We like to tease my Devilish Nephew about his "Bro Crush" on James Beard Award Winning Chef Chris Shepherd. Chef Chris was named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine Magazine in 2013 and awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. In 2019 all three of his restaurants nabbed the Number 1 spots on Texas Monthly's list of Best New Restaurants in Texas. These are just a handful of accolades awarded to Chef Chris and having eaten at one of his restaurants I can personally vouch for how divine and creative his food is. Houston is such a diverse city and Chris Shepherd's food style reflects that. It is a blend of Asian, Tex-Mex, Latin American and Texas barbecue traditions. Nothing makes me prouder than my nephew sharing my love for cooking and especially his desire to follow cooking trends and be adventurous in trying new foods and recipes. His obsession with Houston's most well-known chef is not surprising, and although we tease him about it, I'm glad to see him taking advantage of the interesting cultural influence Houston has on food. When we visited him a while back, he prepared us Vietnamese Fajitas from the chef's cookbook. As I was thumbing through the pages I stumbled upon this recipe for pickled onions. I was so intrigued I even took a screen shot of the page. Upon our return trip to Houston we planned a delicious Southern-style meal based around my nephew's melt-in-your-mouth ribs. As we were brainstorming dishes to accompany the ribs, Mr. Devilish Dish said, "How about something simple like some pickles, or maybe some quick pickled onions?" Immediately I grabbed Chris Shepherd's cookbook and said, "I know exactly how we are going to quick pickle the onions." Making this recipe was so important to us we made three stops to find Mexican Coke. (Everyone seemed to be out of stock) We finally bought a bottle from the taco truck near the nephew's house! I can't say enough about how delicious my nephew's ribs were. Absolutely perfect and worthy of any Texas barbecue contest. We also enjoyed my Veggie Salad, which is a cool, crisp alternative to potato salad. In true Southern style we had jalapeno pimento cheese sandwiches. While all of these dishes were unquestionably outstanding, the Coca-Cola Pickled Onions stole the show. This is a recipe we will go to again and again and I highly recommend you follow in the Devilish Nephew's footsteps, fall in love with Chef Shepherd and make this recipe pronto!
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| I cannot begin to describe how good these are. Use on sandwiches, tacos, salads, shredded pork, or as a side dish. The possibilities are endless. |
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| The color of the pickled red onions was perfect for our Oklahoma Sooners Football Watch Party... |
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| We enjoyed the nephew's mouth-watering ribs that were cooked to perfection, my cool, crisp veggie salad, jalapeno pimento cheese and traditional pickles. All of those tasty treats paled in comparison to these onions. They are that good. Of course, they are, they were created by an award-winning chef! |
COCA-COLA PICKLED RED ONIONS
Adapted from: Chef Chris Shepherd
1 (12 ounce) bottle Mexican Coca-Cola
2 tablespoons sambal oelek chili paste
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 medium red onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
In a medium saucepan bring the Coke to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer. Add the mustard seeds and garlic clove and let the liquid reduce by half (approximately 10-12 minutes)
Meanwhile in a bowl, combine the sliced onions and salt, so they are well coated. Set aside.
When the Coke liquid has reduced by half, add the vinegar and return to a simmer and let reduce for another 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and pour the hot liquid over the onions. (Don't worry it may not cover them completely.) Let cool, stirring well every 5-10 minutes to coat the onions. (They will reduce in volume during this process.) Transfer the onions and their liquid to a container with a lid and refrigerate at least one hour or preferably overnight. (They get more flavorful the longer you marinate them.) These will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Adapted from: Chef Chris Shepherd
1 (12 ounce) bottle Mexican Coca-Cola
2 tablespoons sambal oelek chili paste
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 medium red onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
In a medium saucepan bring the Coke to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer. Add the mustard seeds and garlic clove and let the liquid reduce by half (approximately 10-12 minutes)
Meanwhile in a bowl, combine the sliced onions and salt, so they are well coated. Set aside.
When the Coke liquid has reduced by half, add the vinegar and return to a simmer and let reduce for another 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and pour the hot liquid over the onions. (Don't worry it may not cover them completely.) Let cool, stirring well every 5-10 minutes to coat the onions. (They will reduce in volume during this process.) Transfer the onions and their liquid to a container with a lid and refrigerate at least one hour or preferably overnight. (They get more flavorful the longer you marinate them.) These will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
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