If caramelized onions are like a heartfelt ballad, slow and soulful, frizzled onions are the opposite—an electro-pop dance track, fast and bold. Frying onions in hot oil gets them a little crisp around the edges and has them walking the line between sweet and sharp in no time at all. Don’t let the word frying scare you off—it takes as little as one cup of oil to frizzle your way through the thinly sliced onions. Remove the onions from the oil when they’re still a shade or two lighter than you want them. They’ll continue to cook off the heat. These differ from store-bought fried onions in that they aren’t coated in any flour or starch before frying, which makes them light and crispy. A generous fistful makes this otherwise simple cabbage salad dynamic: It’s hot and cold, crisp and soft, sweet and spicy. Assemble the salad just before eating to capture the different textures.
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What you’ll need
Blender
$40 At Amazon
Medium Skillet
$50 At Amazon
Slotted Spoon
$11 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
20 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
1
2
½
¼
3
2
2
1
½–1
¼
½
½
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 1 cup vegetable oil in medium skillet over medium (you will know the oil is hot enough to fry when a strip of onion dropped into the oil immediately sizzles and floats to the surface). Add 1 small onion, thinly sliced, to pan and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain; season lightly with kosher salt. Repeat with remaining 1 small onion, thinly sliced; set aside 1 Tbsp. onion oil from skillet (save remaining oil for another use or discard).
Step 2
Blend ¼ cup smooth peanut butter, 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, 2 Tbsp. fish sauce, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 garlic clove, ½–1 serrano chile, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, reserved 1 Tbsp. onion oil, and 1 Tbsp. room-temperature water in a blender until smooth.
Step 3
Toss ¼ head of Napa cabbage (about 8 oz.), cored, sliced ½" thick, with ¼ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems, ¼ cup mint leaves, and half of frizzled onions in a large bowl to combine. Drizzle peanut butter dressing over and toss again to coat.
Step 4
To serve, pile cabbage salad on a large plate and scatter remaining ¼ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems, ¼ cup mint leaves, and frizzled onions over.