Acar Acar

1 large cucumber, cut into batons

1 cup green beans, cut into lengths

1 cup snake beans, cut into lengths

1 carrot, cut into batons

1 cup bite-sized pieces of cabbage

1 cup cauliflower florets

4 long red chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced

4 long green chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced

1 tbsp sea salt

Spice Paste

10 dried long red chillies, soaked in water until starting to soften, about 30 minutes

2 lemongrass stems, white part only

4-cm piece galangal, chopped

4-cm piece fresh turmeric, grated

6 candlenuts, macadamia nuts or cashew nuts

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 tbsp olive oil or rice bran oil

1 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp grated coconut palm sugar or panela

Pickling Liquid

3 cups white wine or apple cider vinegar

2 French shallots, peeled and halved

10 garlic cloves, peeled

Place the cucumber, green beans, snake beans and carrot in a glass or ceramic bowl. Add the cabbage, cauliflower and chillies. Add the salt, toss well, then set aside for an hour.

To make the spice paste, drain the dried chillies, place in a blender and add the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, nuts and shrimp paste and process until a smooth paste is formed. Heat the oil in a wok over medium–high heat and fry the paste until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with the salt and sugar and set aside.

When the vegetables have been together for an hour, place the vinegar, shallots and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Quickly blanch the vegetables in the pickling liquid, then drain.

Place the pickled vegetables in a bowl with the spice paste and mix thoroughly.

Acar acar will keep for a few days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

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