19th century American cultural critic James Huneker said, “life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer and then you find there is nothing in it.” While this may seem a tad moody, we’ll let it slide since Huneker was a critic. However, the same cannot be said for MICHELIN Guide One Star restaurant Sorrel and their intensely flavorful Sweet and Sour Onion. Inside, you’ll find oodles of ingredients, taste, and fun. The best part? This onion is tear free.
For chef Alex Hong, part of the enchantment lies in the presentation and discovery. “I wanted to make a dish where the focal point was all about the ingredient," explains Hong. "I had to find a way to manipulate the dish so that guests, thinking they were getting an onion, would discover that the onion was just the vessel filled with Dungeness crab, creamy parsnip, and an onion broth made from the innards finished with brown rice vinegar and black garlic X.O."
However, the dish came together after a few attempts given its size and shape. "The onion had to be a perfect softball size with a thick husk that could hold eight ounces of liquid,” says Hong who went through more than ten rounds before finding the perfect one. “It had to be trimmed with a two-inch tail so that we could lift the top.” Many tries later and with the help of three local farms, Hong had found his diamond in the rough.
But that’s when the tricky part really kicked into overdrive; how to gut the onion while retaining its shape. “When we steamed the onion, the core came right out, however the onion lost its structure and couldn’t hold the ingredients inside.” During the process, Hong and his team uncovered another hurdle—the components that make everyone cry (methionine and cystine compounds) would extinguish the fire needed to char the inside. The solution came after lots of trial and error with a hint of culinary magic. “We gutted it, steamed it for two minutes to cook off the compounds floating around the onion, dried it out, and then torched it to achieve that char flavor.”
Those flavors—“the perfect balance of sweet, bitter, sour, salt, and umami,” says Hong—are part of the fun for guests. The perfect partner, according to Hong, is Domaine de Villaine Bouzeron Aligoté and Hildalgo 'La Panesa’. For the former, Hong likes the juxtaposition of the crisp, fruity flavors against the savory notes. The other notable standout, a Fino Sherry, was selected for its nuttiness and salty tanginess amping up the dish’s existing bouquet.
However, it’s the look, in addition to the flavors, of the dish that always delights. “Our guests are surprised and intrigued when the onion is presented,” says Hong, “their initial thought is that they’re eating a raw onion! [However], guests are immediately relieved and excited to taste our creation.” And with local ingredients packed to the brim, it’s a decidedly starry dish.
Hero image: Joseph Weaver
All photos by Joseph Weaver
