Good Reasons To Save Onion Skins
I believe onions are one of the most excellent vegetables that can be used in so many kinds of dishes. I love to cook curry with bunch of onions, and it’s also indispensable for my favorite dish, hamburg steak!
For most people, onion skin is just garbage, but please do not throw it away.
Surprisingly, onion skins contain abundant nutrients including vitamins and minerals. It’s said to be many times more nutritious than the white parts.
But, how do you get that nutrition?
In fact, you can make the wonderful vegetarian/vegan soup stock (dashi) with these onion skins!
The taste of onion skin dashi is not as strong as the typical Japanese dashi such as bonito dashi and kombu dashi. However, it has elegant taste that feels the gentle taste of vegetables.
Best Easy Onion Skin Dashi Recipe
Ingredients
・1.5-2 onion skins
・A few drops of vinegar
・A pinch of Salt
・A pinch of Sugar
・2 cups (500ml) Soft water*
*Avoid hard water as it is difficult to extract umami
Direction
1. Put onion skins in a bowl, and pour in just enough water to cover. Add a few drops of vinegar, and wash while gently rubbing with your hands. Drain the water.
2. For large size skin, split vertically into 2-3 equal parts. Umami is more likely to come out from the crevices in the skin.
3. Prepare a storage container with a lid. Put the onion skins, 500ml soft water, a pinch of salt and sugar. Place it in the refrigerator overnight or more to complete.
Ready to use!
As the days go by, the umami comes out. So, you can place it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days before using in cooking.
Tip for Making Onion Skin Dashi
By washing the onion skins with vinegar, it not only has a bactericidal effect but also adds umami.
How To Store Onion Skin Dashi
Make sure to use the container with a lid. The onion skin dashi can be stored refrigerated for about a week.
Recommended Recipe Using Onion Skin Dashi
Of course, it’s highly recommended to use the onion skin dashi for making soup dishes including miso soup. Here, I am introducing the amazing two recipes using onion skin dashi.
Fried Rice
This is not complicated recipe, but simple and easy one. The unique part is just cook the rice with onion skin dashi instead of normal water. Then, just cook fried rice with your frying pan as usual. Please feel free to use your favorite seasoning, for example, soy sauce, miso paste, etc. By cooking the rice with onion skin dashi, each grain of rice absorbs umami so well.
Pasta Soup
Making pasta soup is also recommended. I believe adding mushrooms and various vegetables are great way to enjoy the onion dashi. By seasoning the soup with only salt and pepper, you can taste well the gentle, savory flavor of onion and a lots of umami. Please try this amazing soup with pasta!
