Asinan Bengkuang (Pickled Jicama)

When it comes to asinan bengkuang (pickled jicama) the yummiest one was the one made by my neighbor. Not only its taste, but the memory behind it, a beautiful and happy childhood, when life was simpler that prevent me from moving on. Unfortunately, she (my neighbor) has retired from making and selling it and left me in forever searching. Until one day, my sister came home brought me a packaged of asinan bengkuang.

At first, I was skeptical..afraid of having a broken heart if the taste is not as good as the one my neighbor made. Still I gave it a try and I was happy! This is it! My childhood's fav food.

By the way, do you know that Jícama is high in carbohydrates in the form of dietary fiber. It is composed of 86–90% water; it contains only trace amounts of protein and lipids. Its sweet flavor comes from the oligofructose inulin (also called fructo-oligosaccharide) which is a prebiotic. Jícama is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is also a good source of potassium and Vitamin C. (Wikipedia)

So, let's make homemade pickled jicama, it's super easy. The recipe is from the late Bunda Inong, may God put her in the best place, aamiin.



Asinan Bengkuang

(Pickled Jicama)


Recipe from Dapur Bunda, modified by me

Ingredients:
4 medium jicama, peeled, sliced
3 medium cucumber, halved
4 tbsp sugar
4 tsp cooking vinegar
Salt as needed
500 ml water


Spices:
5 pcs red chili
15 pcs bird eye chili
Pinch of shrimp paste

How to:
1. Roughly ground spices. Set aside.
2. Boil water, add spices and reboil.
3. Add vinegar, sugar and salt. Mix until dissolve. Adjust the taste and reboil.Remove from the heat. Let it stand until cold.
4. Add jicama and cucumber. Refrigerated for one night.
5. Serve cold, better.


Enjoy!