Onions are familiar to Koreans and are very often used ingredients in Korean cuisine. It is also an ingredient in dishes commonly used in various countries around the world. I’d like to finally cover another of the nine ‘hero’ seasonings I mentioned in a previous post: onions. I’ll go over a brief history of onions, their benefits, and introduce a recipe using onions.
A brief history of onions
It is said that the slaves who built the pyramids of Egypt ate onions and garlic for their restorative properties. To be spoken of in the same breath as the pyramids, must mean they have been cultivated as a crop since ancient times, and, indeed, traces of onions were discovered in the Bronze Age ruins of Canaan from around 5,000 BC, with it being presumed that they began to be cultivated in ancient Egypt.
Benefits of onions
Onions improve blood circulation and help prevent diseases that become more common with aging such as arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure. It also reduces cholesterol and is good for preventing and treating diabetes. It is known to have fat absorption and skin beautifying effects, and is also good for constipation and insomnia.
Once when I had bad insomnia, I tried putting finely chopped onions by my pillow since I’d heard it could help me sleep better, but instead my eyes got so sore that I ended up staying up all night. Some say that eating raw onions with dinner helps with insomnia, but to be honest, I’m not so sure about that. I think it depends on the person.
Types of onions
Onions can be found all over the world in any supermarket you go to, so I won’t bother talking about how to grow or purchase them. However, when it comes to Korean food, I would recommend yellow onions over white onions or red onions. Most onions in Korea are yellow onions. There are some red onions, but they’re a little too sweet and not pungent enough. White onions are supposed to be common in the United States, but they are difficult to find in Korea. If for some reason you’re having trouble finding different types of onions, just use whatever is available. The goal of my posts is to make Korean food as accessible as possible.
Making simple side dish
With this post, I’ve covered three things: garlic, green onions, and onions. Now I can introduce a really simple side dish that I often make.
- Prepare a can of tuna.
- Open the tuna can and pour out all the oil inside. There is no need to squeeze it to get out more oil.
- Place sliced onions in the bottom of a pot. (About 1/2 of a fist-sized onion)
- Slice the green onions and sprinkle them on top. (Cut a 15cm green onion into ring or thumb-sized pieces)
- Place tuna on top.
- Pour water until the tuna is almost submerged.
- Add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and boil over high heat.
- When it starts to boil, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of dashi stock, and 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper powder.
- If you try the broth and find it bland, add a little more soy sauce or a little more salt to taste. Whatever suits your tastes!
- Boil over low heat until the liquid is reduced by half, then eat with rice. Fin.
If you have kimchi, you can eat it as a side dish or boil it as part of the dish. When should you put it in? It’s good to add it in step 4, but if you forget, add it at any time. If you don’t remember to add it before it finishes cooking, just eat it as a side dish.