| Asinan | |
| Country: | Indonesia |
| Region: | Jakarta and West Java |
| Course: | Snack |
| Served: | Room temperature |
| Main Ingredient: | Various vegetables or fruits in hot, sour and sweet sauce |
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 means salty food; in this context is vegetables or fruits. In Surabaya, this dish is called sayur asin (salty vegetable).[2]
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]
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]