Purple onion soaked in vinegar – a popular and delicious dish in Tet holiday feasts, helps to reduce oiliness, enhance the taste of food, and is very beneficial for digestion. Although there are many simple ways to pickle purple onions, making them crispy and tasty is not easy. Let’s explore how to make purple onions soaked in vinegar with the following article from Vinh Chau Techpal Purple Onion.
How to choose the right onions for making pickled onions in vinegar?
To make delicious pickled onions, you should choose Vinh Chau onions because they are small and firm, with usually 2-3 cloves per bulb. They have a bright, beautiful purple color, a strong, pungent aroma, are not black, and when cut, the cross-section is neat and without water. The skin is thick and has 1-2 dry outer layers. This type of shallot is perfect for pickling.
Select onions that are not too old or too young, of a moderate size that feels solid when held in the hand, and each bulb of equal size. The outer skin of the shallot should be dry, the inside juicy and purple, with no bruises, dents, or mold. Avoid selecting onions that are soft, watery, or moldy when squeezed.
Once you have selected fresh, delicious, and firm onions, it’s time to start making pickled onions in vinegar.
Ingredients:
1 kg Vinh Chau onions
1-2 chili peppers (optional)
Salt
2 bowls of boiling water to cool
1 bowl of sugar
1 bowl of rice vinegar
1 garlic clove
1 clean glass jar for pickling
Instructions:
Step 1: After buying Vinh Chau onions, peel off the outer skin, cut off the root and head, and wash them to remove any dirt. Thinly slice the chili and garlic.
Step 2: After soaking, remove the onions and rinse them thoroughly. Then, put the onions in a bowl and add a few spoonfuls of salt. At this step, you need to mix well and leave it for 3-4 hours. Unlike regular pickled onions, pickled sweet and sour onions require sugar, but adding sugar makes the onions sticky. To overcome this disadvantage, the onions need to be pickled before soaking. This method will help to remove the irritating compounds from the onions and prevent them from becoming sticky. Next, rinse the onions with boiling water to cool them down and remove the salt. Then, pour out the water and let the onions drain.
Step 3: Mix the pickling liquid, including rice vinegar, sugar, water, 2 teaspoons of salt, and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Adding vinegar to the pickling liquid will help to balance the sour and sweet flavors of the onions. Then, pour the pickling liquid into the jar, add the onions, chili, and garlic slices, and gently shake the jar to distribute the liquid. Store the jar in the refrigerator and wait for about a week for the flavors to meld together.