Hanh Muoi

Ingredients

Shallots

• 1 kgsmall shallots or pickling onions
• rice water from rinsing rice, or salted water, for soaking

Brine

• 1 litrewater
• 60 gsalt
• 3 tbspsugar
• 150 mlrice vinegar
• 2fresh chillies, optional

To serve

• bánh chưng at Tet
• boiled pork belly
• cold cuts

Directions

1. Soak the unpeeled shallots in rice water for two days, changing it once a day.
2. Rice water is not a superstition here. Its starch feeds a mild ferment that draws out the harshness of raw shallot, and it loosens the skins so they peel easily — shallots soaked in plain water stay fierce and are miserable to peel.
3. Drain, peel, and trim the roots without cutting into the base. Cut too deep and they fall apart in the jar.
4. Spread the peeled shallots out and dry them for a few hours until the surfaces are dry.
5. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water, add the vinegar, and cool the brine completely.
6. Pack the shallots into a clean jar with the chilli and pour the cooled brine over to cover by 3 cm. Weigh them down so none floats.
7. Cover and leave at room temperature. They will cloud and fizz within a few days.
8. They are ready in about two weeks, when they have gone from opaque white to translucent all the way through and taste sour, sweet and only faintly of raw onion.
9. Translucency is the test, not the calendar. A shallot still white at the core has not finished.
10. Refrigerate and use within three months. Serve alongside bánh chưng and fatty pork at Tet, where the sharpness is there to cut the richness of new-year food.

Technique

• Two days in rice water. It does the peeling and the mellowing at once.
• Do not cut into the root end.
• Wait for translucent through, not two weeks on the calendar.

Substitutions

• Salted water in place of rice water, which works but leaves them sharper.
• Small white onions or spring onion bulbs.
• More sugar for the southern style, which is noticeably sweeter.

Variations

• Củ kiệu, made with small Chinese chives bulbs, which is the southern Tet pickle.
• Chopped into salads and over grilled meat.

History

Served with banh chung and fatty pork at Tet, the pickle cutting through the richness of new-year food.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hanh Muoi?

Hanh Muoi is a fermented & pickled from Vietnam: whole shallots pickled in brine until translucent, eaten with sticky rice cake. Served with banh chung and fatty pork at Tet, the pickle cutting through the richness of new-year food.

How long does Hanh Muoi take to make?

Hanh Muoi takes 40 min plus 2 days soaking and 2 weeks of preparation and 5 min of cooking. The recipe makes fills a 1.5-litre jar. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Hanh Muoi?

Yes, within limits. Salted water in place of rice water, which works but leaves them sharper. Small white onions or spring onion bulbs. More sugar for the southern style, which is noticeably sweeter.