Although you can easily buy a bottle of fried shallots in Asian food stores, believe me, homemade crispy fried Asian shallots are always better because of the freshness of newly fried ones, and the high quality of your carefully selected shallots. Making them at home is also cheaper and safer for your health.
What are Crispy Fried Asian Shallots?
First, let’s learn a bit about Asian shallots. Asian shallots are small, bulbous vegetables with multiple cloves like garlic. They have papery outer skins that range from yellow to brownish-red. Inside, similar to common shallots, the cloves are tightly clustered and have a pinkish-white color.
When you slice Asian shallots thinly and deep-fry them in vegetable oil, you’ll obtain two great things: crispy fried shallots and shallot oil. Shallot oil can be used as a condiment or as the cooking oil to fry or stir-fry, imparting a special shallot aroma. The crispy, golden fried shallots then become perfect toppings for various dishes or even tasty snacks like fried onion rings.
In fact, it doesn’t have to be Asian shallots to make crispy fried shallots. I tried using common shallots, and the result was also amazing. However, note that the aroma of Asian shallots seems to be stronger, and the taste is a little bit better.
For me, crispy fried shallots are a crucial part of Asian cuisine. From Vietnamese Cuisine, Thai cuisine to Indonesian cuisine, the golden, crispy fried shallots enhance the flavor and culinary experience of the dish to which they are added. Like many Vietnamese people, I’m addicted to crispy fried shallots and usually garnish every dish of mine with them.
Tips for Perfect Fried Shallots
Making fried shallots is easy, but you still need to follow some tips to achieve the perfect golden fried shallots in the shortest time:
- The size of shallot slices should not be too thick or too thin. Thick slices make them less crispy, while thin slices easily burn in oil. My recommended thickness is 2-3mm.
- The oil should cover all the shallot slices. To prevent oil splashing, it’s better to fry the shallots in a saucepan or a pot. I prefer frying in a Dutch oven or a stainless-steel saucepan as the heat is stable.
- To shorten frying time, the key point is to remove some of the moisture from the shallots. You can do this by drying the shallots under the sun, at room temperature, or in a microwave. Remember to pat them very dry before frying.
- Frying timing and temperature are crucial. Don’t add the sliced shallots when the oil boils, but right from the beginning into room temperature oil. This prevents the shallots from burning. Fry them over low to medium heat, and always keep an eye on the pan to stop frying at the right time. Turn off the heat when the shallots turn golden brown halfway; the remaining heat of the oil will finish the job.
How to Make Crispy Fried Shallots
Follow this step-by-step guide to fry Asian shallots:
Step 1. Slice Shallots
- Use a mandoline slicer or a food processor with a slicing blade to slice the shallots. Each slice should be 2-3mm thick. If you don’t have a gadget to cut shallots into thin slices, you can use a knife and a cutting board. Cutting shallots stings your eyes, to avoid this, you can chill them in the freezer for 10 minutes or brush a little lemon juice on the cutting board.
- Pat the shallot slices very dry. If possible, leave them to dry for a while to reduce frying time.
Step 2. Frying shallots
- In a saucepan or a pot, add cooking oil. Then, add all the shallot slices into the room-temperature oil and turn on low to medium heat. Depending on the amount of oil and the heat setting, it can take 5-10 minutes for the oil to reach boiling point. Stir the shallots several times to ensure all the pieces are submerged in the oil.
- Once the oil boils, keep a close eye on the pan and stir the shallots more regularly for even browning. When the shallot slices turn partly golden brown, turn off the heat; the residual heat will fully brown them without burning.
Step 3. Filtering shallots oil and storing fried shallots
- Use a slotted spoon, a fine mesh sieve, or a kitchen tissue, to filter and separate fried shallot from the oil.
- Let the oil cool down completely and transfer it to a jar/bottle to store for later use. With fried shallots, leave them on a bowl/plate lined with kitchen tissue to remove the excessive oil as much as possible. Once they totally cool down, store them in another air-tight bottle to prolong the crispiness of them up to 6 months.
Dishes to accompany with Crispy Fried Asian Shallots
Try your crispy fried shallots with these recipes:
- Chicken Porridge
- Wonton soup
- Tapioca Dumplings
- Savory Sticky Rice (Xoi Man)
- Vietnamese Hu Tieu Nam Vang
- Rice paper Salad (Banh Trang Tron)
- Vietnamese Coriander Salad with Beef (Goi Bo Rau Ram)
- Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork and Vermicelli (Bun Thit Nuong)
- Vietnamese Bun Bo Nam Bo
- Vietnamese Pho Tron
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Crispy Fried Asian Shallots
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200g (7 oz) shallots ~10 shallots
- 3 cups vegetable oil
Instructions
Step 1. Slice Shallots
- Use a mandoline slicer or a food processor with a slicing blade to slice the shallots. Each slice should be 2-3mm thick. If you don’t have a gadget to cut shallots into thin slices, you can use a knife and a cutting board. Cutting shallots stings your eyes, to avoid this, you can chill them in the freezer for 10 minutes or brush a little lemon juice on the cutting board.
- Pat the shallot slices very dry. If possible, leave them to dry for a while to reduce frying time.
Step 2. Frying shallots
- In a saucepan or a pot, add cooking oil. Then, add all the shallot slices into the room-temperature oil and turn on low to medium heat. Depending on the amount of oil and the heat setting, it can take 5-10 minutes for the oil to reach boiling point. Stir the shallots several times to ensure all the pieces are submerged in the oil.
- Once the oil boils, keep a close eye on the pan and stir the shallots more regularly for even browning. When the shallot slices turn partly golden brown, turn off the heat; the residual heat will fully brown them without burning.
Step 3. Filtering shallots oil and storing fried shallots
- Use a slotted spoon, a fine mesh sieve, or a kitchen tissue, to filter and separate fried shallot from the oil.
- Let the oil cool down completely and transfer it to a jar/bottle to store for later use. With fried shallots, leave them on a bowl/plate lined with kitchen tissue to remove the excessive oil as much as possible. Once they totally cool down, store them in another air-tight bottle to prolong the crispiness of them up to 6 months.