Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals).

* * *

A simple sauce that makes full use of the aroma and flavor of sauteed onions will be featured this week.

All one has to do is cook the finely chopped onion with oil. Without being assertive, the sauce creates a rich flavor while setting off the ingredients paired with it. It could be said that it plays the role of bassline in music.

If we turn our eyes to the world, there are numerous dishes that involve sauteing the onion in a pot and adding other ingredients. This recipe turns the concept into a pre-cooked sauce.

It is an arranged version of a vegetable sauce called “soffritto” in Italy. Chef Kuniaki Arima keeps it on hand and uses it in simmering dishes, among others. The sauce goes well with Japanese ingredients such as soy sauce and miso.

It takes about 10 minutes to make. Compared with the onion that is sauteed until caramel brown in color and used in curries, the onion in this recipe is slightly tinted. Its mild sweetness and burned aroma fit any dish nicely.

Pour a generous amount on sauteed pork, and you will sense the good chemistry between cooked meat and onion.

Works well mixed or poured

Here are some uses for the onion sauce.

* Mix the sauce with mayonnaise at a ratio of 1 to 3
Use the mixture to season potato salad. Pour on steamed chicken or on salmon that is to be cooked in aluminum foil. It can be used instead of tartar sauce for breaded, deep-fried oysters and more.

* Mix with “ponzu” (citrus-based sauce with soy sauce) at a ratio of 1 to 3
Use the mixture to dress roast beef salad or with “katsuo no tataki,” sashimi of skipjack tuna whose surface is broiled.

* Use when sauteing
Scoop just the oil and use to cook stir-fried vegetables or fried noodles. Use the onion and the oil to pan-fry shimeji or shiitake mushrooms.

* Use to save time
When making stews or curry, add the onion sauce to the process or replace the step of sauteing the onion with the sauce.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

(Supervised by Kuniaki Arima in the cooking aspect and Midori Kasai in the cookery science aspect)

* Ingredients and cooking utensils (Amount easy to make)

1/2 (120 grams) onion, 150 ml “salad” oil (or other oil such as “taihaku” sesame oil that is cold-pressed and pale yellow)

For sauteed pork (Serves two):
2 slices pork loin (buta-rosu) (200 grams), 2 Tbsp onion sauce, 3 cherry tomatoes, bit of Italian parsley, bit of flour, 3 Tbsp white wine or sake, 1 tsp soy sauce

1. To chop onion into 3- to 4-mm dices, make incisions lengthwise without cutting loose the root part, then slice at right angles to the incisions (PHOTO A).

2. Add oil and onion to pot and place on higher medium heat. When water starts to emerge from onion and bubbles up, lower heat to maintain the state.

3. After 3 to 4 minutes, the sound and bubbles will subside, and onion will turn transparent (PHOTO B). Lower heat and it is done in 2 to 3 minutes. When cooled, the entire sauce turns light brown. It will keep in the fridge for about two weeks. When scooping, use clean spoon to prevent the remainder from spoiling.

4. Before making sauteed pork, quarter cherry tomatoes lengthwise and coarsely chop Italian parsley. Sprinkle both sides of pork with a bit of salt and pepper. Dust with flour and dust off excess.

5. Pour 1/2 tsp oil in frying pan on medium heat and lay pork slices. When they brown, turn sides, add white wine and tomato and bring to a boil. Add parsley and 2 Tbsp onion sauce to coat slices (PHOTO C). Pour soy sauce and bring to a quick boil.

* * *

Kuniaki Arima is the owner-chef of Passo a Passo, an Italian restaurant in Tokyo’s Fukagawa.

Midori Kasai is a professor at Ochanomizu University and chairwoman of the Japan Society of Cookery Science.

ARRANGED VERSION

(Serves 2)

Add richness by adding the onion sauce to the soy sauce. Enjoy the lean part (“akami”) of tuna on sliced baguette if you prefer. Slice 2 stalks of “konegi” (thin green onion) at an angle to 1-cm-long pieces. Cut 2 cherry tomatoes lengthwise into six equal parts. Mix 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp onion sauce in bowl. Chop end pieces (“kiriotoshi) of tuna sashimi and mix lightly with konegi and tomato.

COOKERY SCIENCE

When heated, the irritant odor of raw onion will disappear, and a new odor component will be generated. In general, odor components are volatile, and the volatilization progresses when the temperature rises. When heated, the amino acids and sugar of the onion react and generate the component of roasted smell that melts in oil. The process is the same as green-onion oil used in Chinese cuisine.

* * *

From The Asahi Shimbun’s Gohan Lab column