Recipe: Peeling back the flavors of new-harvest onions - The Japan Times

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Late March to May is the peak season for shin-tamanegi (new-harvest onions). Unlike the usual yellow variety, these large, white bulbs have not been aged, making them less sharp and with plenty of sweetness.

Shin-tamanegi can be used in the same way as yellow onions, but I prefer to take full advantage of their crunchiness and sweetness in salads and other raw dishes. If they are sliced thinly and soaked in water for a little while, they have almost no sharpness and a really nice texture.

These onions are of course delicious when cooked — try boiling a whole one in soup or dashi stock until it becomes meltingly tender — but eating them raw also allows you to take full advantage of the diallyl sulfide present in onions. Although this is the substance that makes your eyes tear up, diallyl sulfide also stimulates your digestive system.

Shin-tamanegi might not be able to carry an entire dish, but if you get used to their flavors in a recipe like this week's teriyaki chicken with shin-tamanegi and a umeboshi pickled plum salad, you might find yourself craving these sweet onions long after the season ends.

Recipe:

Serves 2

Prep: 25 mins.

Cook: 20 mins.

Salad:

  • 1 large shin-tamanegi (approximately 270 grams or more)
  • 4 green shiso leaves
  • 2 large umeboshi pickled plums
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon shirodashi (liquid dashi) sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

Teriyaki chicken:

  • 250 grams boneless chicken thigh
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon mirin
  • 1 teaspoon sake
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Slice the onion as thinly as possible, then soak in cold water for about 15 minutes.
  2. Finely shred the green shiso leaves, and press the umeboshi into a paste, discarding the pits. Combine the shiso, umeboshi, soy sauce, shirodashi, sugar, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl and stir well.
  3. Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces, then lightly salt and pepper both sides. Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in a small bowl to make the sauce, then set aside.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin side down, then panfry for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the chicken over and cook for three to four minutes.
  5. Add the sauce to the pan and raise the heat to high. Coat the chicken in the sauce as it cooks down into a syrupy state. When well coated, remove the chicken from heat.
  6. Drain the onion well and pat dry. Mix with the dressing and toss thoroughly. Arrange on a plate and top with the chicken to serve.

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