Atchara
The Philippines' sweet-sour pickle: shredded green papaya, carrot, ginger and pepper in a cane-vinegar syrup. Cuts through grilled meat.
Overview
Green papaya is peeled, seeded and shredded on a coarse grater. Carrot, ginger, garlic, red pepper, onion and raisins are all prepared in matching shreds. The vegetables are salted and rested for 1 hour to draw water; rinsed and squeezed dry. A syrup of cane vinegar, sugar and whole peppercorns simmers for 5 minutes. Hot syrup is poured over the vegetables in a sterilised jar. The jar is sealed, cooled and refrigerated overnight before eating. Improves over the following week.
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 500 g green (unripe) papaya
- 1 carrot (medium)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 red onion (small)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 30 g fresh ginger (peeled)
- 30 g raisins (optional but traditional)
Salting
- 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
Pickling syrup
- 350 ml white cane vinegar (or distilled white vinegar)
- 200 g caster sugar (or muscovado for darker colour)
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 dried red chillies (small, optional, for heat)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Method
Stage 1 - Prep the vegetables
- Peel the green papaya; halve lengthways; scoop out the seeds.
- Grate on the coarse side of a box grater (long shreds, not paste).
- Peel and grate the carrot the same way.
- Deseed the pepper; julienne 3 mm thick.
- Slice the red onion thin.
- Slice the garlic and ginger into matchsticks.
Stage 2 - Salt to draw water
- Combine all vegetables in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons salt; toss thoroughly.
- Rest 1 hour at room temperature.
- After an hour, take handfuls of the vegetable mix and squeeze hard over the sink - you'll release a surprising amount of water.
- Tip the squeezed vegetables back into a clean bowl.
- Stir in the raisins.
Stage 3 - Make the syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, dried chillies (if using) and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Simmer 5 minutes; remove from heat.
Stage 4 - Pack and pickle
- Pack the vegetables tightly into a sterilised 1-litre glass jar.
- Pour the hot syrup over until the vegetables are submerged (push them down with a clean spoon if needed).
- Cool to room temperature; seal the jar.
- Refrigerate at least overnight (24 hours is better; one week is the sweet spot).
Notes
- Green papaya, not ripe: ripe papaya turns to mush in the salt. The fruit should be firm and pale green when cut.
- Squeeze hard: undrained vegetables release water into the syrup over time and the atchara becomes weak and watery.
- Sterilise the jar: wash in hot soapy water, rinse, dry in a 130°C oven 15 minutes. Pickles in unsterilised jars grow fuzz.
- Improves with time: the first 24 hours give a sharp pickle; week 1 onwards the flavours meld and mellow.
Storage
- Keeps 1 month refrigerated in a sealed jar.
- Once opened (decanted), the unopened jar continues; once the seal is broken, eat within 3 weeks.
- Doesn't need processing for shelf stability if always refrigerated.
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