the fridge for more than 3 days, you want to ensure that the vegetables are completely submerged in the vinegar.
That’s why in the recipe card, I give you 2 amounts.
How to Make Acar
- Prep the vegetables and aromatics.
- Saute the shallots and garlic.
- Add everything else in turn except for the cucumber sticks, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cucumbers. This way, the cucumbers on’t be cooked. (My mum used to sometimes make the pickling liquid, then just pour it over the vegetables, if she wasn’t using any cauliflower).
- Let the acar cool before storing it in an airtight container.
While the acar is great served immediately, it’s flavours will develop if allowed to sit for an hour or more. It’s even better the next day.
How to Serve Acar
Acar is a versatile side dish that complements a wide range of meals.
- It goes well with rich rice dishes like biryani and nasi lemak and its sambal. For my family, it’s a must when we cook nasi minyak.
- Makes a great accompaniment to satay (recipe soon!).
- This acar is also perfect with rich curries and stews, providing the perfect foil to bold and spicy flavours, like rendang, ayam masak merah and ayam limau purut.
- It can also be enjoyed as a light snack with crackers or bread.
Storage
Acar keeps well in the fridge for up to two weeks when stored in a clean, airtight container. The flavours deepen with time, so it often tastes even better after a few days.
But as mentioned above, if you’re keeping if for more than 3 days, add more vinegar to the recipe (given below) to ensure that your acar is kept fully submerged.
And that’s it. Shall we get cooking?
If you like the recipe, drop me a comment to let me know. And if you’re feeling like a star, don’t forget that 5-star rating! Thank you!
If you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood
Lin xx
Acar Recipe
Ingredients
Vegetables and Aromatics
- 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
Everything Else
- 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
Prep Work
- 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.1 shallot , 1 garlic, 2 red chillies, 2 green chillies
- 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!1 large cucumber
- Peel or scrub your carrot, then cut it into similar length sticks as the cucumber.1 small carrot
- Cut up the cauliflower into little bite-sized pieces.¼ cauliflower
Let's Get Cooking
- Heat the oil on medium and fry the shallots for 1 minute.1 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
- Add the garlic, stir, and add the turmeric and stir again.½ tsp turmeric
- 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.½ tsp salt, 250 ml vinegar, ½ tsp sugar
- Stir in the cucumber sticks and pineapple pieces, if using, along with the juice.Taste, and adjust the salt and sugar content if necessary.1 small can pineapple