Let's Finish that Bottle of Red Wine Vinegar by Making Pickled Red Onions

It should be safe to say that we all bought something before just to complete a recipe but never get to use that seasoning or ingredient again. It can be a rare herb or something common like red wine vinegar. 

Don't get me wrong, I do use red wine vinegar quite often, but not as frequent as I would like especially there are so many types of vinegar in my cabinet. Chinese black vinegar, rice vinegar, western red and white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and of course my favorite touch of acidity - fresh lemons.

So as one way to clean up space to store even more rarely use seasonings (!?), here's what I did for leftover red wine vinegar. 

Pickled red onions -

Ingredients?

• 1 small red onion
• 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small pinch/about 8 to 10 Sichuan peppercorn
• 2 dried red chilies
• Small amount of cold water (optional)

How?

Peel and slice the red onion into rings and transfer to a colander. Put a big bowl below or set above the kitchen sink. 

Bring a small pot of water to a boil then pour onto the onion rings. Just a quick rinse will do the job. Drain out any excess water.

Use a glass container to store the pickles, avoid plastic or other type of materials that might interact with acid. Add the sugar, salt, and red wine vinegar to the container and stir till the sugar fully dissolves. Add in Sichuan peppercorn and dried chilies.

Transfer the onion rings over. Gently stir the mixture to make sure all the onion are coated with vinegar, or cover with lid and gently shake the mixture. Pour just a little cold but pre-boiled water to cover all the onion rings if needed. 

The pickles can last for few weeks in the fridge, but the flavor will get stronger and less crisp as time goes by. It's better to just finish the pickles in one week. Personally speaking, I enjoy these pickles the most after 2 to 3 days. 

Do not waste the vinegar, you can mix that with a beef or chicken stew, or used in a pasta dish. 

The use of Sichuan peppercorn and dried red chilies give this pickle recipe a gentle touch of Asian aroma. Omit these two ingredients if a simpler taste is preferred. Maybe swap out the Sichuan peppercorn with regular black peppercorn to keep that gentle kick of spiciness. 

Other Asian no fuss cooking recipes:

• Cold noodles with refreshing black sesame sauce (黑芝麻涼麵)
• Steamed chicken with Asian spicy sausages
• Stewed daikon using chicken stock and grated ginger
• Simplified version of steamed salmon with salted black beans (豆鼓蒸魚)
• Step back vampires! 10 minutes garlicky pork slices

Other western no fuss cooking recipes:

• Swapping out mashed potatoes, give cheese grits a try
• Sweet and savory ciabatta sandwich with smoked ham, brie, pesto sauce, and maple syrup
• Grilled rye bread sandwich with peanut butter, fig reserves, and Gouda

Cabbage Stir-Fry with Sweet Flour Paste/Tien Mien Jiang (甜麵醬高麗菜)

Sweet flour paste, or sweet flour sauce, sweet bean sauce, tien mien jiang, is kind of like an Asian version of black roux. It is basically made with fermented soybeans, so why the flour paste name? I guess judging by its appearance and texture, this blackened seasoning does somewhat look like something mixed with flour, thick and paste-like. 

You can often find sweet flour paste served alongside Peking duck, it's one of the common sauces used when wrapping up that crispy duck skin. Another popular way to use this sauce is by adding it to stir-fry cabbage. You'll be amazed how can a simple veggies stir-fry turn into a rice-killing dish.

Cabbage stir-fry with sweet flour paste (甜麵醬高麗菜) - 

Ingredients?

• 0.5 lb shabu pork slices
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 small or medium cabbage
• 1 onion
• 1 to 2 red chilies
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons sweet flour paste
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 

How?

Peel and slice the onion, garlic cloves, and carrot. Tear the cabbage into large bite size pieces. Destem the chilies and slice diagonally. 

The seasonings are quite heavy for a veggies stir-fry dish, so there is no need to pre-marinate the pork slices.

Drizzle some oil to a big pan or pot, turn to medium high heat and add in the onion slices. Also add in some salt and black pepper. Give it a quick stir and cook till the onion turns translucent. 

Add in garlic and chili slices. 

Cook till the garlic turns slightly browned then add in the pork slices one by one. Continue to sear the pork till about 70% cooked through.

Time to transfer the cabbage and carrot to the pan. I prefer a softer bite for my cabbage so the cabbage was added to the mixture early on and cooked longer. If a crunchier texture is preferred, use very high heat and quickly stir-fry the cabbage. I mean "very high" heat, like fire surrounds the wok kind of flaming power. It should only take about 30 seconds to one minute and you'll end up with that wonderful wok hei aroma.

So for my gentle version, cook till the cabbage softened a little then add in the sweet flour paste, oyster sauce, and some Chinese rice cooking wine. Mix and cook till the veggies reach desired texture, also make sure the sauce has been reduced, almost all dried up so to speak.

Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Otherwise, make sure the rice is ready to be devoured!


Other cabbage recipes:

• Pickled cabbage and pork stir-fry (酸白菜炒豬肉)
• Stir-fry cabbage with Chinese fermented dried soybeans - 豆酥高麗菜
• Natural MSG - Stir fry cabbage with shio kombu (salted dried seaweed)