There are two types of onion rings in this world.  There’s your standard crispy, breaded onion rings, and then there’s your fluffy battered onion rings usually served at diners.  Both are yummy. But lately I’ve been all about the battered onion rings.  I hadn’t had any for a long time, and then we had some at a diner about a month ago and remembered how good they are.  Obviously we decided we needed to make our own at home, since we generally decide we need to figure out how to make everything ourselves at home.  And thus, this recipe was born.

Battered onion rings are generally made using essentially a pancake batter to coat the onion, and for those of you paying close attention, you’ll likely realize that this is basically just a modified version of our sesame pancakes recipe. Despite that, it’s a great way to make diner style onion rings at home.

Fluffy Battered Onion Rings:

• 1 small onion, or half of a medium/large onion
• ½ cup flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• Canola/vegetable/peanut oil for frying
• Salt

Cut the onion into rings.  Heat about an inch of oil in a pan to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  While the oil is heating, in a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, milk, egg, and sesame oil.  Working in batches, thoroughly coat the onion rings in the batter and place in the oil.  Fry for about a minute per side, or until golden brown.  Remove from oil and place on cooling rack or paper towel to drain.  Salt lightly.  Eat, and enjoy!

Now if you’ll excuse me, writing this up made me want more onion rings…