Acar is a loosely translated for pickle in Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia). I believe the word is absorbed from India; Achaar. Indonesian Acar should be sweet, tangy and refreshing. Unlike Indian Achaar which is very heavy with spices. Indonesian Acar is quite simple. It usually includes a mix of water, vinegar, sugar and salt.
Acar Bawang Merah (Shallot Pickle) is another side dish that Indonesians enjoy to company mie (noodles), martabak (stuffed pastry), nasi goreng (fried rice) and many others.
However, most Indonesians don’t do a canning process for pickles to have a longer shelf-life as most people do in 4 season countries. We usually make whenever we need or want to eat. Seasons for growing is all year long so no need to stock up for winter.
To make my acar at home, I prefer to use a natural source of vinegar such as cuka lahang (Canesugar Vinegar) or cuka aren (Nypa Sap Vinegar). If you do try this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. And most importantly, let me know what you think! Terima Kasih, Thank You, Bedankt!
Acar is a loose translation for pickle in Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia). I believe the word is absorbed from India; Achaar. Indonesian Acar should be sweet, tangy and refreshing. Unlike Indian Achaar which is very heavy with spices. Indonesian Acar is quite simple. It usually includes a mix of water, vinegar, sugar and salt.Acar Bawang Merah: Indonesian Shallot Pickle
Ingredients
Instructions
1. Where can you get ‘cuka lahang’ in Canada?
2. Is it possible to substitute ‘cuka lahang’ if unavailable with ‘rice vinegar’?
Or is the rice vinegar (Japanese) too mild? Not pungent enough?
If you are hovering over the word cuka lahang or cuka aren with an orange colour on this post above, it will take you to a separate article where I discussed more about them and where I can get them since Canada has a large community of Filipino.
There is always possibility to substitute it but rice vinegar is much more pungent in my opinion.