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Acar is a type of vegetable pickle of Maritime Southeast Asia, most prevalent in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. It is a localised version of Indian '' achar''. It is known as atjar in Dutch cuisine, derived from Indonesian ''acar''. ''Acar'' is usually prepared in bulk as it may easily be stored in a well-sealed glass jar in refrigerator for a week, and served as the condiment for any meals.


History

Pickling originated in India around 2400 BCE, and with expansion of Indian cultural influence on
Greater India Greater India, or the Indian cultural sphere, is an area composed of many countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself formed from the various distinct indigenous cultures ...
, through transmission of Hinduism leading to Indianisation, and the formation of native Southeast Asian kingdoms which adopted many Indian cultural elements, including food processing technique. Through examining the etymology, the similar sounding name strongly suggests that indeed acar was derived from Indian achar pickle. Indian achar was transmitted in antiquity to the maritime realm of Southeast Asia, which today recognized as acar in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and then on to the Philippines as '' atchara''. The adoption of this vegetable pickling technique possibly took place during the
Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
period between 7th to 13th century.


Ingredients

The Southeast Asian variations are usually made from different vegetables such as
cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.
,
carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...
s,
cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...
, shallot, bird's eye chili and yardlong beans, which are pickled in vinegar, sometimes added with kaffir lime to add citrus aroma, and also dried
chilli Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...
es. Some recipes might have the vegetables tossed in ground peanuts. ''Acar'' is commonly served as a condiment to be eaten with a main course, such as ''
martabak Motabbaq ( ar, مطبق) is a stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread which is commonly found in the Arabian Peninsula and Southeast Asia, notably in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Bangladesh ( Mughlai p ...
'', '' nasi goreng'' (fried rice), satay, and almost all varieties of '' soto''. Just like common pickles, the sour taste of ''acar'' is meant to freshen up a meal, especially fishy dishes such as ''
ikan bakar Ikan bakar is an Indonesian and Malaysian dish, prepared with charcoal- grilled fish or other forms of seafood. ''Ikan bakar'' literally means "grilled fish" in Indonesian and Malay. Ikan bakar differs from other grilled fish dishes in that ...
'' (grilled fish) or the rich and oily dish such as '' mutton satay'' to neutralize the fat.


Regional cuisines

In Indonesia, acar is commonly made from small chunks of cucumber, carrot, shallot, bird's eye chili and occasionally pineapple, and marinated in a sweet and sour solution of sugar and vinegar. Some households add lemongrass or ginger to spice it up. It is usually used as condiment to accompany grilled foods such as satay. Nevertheless, ''acar'' is can also be consumed as a whole, complete dish. For example, ''ikan acar kuning'' is a fish dish ( gourami,
mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...
or tilapia) served in ''acar'' pickles of cucumber, carrot, shallot and red chili, mixed with yellow spice paste made of ground turmeric, candlenut, ginger, garlic and shallot. It is known as ''atjar'' (pickle) in Dutch cuisine, derived from Indonesian ''acar'', since the Netherlands and Indonesia share colonial ties. Variations of Malaysian and Singaporean ''acar'' include ''acar awak'' or Nyonya ''acar'' and
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
''acar''. ''Acar awak'' is more elaborate, containing additional vegetables such as
eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mos ...
s as well as aromatic spices in the pickling mix. The salad has also been adopted into Thai cuisine, where it is called '' achat'' ( th, อาจาด, ). It is made with cucumber, red chilies, red onions or shallots, vinegar, sugar and salt. It is served as a side dish with the Thai version of satay ( th, สะเต๊ะ). With Indian and Malay slaves initially brought by the British Empire, ''atchar'' became a favourite condiment in South Africa. The local variation is usually made with green mangoes.


See also

* ( Philippine cuisine) * * *


References

{{Salads Betawi cuisine Javanese cuisine Malay cuisine Indonesian Indian cuisine Peranakan cuisine Bruneian cuisine Dutch fusion cuisine Malaysian cuisine Singaporean cuisine Thai cuisine Indonesian pickles Indonesian condiments Malaysian condiments Salads Vegetarian dishes of Indonesia Vegetable dishes of Indonesia Malay words and phrases Indonesian words and phrases