Fried Onion Rings

Lourdes is fine. No symptoms. The visit didn't transmit anything except love, which is not a pathogen but sometimes behaves like one — contagious, spreading, impossible to contain once released. I monitored her for two weeks (the nurse in me) and called every day (the daughter in me) and she is fine, she is fine, the fine is a relief so profound it has a physical sensation, like setting down a weight you've been carrying for so long you forgot it was heavy.

I started visiting weekly. Not quite breaking the rules — wearing a mask, washing hands, keeping the visits short — but bending them, compromising, the ethical gray area of a nurse who knows the guidelines and a daughter who knows her mother. Dr. Reeves didn't judge. She said, "You're balancing risks. Both kinds." Both kinds. The risk of the virus and the risk of isolation, the physical danger and the emotional danger, the two threats that the pandemic presents and the impossible math of choosing between them.

I made lumpia with Lourdes. Standing side by side, wrapping — fill, fold, roll, seal. Not three hundred. Fifty. A manageable number, a pandemic number, the number you make when the community party is canceled and the audience is two women in a kitchen and the lumpia are not for anyone except us. Fifty lumpia. The most intimate batch Lourdes has ever made. She wrapped them with the same precision she brings to three hundred — no corners cut, no wrappers wasted, the technique unchanged by the scale. This is Lourdes: whether she's feeding three hundred or two, the lumpia are perfect. The perfection is non-negotiable.

We fried them together and ate them hot from the oil, dipping in the sweet chili sauce, standing at the counter because we couldn't be bothered with plates. Standing at the counter in Lourdes's kitchen. Standing together. After three months of glass and porches and phone calls, we were standing together, eating lumpia, and the standing together was the whole world.

We didn’t make lumpia that day for anyone but ourselves — no party, no crowd, just two women frying things and eating them hot — and that intimacy is exactly what I think about when I make these onion rings now. They’re the same kind of food: battered, golden, dipped, eaten standing up because you can’t wait. If you’ve just come through something hard and you want to cook side by side with someone you love, something that comes out of hot oil and goes straight from the pan to your hand, this is the recipe. Make a small batch. Eat them at the counter. That’s the whole point.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 large yellow onions, sliced into 1/2-inch rings
1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for finishing
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar, rested 5 minutes)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 3 cups)

Instructions

Prep the onions. Peel and slice onions into 1/2-inch rounds. Separate into individual rings and spread on a paper-towel-lined tray. Pat dry.
Set up your dredging station. Place 1/4 cup of the flour in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Stir in the buttermilk and beaten egg until a smooth batter forms — it should coat the back of a spoon.
Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet to a depth of about 2 inches. Heat over medium-high until it reaches 375°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a small bit of batter in — it should sizzle and rise immediately.
Dredge and batter the rings. Working in batches, toss each onion ring in the plain flour to coat lightly, shake off any excess, then dip into the batter, letting any drips fall back into the bowl.
Fry until golden. Carefully lower battered rings into the hot oil a few at a time — don’t crowd the pot. Fry 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning once, until deep golden brown and crispy. Work in batches and let the oil return to temperature between rounds.
Drain and finish. Transfer fried rings to a wire rack set over a baking sheet, or a paper-towel-lined plate. Season immediately with a pinch of salt while still hot. Serve right away with your dipping sauce of choice — sweet chili sauce, ranch, or ketchup.

Nutrition (per serving)

Fried Onion Rings — When Standing Together at the Counter Is the Whole World