Get ready for a tangy, sweet, spicy, crunchy Indonesian pickle consist of shallot, cucumber, and bird’s eye chili pepper. I love this simple yet delicious recipe!

You might think I’m biased since I grew up in Indonesia, but to me acar is the single greatest and most versatile pickle of all time.  Think about it, your typical cucumber pickle is only found in burgers and some sandwiches, but in Indonesia, acar is served as condiment in a variety of dishes from nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice), satays, soups such as sop buntut (oxtail soup), sop kaki kambing (mutton soup) and soto ayam (chicken soup) to Chinese Indonesian dishes.

The tanginess of this pickled vegetable with a hint of sweetness is a superb counterbalance to a rich, sweet, savory and fatty food while the bird’s eye chili adds extra fire to any dish.   

MY ACAR MEMORY

Decades ago, my parents took my two sisters and I, along with my cousin’s family, on an RV adventure through Western Europe.  We spent three weeks driving around visiting the main attractions throughout the region.

We spent an additional week in Amsterdam visiting my cousin’s family friends.  For the most part, my mom and aunt cooked most of our meals in the RV (yes, it was all Indonesian food), but on rare occasions we had a chance to venture out and experience local food.

Back in those days, we couldn’t ask “Siri” where to go for the best bakery in Paris. Nor could we ask her to direct us to the best bratwurst in Dusseldorf, but we were lucky enough to find a great burger joint in Amsterdam.

I don’t remember where the exact location was or what it looked like, but I still remember the shallot acar that was served on the side of the burger.  It was such an unexpected pairing and because we were in the Netherlands eating Indonesian acar, that the memory remains stuck in my head

A CLOSER LOOK AT BIRD’S EYE CHILI

Bird’s eye chili or thai chili pepper is extensively used in southeast Asian cooking, especially Thailand and Indonesia.  It’s used for cooking curry, sauces, soups and making sambal and condiments.

We Indonesians, often enjoy them raw with our snacks, including risoles and fried tofu. I’m convinced we were trained to eat them as a young child.

I still remember when I was age 4 or 5, I’d take a bite off the top, then squeezed some of the juices and seeds into my hot rice balls. I then chomped on them!  Yes, I preffered my food spicy from a very young age.

The bird’s eye chili pepper is green when young and as it matures, the color turns to orange then red at its peak.  The size is roughly about 1/2″-1″ long and it measures around 50,000-100,000 Scoville units which is at the lower range for the famously hot habaneros (100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units) but still several times spicier than jalapenos (1,000 to 10,000 Scoville).

PREPARATION TIPS

• The common ingredients in Indonesian acar are shallots, cucumbers, carrots and bird’s eye chilis.  What’s great about making it at home is you can pick any combination you like.  If spicy is not for you, feel free to opt out the pepper.  If you love carrots, go right ahead, dice some and dump them in.

• When preparing the pickling liquid, don’t shy away from seasoning.  The flavor needs to be intense enough for the veggies to absorb, otherwise you’ll end up with a bland-tasting pickle.
• Add shallots immediately after the pickling liquid boils, then let the liquid cool down to room temperature before adding the rest of the ingredients (my mom swears this helps maintain the color of the shallot).
• Use a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid for storage such as mason or reusable spaghetti jar.

Yield: 24oz jar

Acar

Print

Tangy, sweet, spicy, crunchy Indonesian pickle consisting of shallots, cucumbers, and bird’s eye chili peppers.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 1 cup bird’s eye chili (optional)
• 1 cup shallots, cut in 1/2 if they are large

For pickling solution

• 1 ½ cup water
• ½ cup distilled vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Wash all vegetable. Dice cucumber into ¼ inch cube. (if using smaller cucumber such as Persian, cut in ½ lengthwise, then slice about ¼” thick to create moon-shape). Discard the stem of bird’s eye chili pepper. Peel shallot and cut in half or fourth or into smaller pieces depends on how big the shallots you’re using.
2. In a small saucepan or pot, combine all ingredients for pickling solution. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Turn off heat and immediately add shallots. Let mixture cool down to room temperature.
3. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Place acar in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate.

Enjoy your acar with any dishes after a few hours or will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.