Nyonya Acar - Spicy & Sour Pickled Mixed Vegetables

My sisters and I occasionally meet up at our mother’s house to prepare our favorite dishes together. This time, we decided to prepare Nyonya Acar. We have extra hands now, as my nieces are grown up and interested in cooking as well. As a typical Nyonya, my mum is very particular in how the vegetables are being cut, such as it must be same in length.

This is certainly a harmonious dish. It’s a colorful dish with variety of vegetables. And of course, while chit-chatting, we cut vegetables together and soon it was ready. The atmosphere was just like festive season where the adults were busy with the dish while the young ones running around.

Last Sunday we managed to get our “Nyonya Acar” ready for late lunch. No other dishes, the same colorful and very appetizing Acar was served during dinner. Everybody went home happily with some Acar too.

Ingredients:

Vegetables:
2 large Egg Plant (with skin, cut into 1½ inch length)
2 medium Cucumber (with skin and seed removed, cut into 1½ inch length)
3 medium Carrot (skin peeled, cut into 1½ inch length)
1 medium Pineapple (cut into 1½ inch length)
3 (large) Chilies (seed removed, cut into 1½ inch length) 1kg Long Beans (cut into 1½ inch length)
500g Water Chestnut (cut into 1 inch length)
500g Cauliflower (cut into big pieces)
1kg Cabbage (cut into big pieces)

To blanch the vegetables:
8 liters Water
300ml Vinegar

Spicy & Sour Paste (pounded/blended):
100g Dried Chilies (seed removed)

500g Shallot
3 stalks (large) Lemongrass
2 Tbsp Turmeric Powder

To sauté and flavored the paste:
500g Oil
4 Tbsp Vinegar (or to taste)
150g Sugar (or to taste)
1Tbsp Salt (or to taste)

Garnished:
200g Roasted Peanut (grounded)
50g Roasted White Sesame

Methods:
1. Blanch the vegetables to preserve the color and flavor. Add vinegar into water and bring to boil. Add vegetables (carrot, cucumber, cauliflower, cabbage, long bean) and boil for ~ 2 minutes. Then, blanch the egg plant separately, as it would colored the water (brown). Remove and immerse vegetables in cold water.
2. Turn off the heat, add pineapple into the hot water and drain off. Chilies and water chestnut not required to blanch.

3. Heat up oil, sauté spicy & sour paste at medium heat until lightly brown and fragrant.
4. Add vinegar, sugar and salt to taste. Turn off the heat.

5. Then, add all the vegetables. Mixed well in the wok.

6. Lastly, add the ground roasted peanut and sesame.
7. Serve well with hot steam rice. Store well in the refrigerator up to 1 week.