These 5 minute pickled onions are a staple in most professional kitchens. Chefs use them as a go-to garnish for an infinite number of dishes. They taste great and give a great visual appeal to any number of savory dishes. They are a quick pickle that gives a fresh zip to grow the flavor profile of salads, meats and fish dishes, and appetizers. A great cheat code for creating bold flavors is to add a pickle (or acidic condiment) of sorts to bring out the extraordinary. If a dish is feeling flat, or has too much richness or fat, a pickled vegetable is a great way to break up the oils on the palette.
5 minute pickled onions are a great staple to keep in the fridge door pantry for a quick salad on a busy night. They make a great addition to home made bowls with grains and greens. We love how they make impromptu dishes such as a simple grilled skewer zing. They also look fantastic! We love the way they bring out the summer in salad or the fall in roasted vegetables. Plus with only a couple of ingredients they are no sweat to throw together.
The title for 5 minute pickled onions is somewhat misleading as it really doesn’t even take 5 minutes and there is no cooking involved with only 4 ingredients! As many times as I have seen these made in professional kitchens I still think its great how they immediately star to pickled and they texture and flavor changes the longer they sit. Sometimes they are just as delicious the minute they hot the vinegar and still have that little bit of bite.
Where to Use pickled onions?
Pickled onions are typically used in salads and go great with spinach or chilled beans. We also like to use them with chilled green beans, nuts, and even fruit salads. We make a lot of grain salad-bowls in summertime and these work great to break up the heartiness of grains since they require a lot of acid to bring out the sometimes bitter or starchy textures. These 5 minute pickled onions also go great with Latin style foods, such as tacos. They work great as a garnish on enchiladas, tostadas, and corn masa based dishes. We absolutely require them on these avocado tostadas to break up some of the rich fatty goodness of the avocadoes. Use your imagination here since they are so versatile!
5 minute pickled onions
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 piece red onion, peeled about 10 ounces
- .25 cups rice vinegar
- .5 tsp sea salt
- .5 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Start by peeling the onion. If it is a very large onion cut in half preserving the core to use as a "handle" to keep it intact while slicing and to prevent cutting yourself. I like to slice them over a bowl or onto a cutting board. If you do not have a mandolin you can use a sharp knife, just try to keep them as thin as possible.
- Portion the sea salt, sugar, and rice vinegar. Remove the onions from the bowl or use a separate bowl and combine them.
- Whisk the vinegar, salt, and sugar for several seconds to dissolve before tossing the onions together. Et voila! You will immediately see the color change and the texture and flavor instantly improve! Allow to sit to marinade overnight to continue to pickle and change more!
