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Acar Recipe (Indonesian Pickle) » Indonesia Eats

HomeEasy RecipesAcar Recipe (Indonesian Pickle)December 5, 2010921ShareFacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsAppLinkedinReddItEmailPrintTelegramMixLINEAtjarAcar (pronounce: aa-char) is the Indonesian word for pickle or the Dutch writes it atjar (an Indonesian old spelling). I believe the name of acar was influenced by the Indian traders who came to Indonesia long time ago. In Hindi, Urdu and Bengali, pickle is known as achār.

Acar is commonly served as a condiment to be eaten with a main course. What kind of food that we serve with acar? Any kinds of noodles, fried rice, sate (satay), and most of fritter forms such as martabak (stuffed pancake), lumpia (spring roll).

Check other posts that I enjoy with acar:

Indonesian acar can be added with cucumber, carrot, mango, chili, shallot and/or pineapple; then dress with vinegar, sugar and salt. Some households add lemongrass or ginger to spice it up.

Acar
– Indonesian Pickle –

Ingredients:
cucumber, rinsed off and cut as desired; you can peel off the skin if you like
shallot, peel and cut as desired
bird eyes/paddy chilies
white vinegar with 4.5% acidity ( I personally prefer use canesugar or nypa sap vinegar which is naturally fermented)
sugar
salt

You can also add pineapple, carrot and/or mango

Methods:
In a plastic/glass container, add cucumber, shallot and chilies. Sprinkle sugar and salt. Cover the lid, shake the container (don’t shake too hard) and leave it for 5 minutes. Then, open up the lid and add vinegar. Tight the lid back and store it the fridge. Some people like adding hot water. I don’t like adding any water.

So, your acar should be slightly sweet and sour. However, some people like chopping the chilies as well and it will bring the acar slightly sweet, sour and hot. If you like sweeter taste, you are welcome to add more sugar.

December 8, 2010 Update: This post was featured on December 8th FoodBuzz Top 9FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsAppLinkedinReddItEmailPrintTelegramMixLINEPrevious articleBakmi Godhog Recipe (Java Style Boiled Noodle)Next articleCwi Mie Malang Recipe (Malang-Style Chicken Noodle)Indonesia Eatshttps://indonesiaeats.comAn Indonesian-born who lived in Winnipeg Edmonton, Canada for more than a decade prior to move to Edmonton in 2017. Indonesia Eats is a memoir of her homeland.

