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How to Sauté an Onion


Many recipes begin with sautéing an onion, so this is an important cooking skill to have.

 

Ingredients

1 onion

1 Tablespoon of oil

1 dash of salt

 

Peel the onion

The first step is to peel off the dead layers on the outside of the onion. Start by cutting off both ends of the onion. Then take a knife and score one side from top to bottom. You can then easily peel off the top layer or two to get down to the usable part of the onion. Sometimes there is a "questionable" layer, that might be good to use or not... generally it's best to err on the side of discarding it if you're not sure.

 

Chop or Dice the Onion

The first step here is to cut the onion in half. Then you put the flat side down, so that the onion won't roll around while you are trying to chop it up! You can cut the onion into whatever size pieces you choose, depending on what you're going to use it for. You'll have best luck if you try to make the pieces somewhat uniform in size, as the small ones will cook faster.

 

Heat the Pan & Oil

Heat the pan on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, then add about 1 tablespoon of oil.  You may also use a non-stick spray. (If you use a non-stick spray, you're probably technically "grilling" the onion and not sautéing it, but that doesn't really matter for our purposes).

 

Add the Chopped Onion With a Dash of Salt

The salt will help to draw the moisture out of the onion, and will make it cook softer.

 

Stir

You need to stir fairly constantly for about 5-10 minutes until the onion is soft and clear. If you cook the onion thoroughly it will be clear, soft, and taste almost sweet. If you don't cook it long enough it will be white,  crunchy, and rather bitter. (For some recipes, you may want a spicier, crunchier taste (like in a stir-fry) but for most recipes, you want a thoroughly cooked onion.

 

Voila!

Your onion is ready to be added to your favorite recipe.

 

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