Nyonya Achar

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I had a part-time maid years ago. One day, she gave me some achar she’d made. I liked the achar very much, so I asked her for the recipe. The following week, she turned up with a written recipe, plus ingredients to show me how to make achar!

Years later, I realized the written recipe the maid had given me was from “The Best of Singapore Cooking”. What she actually made, however, was quite different from what was in the cookbook. Her version had less oil and more sugar.

I guess it’s important to “season to taste”. That was what I did yesterday when I recreated the achar recipe I’d forgotten because I hadn’t written it down. This time, I’ve recorded it for eternity, on this blog right here.

Achar (Nyonya Vegetable Pickle)

Achar is the world's best pickle! It's sweet, sour, spicy and aromatic, all at the same time. No other pickle comes close! This recipe uses four types of veggies: cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, cucumber. White radish, big chillies and underripe pineapple would be nice too. The most important thing in achar is the pickling liquid. It's made with sambal and freshly ground peanuts. The pickle is sprinkled with sesame seeds and more peanuts just before serving. I could eat my homemade achar every day!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Malaysia, Singapore
Servings 24
Calories 120 kcal

Ingredients
  

Pickling liquid

    Sambal

    • 180 g shallots (18 pieces) – peel and wash
    • 1 piece turmeric small thumb-size – wash
    • 1 piece ginger thumb-size – wash
    • 3 red chillies – wash
    • 4 tbsp chilli powder
    • 2 tbsp water
    • ½ cup corn oil
    • 1 cup white rice vinegar
    • 1½ cups water
    • 400 g sugar

    Blanching liquid

    • 2 cups water
    • 2 cups white rice vinegar
    • 1 tbsp sugar
    • 1 tbsp salt

    Veggies

    • 1 kg cauliflower – wash and cut bite-size
    • 150 g carrots – wash, peel and into thin batons
    • 300 g cabbage – wash and cut bite-size
    • 1 kg cucumber – wash and cut into batons
    • 3 tbsp salt

    Seeds

    • 300 g peanuts
    • 3 tbsp white sesame seeds

    Instructions
     

    Make pickling liquid

    • Grind finely shallots, turmeric, ginger, chillies, chilli powder and water to make spice paste.
      180 g shallots (18 pieces) – peel and wash, 1 piece turmeric small thumb-size – wash, 1 piece ginger thumb-size – wash, 3 red chillies – wash, 4 tbsp chilli powder, 2 tbsp water
    • In a non-reactive pan/wok, stir-fry spice paste in hot oil over medium heat till fragrant and colour darkens, about 10 minutes.
      ½ cup corn oil
    • Add vinegar, water, and sugar to spice paste. Bring to a gentle boil. Simmer gently for 1 minute, covered. Turn off heat. Uncover and leave till cool.
      1 cup white rice vinegar, 1½ cups water, 400 g sugar

    Prep veggies

    • Bring water, vinegar, sugar and salt to a rapid boil in a big pot over high heat.
      2 cups water, 2 cups white rice vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp salt
    • Briefly blanch cauliflower, carrots and cabbage in batches. (Do not blanch cucumber.) After blanching each batch, liquid should come back to a boil before blanching another batch. Spread out blanched vegetables to cool on large trays.
      1 kg cauliflower – wash and cut bite-size, 150 g carrots – wash, peel and into thin batons, 300 g cabbage – wash and cut bite-size
    • Sprinkle cucumber with salt. Mix well. Leave to sweat for 30 minutes. Rinse, drain, and pat dry with kitchen towels.
      1 kg cucumber – wash and cut into batons, 3 tbsp salt

    Prep peanuts and sesame seeds

    • Roast peanuts in 180ºC oven till lightly brown, about 15 minutes depending on size of peanuts. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack. Remove peel. Chop roughly. Transfer ⅓ to airtight bottle or refrigerate.
    • Roast sesame seeds in 180ºC oven till lightly brown, 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven. Leave till cool. Transfer to airtight bottle or refrigerate.

    Pickle

    • In a non-reactive bowl, thoroughly mix veggies, pickling liquid, and ⅔ of ground peanuts. Pickling liquid should cover around 70% of vegetables at this stage. (Amount of liquid will increase during pickling.)
    • Place achar in fridge, covered. Stir now and then to mix everything thoroughly during first 12 hours.
    • After 12 hours, taste and if necessary adjust seasoning. It should taste a bit spicier and sourer than how you'd like it. Flavours will be rounder and less sharp in another 24 hours.
      Pickle may be served after marinating for 24 hours (36 hours would be better but I usually can't wait that long). It's best the first few days. May be stored refrigerated for up to 1 month.

    Plate up

    • To serve, transfer pickle with a slotted spoon to serving plate, without pickling liquid. Top with sesame seeds and remaining peanuts.

    Notes

    (1) Use unsaturated oil, such as corn oil, that doesn’t solidify when it’s cold. (2) You need a non-reactive bowl or pot that can hold at least 3 litres for storing the pickle. (3) Don’t let the turmeric or chilli stain your clothes!