  1. MaryMoh December 5, 2010 At 2:38 PMLove this…very appetising, especially after being chilled. Great for hot days.Reply
  2. Ellie (Almost Bourda December 5, 2010 At 3:07 PMLove all the picked fruits and vegetables. It's interesting that the Malaysian Acar is often coated with chili pasta and crushed peanuts.Reply
  3. Mochachocolata Rita December 5, 2010 At 5:28 PMmeh nggawe kesed terus aku pep heheheReply
  4. MaryMoh December 5, 2010 At 9:38 PMLove this…very appetising, especially after being chilled. Great for hot days.Reply
  5. Ellie (Almost Bourdain) December 5, 2010 At 10:07 PMLove all the picked fruits and vegetables. It's interesting that the Malaysian Acar is often coated with chili pasta and crushed peanuts.Reply
  6. Mochachocolata Rita December 6, 2010 At 12:28 AMmeh nggawe kesed terus aku pep heheheReply
  7. Little Corner of Min December 6, 2010 At 4:52 AMThis is the same as my pickle vegetable. I love crunchy pickled cucumber.Reply
  8. Rosa's Yummy Yu December 6, 2010 At 5:38 AMThat is lovely! Pickled veggies are so delicious. Perfect with a curry.Cheers,RosaReply
  9. tigerfish December 6, 2010 At 7:31 AMYes. The Achar I have had is similar to the one Ellie was describing – usually with crushed peanuts(or peanut sauce?). Love it with rice.Reply
  10. Gulmohar December 6, 2010 At 8:28 AMInteresting pickle..My mom used to make canesugar vinegar 🙂Reply
  11. Little Corner of Mine December 6, 2010 At 11:52 AMThis is the same as my pickle vegetable. I love crunchy pickled cucumber.Reply
  12. Rosa's Yummy Yums December 6, 2010 At 12:38 PMThat is lovely! Pickled veggies are so delicious. Perfect with a curry.Cheers,RosaReply
  13. penny aka jeroxie December 6, 2010 At 12:38 PMI am a big acar lover too. So fresh and especially works in summer.Reply
  14. tigerfish December 6, 2010 At 2:31 PMYes. The Achar I have had is similar to the one Ellie was describing – usually with crushed peanuts(or peanut sauce?). Love it with rice.Reply
  15. Gulmohar December 6, 2010 At 3:28 PMInteresting pickle..My mom used to make canesugar vinegar 🙂Reply
  16. Mobil Keluarga Ideal December 6, 2010 At 6:23 PMthanks atas infonya boz… hikz… love indonesian food hehehehe…Reply
  17. penny aka jeroxie December 6, 2010 At 7:38 PMI am a big acar lover too. So fresh and especially works in summer.Reply
  18. Mobil Keluarga Ideal Terbaik Indonesia December 7, 2010 At 1:23 AMthanks atas infonya boz… hikz… love indonesian food hehehehe…Reply
  19. Liv Wan December 7, 2010 At 3:17 AMI've never tried Indonesian pickle before but I certainly will give it a go after reading your post. Thank you for sharing. 🙂Reply
  20. Liv Wan December 7, 2010 At 10:17 AMI've never tried Indonesian pickle before but I certainly will give it a go after reading your post. Thank you for sharing. 🙂Reply
  21. Indonesia in Turkey December 7, 2010 At 6:34 PMLooks Fresh as should be ! Congratulation for Top 9 today 🙂Reply
  22. meltingbutter.com December 7, 2010 At 7:35 PMI LOVE acar 🙂 so glad I have the recipe now, it goes with everything :))Reply
  23. Sweet Artichoke December 8, 2010 At 12:32 AMVery interesting to discover an Indonesian version of the achar! They look very good!Reply
  24. Indonesia in Turkey December 8, 2010 At 1:34 AMLooks Fresh as should be ! Congratulation for Top 9 today 🙂Reply
  25. meltingbutter.com December 8, 2010 At 2:35 AMI LOVE acar 🙂 so glad I have the recipe now, it goes with everything :))Reply
  26. Sweet Artichoke December 8, 2010 At 7:32 AMVery interesting to discover an Indonesian version of the achar! They look very good!Reply
  27. Chilli Loves Malli December 17, 2010 At 7:16 AMHey there, This is a refreshing pickle and in India we call pickle- Achar!! You have a great looking site here..I would like to invite you to visit my little food blog @ <a href="http://www.chillilovesmalli.comwww.chillilovesmalli.com<br />Happy HolidaysReply
  28. Chilli Loves Malli December 17, 2010 At 2:16 PMHey there, This is a refreshing pickle and in India we call pickle- Achar!! You have a great looking site here..I would like to invite you to visit my little food blog @http://www.chillilovesmalli.comHappy HolidaysReply
  29. StarletStarlet March 4, 2011 At 5:50 AMPep – I made a full container of this and it's gone within 2 days! I added a few pieces of carrots. And next time, I will chop the chilies to give it the high-kick!Oh ya, I included a link to this recipe on my "Week in review" post. Thanks for sharing this 🙂Reply
  30. StarletStarlet March 4, 2011 At 12:50 PMPep – I made a full container of this and it's gone within 2 days!I added a few pieces of carrots. And next time, I will chop the chilies to give it the high-kick!Oh ya, I included a link to this recipe on my "Week in review" post. Thanks for sharing this 🙂Reply
  31. Sop Kaki Kambing Jakarta | Indonesia Eats October 31, 2011 At 10:02 PM[…] Complements: green onion slices lime wedges emping (paddy oats) crackers diced tomatoes sambal cabai (a mix of boiled bird eye chilies, sugar, salt and vinegar and grind) cucumber and carrot acar […]Reply
  32. Cwi Mie Malang | Indonesia Eats November 10, 2011 At 8:04 PM[…] You may need to check the link for a basic need for mie ayam and cwi mie; wontons, beefballs and chicken oil. Cwi Mie Malang – Malang Style Chicken Noodle – Ingredients: 300 g fresh egg noodle 1 tbsp chicken oil 2 tsp soy sauce ½ tsp salt 100 g lettuce, rinse off 2 tbsp Chinese chives 2 tbsp fried shallots Ready to use Asian beefballs Fried wontons Boiled wontons Acar Timun (Cucumber Pickle) […]Reply
  33. Potato Croquette Recipe | Indonesia Eats November 16, 2011 At 8:40 PM[…] Indonesians like to enjoy croquettes with bird eye chilies or acar mustard (mustard pickle). In this recipe, I did another fast way to make acar mustard with sweet […]Reply
  34. Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodle) | Indonesia Eats March 7, 2012 At 7:02 PM[…] Acar […]Reply
  35. Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodle) | wokwithray.net- Filipino & Asian Home Style Cooking March 8, 2012 At 7:54 PM[…] an Indonesian taken of chow mein or fried noodle. It’s served with sprinkle of fried shallots, acar (pickle) and kerupuk (crackers). At the street food hawkers, mie goreng is very common to be sold […]Reply
  36. Gohu Pepaya | Indonesia Eats March 31, 2012 At 7:49 PM[…] papaya asinan from East Indonesia, to be exact Minahasa (North Sulawesi). Asinan is very similar to acar or another name for pickle in Indonesia. As other Minahasa foods or better known as Manado, gohu is […]Reply
  37. Raw Kale, Carrot, Cucumber, Celery Salad | Indonesia Eats | Authentic Online Indonesian Food Recipes May 23, 2013 At 10:27 AM[…] such as Gado-Gado (Indonesian Salad with Coconut Peanut Dressing), Pecel (Javanese Peanut Sambal), Acar (Indonesian Pickle), Nuoc Mam Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) or Goma-ae (Japanese sesame seed dressing) is often what […]Reply
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