cherrybim (& anyone else who’s interested):
Slice 1 or 2 onions into rings. Separate rings in the bottom of a large pot (I usually use a 6qt farberware -for 10 to 20 pieces- but last time I tried it in my large fry pan-3in sides & it was great) pour in sugar (or splenda) until the onion is mostly covered (my mother always says it should look like snow covered mountains).Heat on low/med flame until the sugar melts and the onions are soft and translucent (if you are using splenda it will not really melt it just gets stickyish and the onions will not get as soft- that’s fine just continue with the rest). Add 2-3 bay leaves & about 1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns. Add water and white vinegar in a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar so that you will have enough to cover your fish. Cook till heated through. Add fish-you can use whitefish slices or salmon steaks but my favorite is 1inch pieces of salmon fillet (with or without skin). Simmer (covered or partially covered, if you can) on low flame until fish is cooked through, try to avoid mixing, as that will cause the fish to break. Cool slightly in the pot (the longer it cools at this point, the less likely it is to break when you put it into a container. Carefully transfer fish to container with onions and spices, cover with liquid and refrigerate.
Moish01: the vinegar and spices are essentially pickling the fish which prevents spoiling for much longer periods of time. Trust me, I’m pretty neurotic about spoiled food!