Acar - Malaysian Spicy Pickled Vegetables

Every Chinese New Year, my sister Elsie’s mother-in-law in Singapore would make her Acar in large quantities and my sister Elsie would bring home a few jars for us. They were so good and out of this world! I got my sister Elsie to share her recipe with me. It is a very tedious preparation but it’s worth the trouble to taste this amazing, mouth watering additive pickles. This year, I decided to make for my Malaysian friends and they liked it. So hope you liked it too.
Ingredients:
3 long cucumbers
1 cauliflower
3 carrots
½ cabbage


Rempah
10 shallots, peeled
5 pcs of turmeric, peeled
30 – 40 dried chilies
5 candlenuts
1 tbs belachan (optional)
8oz dried shrimps

Vinegar for Blanching
2 cups water
2 cups vinegar
1 tbs salt

Vinegar dressing
Rice Vinegar – 2 ½ cups
1 lb of sugar
4 tbs salt

Seasonings:
Salt
Sugar
Sesame seeds
Ground peanuts


Stuffing for Green Chilies
½ cup dried shrimps
1 tbs salt
1 tbs sugar
1 small green papaya

Preparation for Green Chilies - Method:
Shred green papaya into fine shreds
Soak dried shrimps in water, rinsed and minced
Add salt, sugar, and shrimp to the finely shredded green papaya
Slit open the long green chilies and remove the core and seeds
Stuff the green chilies with the papaya mixture
Set aside.

Cutting and Drying out the vegetables – Method:
Do not mix the vegetables at this point. Separate the vegetables during the preparation.

Cut off both edges of cucumber. Halve the cucumber and remove the pulp and seeds. Cut into 1 inch and about ¼ inch thick. Slit the cucumber but not all the way.
Soak cucumber in salt water (about 2 tbs) for about 5 hours. Remove the water and using a cheese cloth, squeeze out excess water.


Slice carrots into 1 inch thick and set aside. Soak carrots in salt water (about 2 tbs) for about 5 hours. Remove the water and using a cheese cloth, squeeze out excess water.

Cut up cauliflower into small pieces. Soak cauliflower in salt water (about 2 tbs) for about 5 hours. Remove the water and using a cheese cloth, squeeze out excess water.

Cut up cabbage into long pieces. Soak cabbage in salt water (about 2 tbs) for about 5 hours. Remove the water and using a cheese cloth, squeeze out excess water.

For each of the vegetables, either air dry in the sun (in the summer) or wrap in a clean towel and put a heavy object on it. Keep it overnight to allow the excess water to drain onto towel.

Cooking Rempah (spices) - Method.
Grind all the ingredients using a blender into fine paste or pound them using a mortar into fine paste.
In a wok, add oil and sauté the ingredients until fragrant. Remove and set aside.

Blanch the Vegetables – Method:
In a pot, heat 2 cups of water, 2 cups of vinegar and salt to a boil. Blanch each of the vegetables separately, and set aside to dry. Throw out the vinegar.

Final Step: In a pot, heat the vinegar, salt and sugar (from vinegar dressing) until it boils, turn off the heat. Do not add all the sugar or salt yet. Add the rempah and mix the dressing. Add salt and sugar to taste. When cooled, add sesame seeds and ground peanuts. Add the vegetables and the green stuff chilies. Store in a jar and refrigerate. Serve as needed with vegetarian noodles.