There's something about a yummy taste or food from childhood. Nostalgic and very moreish.
These sweet soy pickled onions are exactly that for me. Tangy and crispy, they will lift any morsel of food and start a party in your mouth! They are great as a side to pretty much everything and often served with Korean bbq. Excellent on burgers, sandwiches, salads & part of a cheese board too! Be sure to check out our Important MyMommyKim tips at the bottom!
Rather than a recipe with measurements, will go through the method and ratios because it really depends on how much you want to make.
What you need:OnionsSugar Soy Sauce Vinegar
*MyMommyKim tip: You can also pickle mooli, daikon in this brine. Just cut them into small batons or cubes so they can pickle at similar speed to the onion. Add chilies for a spicy kick.
Cooking Tools: Airtight jar for pickling, Measuring cups, Mixing cup for the brine (something easy to pour out of)
What to do:Peel and chop the onions into bite pieces (cubed or thinly sliced). Get rid of any dry layers or ends. Put the onion into the jar you will use to pickle.
Next we need to work out the amount of brine needed. Fill the jar with water leaving 1 inch from the top of the onions.Measure out the amount of water in the jar. This is the amount of brine that you need. For example, I measured out 1 cup of water from my jar, so need 1 cup of brine.
My mom's recipe calls for equal amounts of Sugar, Vinegar and Soy sauce. That will be 1/2 cup Sugar, 1/2 cup Vinegar & 1/2 cup Soy Sauce. The sugar melts into the Vinegar and Soy sauce and adds minimally to the amount. Basically half the amount of brine that you need by the Vinegar and Soy Sauce.
Grab your mixing cup and add the Sugar, Vinegar and Soy sauce. Mix with spoon until Sugar has fully dissolved.Pour the brine into the pickling jar with the onions. Cover tightly and put in the fridge.
After 1 or 2 days, you can enjoy your pickled onions! They are done when the onions have lost their raw edge. They will taste tangy and have a crispy bite to them. Because onions have a lot of water, you will see that by the next day the onions will be pretty much submerged in brine, closing the 1 inch gap that was left.
*Important MyMommyKim Tips*:
1. Always access the onions with a dry and clean spoon. This is to avoid introducing bacteria to the jar.
2. Once the the pickled onions have been eaten, you will still have some brine left over. You can chop up more onions and add to the existing brine, following the same method (i.e. brine should be 1 inch from the top of the onions). Leave in the fridge for a day or two and enjoy again.
3. The brine : Use it as a dipping sauce, or add to soups or fried rice to enhance taste. Use it as a flavour enhancer- like a flavoured soy sauce.
