← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 2 Cucumber, seedy core removed, cut into 5 cm batons
• 1 tbsp salt, for the cucumber
• 2 Carrot, cut into 5 cm batons
• 300 g Cabbage, cut into 4 cm squares
• 150 g long beans, cut into 5 cm lengths
• 200 ml white vinegar, for blanching
• 400 ml water, for blanching
• 200 g Pineapple, cut into small wedges
• 20 Dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained
• 10 Shallot, peeled
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 cm piece Galangal
• 2 cm piece fresh turmeric
• 4 Candlenuts (buah keras)
• 1 tsp belacan (shrimp paste), toasted (optional)
• 120 ml Vegetable oil
• 150 ml white vinegar
• 120 g Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 120 g roasted peanuts, coarsely ground
• 60 g Sesame seeds, toasted

Method

1. Toss the cucumber with the salt and leave it for 1 hour, then squeeze out as much water as you can and pat dry.
2. Bring the blanching vinegar and water to the boil. Blanch the carrot, long beans and cabbage separately for 30 seconds each, lift out and spread on a clean cloth to dry completely while the cucumber salts.
3. Blend the rempah ingredients with a few spoonfuls of the oil into a fine paste.
4. Heat the rest of the oil in a wok over medium-low heat and fry the rempah for 10–12 min, stirring often, until dark red, fragrant and the oil separates. Add the vinegar, sugar and salt and simmer for 2 min until glossy. Leave to cool completely.
5. Toss all the vegetables and the pineapple with the cooled rempah and most of the peanuts and sesame. Pack into clean jars or a tub and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight, so the flavours soak in.
6. Serve cold, sprinkled with the remaining peanuts and sesame, as a side to curries, rice or nasi lemak.

Tips

• Every vegetable must be really dry before it meets the rempah, or the acar turns watery and spoils quickly. Kept dry and chilled, it lasts about a week.
• Contains peanuts and sesame. Without the optional belacan it is vegan; with it, it is not vegetarian.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

What To Cook Today Huang Kitchen