Asinan

Asinan is a pickled (through brined or vinegared) vegetable or fruit dish, commonly found in Indonesia. Asin, Indonesian for "salty", is the process of preserving the ingredients by soaking them in a solution of salty water. Asinan is quite similar to rujak, which is usually served fresh, while asinan is preserved vegetables or fruits. Of the many types and variations of asinan in Indonesia, the most popular are asinan Betawi and asinan Bogor. Asinan can be found in restaurants, warung, and travelling street vendor.^[1]

Asinan Bogor

• Asinan Betawi: The vegetable asinan of the Betawi people from Jakarta is preserved Chinese cabbage, cabbage, bean sprouts, tofu, and lettuce served in a thin, hot, peanut sauce with vinegar, topped with peanuts and krupuk (especially krupuk mie).^[1]
• Asinan Bogor: The fruit asinan of Bogor city, West Java is preserved tropical fruits, such as raw mango, water apple, papaya, ambarella, jicama, nutmeg, and pineapple served in sweet, hot, and sour vinegar and chili sauce, sprinkled with peanuts.^[1]

Asinan

Asinan Betawi topped with yellow kerupuk mie
Course	Snack
Place of origin	Indonesia
Region or state	Jakarta and West Java
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredients	Various vegetables or fruits in hot, sour and sweet sauce
Media: Asinan

Asinan peddlar frequenting residential area in Jakarta, Indonesia

Name

Asinan means salty food; in this context is vegetables or fruits. In Surabaya, this dish is called sayur asin (salty vegetable).^[2]

Ingredients

Ingredients of asinan sayur have in common with kimchi. Their main ingredients are cabbage, cucumber, and salt. They both have the cabbage salted, but in kimchi the salting process takes longer than the process in asinan.^[2] Other ingredients include bean sprouts, chili, and terasi.^[3]

Variants

There are two main variants: asinan sayur and asinan buah (salted vegetable and salted fruit).^[2] Asinan sayur is also called asinan Jakarta or asinan Betawi.^[1] However, according to Indonesian food expert William Wongso, it doesn't guarantee the dish is originally from Jakarta. It might be influenced by Indian, Chinese, Arab, Portuguese, or Dutch cuisine.^[4]

See also

• Food portal
• Indonesia portal

• Acar – Vegetable pickle made in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Brunei.
• Kimchi – Korean side dish of fermented vegetables
• Rojak – Southeast Asian fruit and vegetable dish

References

1. Will Meyrick. "Asinan the Indonesian Pickle". Street Food Chef. Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
2. Junaidi, A. (27 April 2005). "'Asinan' vs. 'Kimchi': Variety is the spice of life". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
3. Ilyas, Hamzah Puadi (1 February 2011). "'Imlek' and Idul Fitri share much in common". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
4. Hulupi, Maria Endah (22 June 2003). "Betawi cuisine, culinary journey through history". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.