Onion Strings

Onion Strings are less of a recipe and more of a technique. All you need are onions, a bit of flour, salt and pepper, optionally a pinch of cayenne and oil for deep frying. The only thing special you need is a Japanese spiral slicer. These are the gadgets sushi bars use for making the shredded daikon that is served as an accompaniment. The down side is that they are fairly expensive, you can find them in stores that sell Japanese cooking equipment and are pretty easy to find online. They are the sort of thing that if you saw an infomercial you're immediate reaction would be "yeah right". I had a friend who was a chef that had one and the first time I saw her use one, my immediate reaction was.. I've got to get one of those.

This is the slicer I have. Mine is a vertical model and they also sell horizontal ones but I don't have any experience with those.



Peel, top and tail a good sized onion. You can use any color you want. I generally just use yellow onions. Center the onion on the pin on the slicer and have the root end towards the top.



Press the retaining pins in the crank down hard into the onion. The straighter you cut the onion the more secure it is in the cutter. Turn the cutter clockwise and press down gently as you turn. The strings will come out of the bottom. Make sure you pull them out of the bottom of the cutter so they don't clog.



The finished strings. I'm usually making them just for myself, so only use one onion. It probably takes longer to wash the cutter up after you use it than it does to make the strings.



Toss the strings with flour seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Rice flour or corn starch also work well too. I sometimes add a pinch of cayenne as well



Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer (I use a wok) to 350° Fry the strings in batches until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels, season with a bit of kosher salt. You can keep them warm in a 250° oven while you cook the remaining batches.