Cryo-Pickled Onions - Recipe
Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot, in their Ideas In Food cookbook, have terrific chapters on pickling, and on freezing food to intentionally modify texture. I like to combine these two methods into something I call “cryo-pickling”.
When you freeze a vegetable, ice crystals puncture the cell walls. A slow thaw allows water to drain out, resulting in a denser product with more concentrated flavors. If you do this same process in the presence of a pickling liquid, as the water goes out, the pickling flavors have the opportunity to migrate in.
In the example below, we are pickling onions with mild Asian spices. You can serve this with the Pear and Gouda Salad on , and use the pickling liquid as part of the dressing.
Feel free to change either the vegetable or the marinade; this method is very flexible. How about cantaloupe with Sichuan peppercorns? Experiment and have fun!
Cryo-Pickled Onions
Vegan and gluten-free / 10 minutes active plus a freeze and thaw cycle
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- 2 teasoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon togarishi or chili flakes
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- ½ medium white onion, thinly sliced across the grain
- In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, salt, sugar, and togarishi or chili flakes.
- Place the ginger and onion in a small freezer bag. Pour the pickling liquid over them, shake a bit, and seal, forcing out as much air as possible.
- Freeze for at least 12 hours, then thaw in the refrigerator. The pickled onions are now ready for use, and will keep in the refrigerator for at least a few day.
