Acar- Quick, Easy Malaysian vegetable pickle (low allergen)

 Kev at An English Homestead recently wrote about making acar, a quick Malaysian pickle. He and his friend devised a version that was easy to make and low in allergens to make at the Beaver unit he helps at. He says it can be served as a condiment, in sandwiches or as a dish in it's own right, livening up rice or noodles- with rice and maybe a fried egg sounds really good.
Quick and Easy Acar

It sounds absolutely delicious and as it is a short-term pickle to be kept in the fridge rather than a shelf-stable preserve, it only contains 3 tablespoons of vinegar making it more appealing to my vinegar-hating husband. I run a Rainbow Guide unit and we like cooking with them, so I thought it would be perfect for them too.

First of all prep the vegetables. You need to salt them to draw the moisture out before adding the sauce. I used what Kev used. It seems to be the classic combination, but another time I think I'd be happy to try varying it according to what I had- maybe young courgettes, peppers, cauliflower (a sort-of-Malaysian Piccalilli springs to mind with that!) Just cut according to the size you'd like to find in your pickle- not too big or long.

A handful of French beans (I also had some runner beans and I cut these in half lengthways first).
5 carrots in matchsticks
2 cucumbers, deseeded and sliced lengthways
Half a cabbage, shredded (I used a white cabbage)

Shredded vegetables

Sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar and 2 tsp salt, toss to mix and either scrunch and work for 10 minutes, leaving to stand if possible or leave to stand for at least an hour.
Rinse in cold water to remove excess salt and sugar and then dry thoroughly- squeeze in a tea towel and then spread out to dry.

While they're drying make the spice paste:

Ingredients
5 large shallots
1/4 jar galangal paste
1/4 jar lemongrass paste
1/4-1/2 jar chilli paste (I used Hungarian because that's what I had.)
Cooking oil (I used sunflower. Apparently ground nut is traditional. No good for nut allergies though)
3 tbsp white wine vinegar (I used cider vinegar because again, that's what I had)
7 tbsp brown sugar

Chop and then blend the shallots to a paste. Fry gently in a little oil without browning.
Frying the minced shallots

 When they're cooked add the other ingredients and stir until cooked through and fragrant. The quantities are a little vague (and you can see my jars are different sizes) but I wouldn't worry too much. This isn't going to be stored for a long time so acidity levels aren't overly important. Just keep tasting and checking the flavour. I added a bit more lemongrass and not too much chilli as not everyone in my family is a fan. By all means make a fiery version if you'd like!
Cooking the spice paste

When it's cooked, put all the dry veg in a large dry bowl, add the spice paste and stir to coat thoroughly.
Coating the vegetables with the spice paste

Push it all into a sterlised jar, making sure there are no big air pockets. If you pack each layer down well as you go, you should avoid most of them. It fits into a surprisingly small jar and more sauce seems to appear as you push it in. Keep it in the fridge, leaving it to mature for a week and then use it up in about a month. Having tried some as I packed it, I don't think that will be a problem.
Finished Acar

If you don't have allergies, belacan (shrimp paste), sesame, peanuts and candle or macadamia nuts are all ingredients I've seen in recipes that could be added. I think toasted chopped peanuts on top would be good when it's served.
As it's a quick and easy version I used jars of spice paste. If you have access to fresh lemongrass and galangal then do use that instead. I keep meaning to grow some lemongrass- it's on the to-do list.

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