Japanese Soy Garlic Onion 'Steaks'

Name: Japanese Soy Garlic Onion 'Steaks'
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients: 1 large Sweet or Spanish onion (450g net weight); 1 tsp kombu dashi granules or mushroom stock powder, optional (3g); 1 garlic clove, minced (4g); 1 tbsp vegan butter (15g); 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (15ml // tamari for gluten free); 1 tbsp mirin (15ml); 1 tbsp sake (15ml); 1 tbsp water (15ml); 1/2 tsp sugar (2g); salt and pepper to taste

April 20, 2021 By Lisa Kitahara 28 Comments

Jump to Recipe

charred onion steaks on a green and pink rectangle plate

These Japanese Soy Garlic Onion 'Steaks' are the perfect way to enjoy whole onions! Sweet, juicy and big on flavour– perfect for sandwiches, burgers or served as a side dish.

Onions are so often used but not shown a lot of love. Let's make onions the star of the dish with this delicious, juicy and tender onion 'steak' infused with classic Japanese steak flavours. The natural sweetness comes out from the onions, caramelized to perfection.

How to Make Onion 'Steaks'

Ingredients

Onions: Any type of large onions can be used for this recipe, however I do recommend sweet onions, Spanish onions or new onions as they're larger in diameter and have a subtly sweeter flavour to them.
Kombu dashi granules: optional, but adds more flavour into the onions.
Garlic: for flavour.
Vegan butter: or margarine.
Soy sauce: or tamari for gluten free.
Mirin & sugar: for sweetness.
Sake: helps reduce the 'spicy' and pungent onion flavour.

onion steak on a black frying pan charred

Directions

Thickly slice the onions, about 3-4 cm in thickness. You can slice them thinner, but they tend to fall apart easier in the pan.
Place the onions in a microwave safe container or dish and sprinkle with kombu dashi granules. Cover and microwave each side for 1 ½ - 2 minutes or until mostly cooked through. It will look more translucent and smell sweet.
Heat a pan over medium high heat with some oil and carefully place the onions on the pan. Cook until you get nice charring (about 1 minute). Flip and cook other side (about 1 minute).
Move the onions to one side of the pan and then add the garlic, mirin and sake. Cook for about 20 seconds, swirling the pan (the sake will begin to evaporate). Then add in the soy sauce, sugar and water and swirl the pan to coat the bottom of the onions. Cook until sauce is slightly reduced. Carefully flip the onion and then cook the other side coating it with the sauce until thickened.

grilled onions on a frying pan with soy sauce garlic

Recipe Notes

Thickly slice the onions. The thicker the onions, the easier it is to flip. However, if you don't mind them falling apart and want them to cook quicker, slice them thinner.
Do not flip the onions often or they tend to fall apart. I only cook each side twice. Once for getting some charring and once for cooking it in the sauce.
Variations: change up the sauce for different flavours! I shared some sauce ideas in my daikon steak recipe.

grilled onion steaks on a white plate sliced with fork picking it up

More vegan 'steak' recipes to try:

SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓

onion steaks with japanese soy garlic sauce side angle shot

If you recreate this Japanese Soy Garlic Onion 'Steaks' recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Hungry for more? Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest for more deliciousness!