Steamed Onion Juice

Why people make this

Nourilo himself caught a bad cough during a particularly hectic stretch of work. He tried a herbal decoction the night before (schisandra, ginger and licorice), which helped through the night, but by morning the coughing was back. His daughter found a folk remedy online: steam a whole onion and drink the juice. He tried it, and was genuinely impressed — a single tablespoon of the concentrated onion essence was enough to quiet the cough for hours. The taste is sweet and mild, which makes it much easier to get into a reluctant child than bitter herbal medicines.

Method

1. Peel the onion and slice it thickly.
2. Place the slices in a deep bowl.
3. Steam over boiling water for 30 minutes with the lid on.
4. After steaming, press the softened onion to extract the juice — you will get roughly 1 tablespoon of concentrated liquid.
5. Serve warm. Give the full tablespoon to older children and adults; adjust to a few teaspoons for infants.

Nourilo’s Tips

The most important point: do not add water to the bowl before steaming. Nourilo initially added a few tablespoons of water thinking it would help, but his daughter called to remind him that the undiluted concentrated juice is what delivers the effect — water dilutes it considerably. After steaming, simply press the softened slices to collect the precious tablespoon or so of pure onion essence. If you have a very young baby, one onion can be steamed twice to get two doses through the day. The steamed onion flesh itself can then be used in a simple tomato and potato soup so nothing is wasted.