Pickled Red Onions

Pickled red onions add a nice sour taste to a dish. The sharpness of the red onion fades a little bit and will be replaced with a delicious soft, sweet and sour taste. For example, we added it to bao buns with marinated chicken together with pickled cucumbers.

They are delicious in salads, in filled sandwiches, with a rice dish. Actually everywhere.

Pickled onions are very easy to make and you can use them after half an hour.

To cut the red onions

For quick pickled red onions, it is important that the onions are sliced into rings as thin as possible. This way they absorb the vinegar faster. You can chop them with a mandoline or just with a sharp knife.

If you want more of a bite, you can cut the onions a bit thicker as well. Keep in mind that the onions then need a few hours to absorb the vinegar.

What ingredients can you add?

The advantage about pickled red onions is that you can vary endlessly with them. The basics consists of water, natural vinegar and sugar or honey. But you can also add some spice with red peppers or chili flakes, for example. Or star anise, for a more powerful taste.

You could also replace part of the natural vinegar with apple cider vinegar. That provides a different taste to the onions. Anyway, the basics are simple and already delicious, but with the variations you can make the taste even more interesting.

We have replaced the sugar with honey, which gives it a sweet taste.

How long can you keep pickled red onion?

You can easily keep the pickled red onions in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks, but they are best for the first three days. The longer you keep them, the more crunch they lose.