What does it take to bloom an onion? Some simple ingredients, a little bit of time and a big appetite.

If you’ve never partaken in the cult classic favorite seen at many chain steakhouses across the United States, you’re truly missing out. It couldn’t be easier to make at home. First, the onion is sliced with its core intact and then tossed in a batter of potato starch and rice flour that’s blended with soda water. (Bonus: it's gluten-free.)

“You could use beer if you want, but beer gets dark fairly quickly, so you have to be careful,” says ICE Culinary Arts chef-instructor Chris Arturo. (Chef recommends that anyone wanting to go the beer route opt for something light like a Hefeweizen.)

Related Read: Meet Chef Chris

The delicate flower is then gently fried in hot oil for just a minutes until crispy, and the resulting fried onion “leaves” are used as a vehicle for dipping sauces of your choosing. Chef Chris makes a zesty mayo of egg yolks, Dijon mustard, shallots, oil and chipotle peppers in adobo, and balances it with rice wine vinegar and honey to give an umami sweetness to it.

Here’s how to make it.

@iceculinary Here’s Chef-Instructor Chris Arturo’s play on an unforgettable classic: the blooming onion 🧅 #bloomingonion #iceculinary #culinary #foodporn #instafood #nycfood #culinaryschool #newforkcity #foodie #eeeeeats ♬ Big Energy (Instrumental) - Diamond Audio

Ingredients

500 milliliters neutral oil
2 egg yolks
10 grams Dijon mustard
20 grams shallots, minced
Half a can of chipotle peppers in adobo
Rice wine vinegar, to taste
Honey, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 yellow onion
Potato starch
Rice Flour
Soda Water

Directions

Blend yolks, Dijon mustard, shallots and rice wine vinegar in robot coupe. While motor is running, slowly stream in oil until thick, and then thin it out with a little water. Repeat this two to three times until desired thickness. Once thickened, add a half a can of chipotle peppers in adobo and blend more. Balance with more vinegar, salt and honey. Reserve.
Leaving the root in tact, cut the onion into eights and spread the layers out and dust with potato starch; tap off excess.
Combine equal parts potato starch and rice flour; add soda water and whisk to make a paste.
Drop onion into batter, letting excess drip off.
With the root facing down, place the onion in a spider and gently drop into 325˚F oil until fully submerged. Fry for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oil; drain on wire rack and season with kosher salt. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Abbe Lewis

Abbe Lewis is a writer, editor, Emmy nominee and extreme nacho enthusiast with over a decade of experience in food and beverage media. Always on the move, Abbe can be found running long distances on the weekends to new restaurants or her favorite hangouts.