Fried Shallots and Shallot Oil

Asian fried shallots are crispy, fragrant and delicious. If you have been purchasing fried shallots all these while, you no longer need to anymore.

If you are looking for a guide on how to prepare the crispiest fried shallots, look no further. Crispy fried shallots are very easy to prepare especially if you closely follow the guide given.

All the tips needed for a guaranteed successful result are listed here. Rest assured that no preservative is used at all.

Cut shallots evenly

Before frying the shallots, there are a few things to note in ensuring that they turn out crispy and delicious. Although the shallots must be cut into thin slices, they should not be sliced too thinly or they would burn very quickly.

They should be cut into slices of roughly about 0.2 cm thick. The thickness of the shallot slices should also be uniformed. Otherwise, some may cook faster than the rest resulting in them being unevenly fried.

Soak shallots in salt water

Soak the sliced shallots in salt water to reduce the amount of moisture. By doing so, the fried shallots would turn out even crispier.

However, it is advisable not to over soak them or they may lose their flavour. Lightly pat dry the shallots before frying to prevent the oil from splashing.

Sprinkle corn flour

Sprinkling some corn flour on the shallot slices before frying would also ensure that they turn out really crispy. It is highly recommended to fry the shallots in batches and to ensure that enough oil is used during frying.

Type of oil to use

Now that you have everything prepared, the next step would be frying the shallots. The best choices of oil for frying the shallots would be peanut oil, sunflower oil or canola oil as they are very mild in taste.

These oils are used to get the utmost flavour of the shallots as they have a higher smoke point and are suitable to be heated at higher temperature which is exactly what is needed to turn the shallots crispy.

Nevertheless, caution should be taken not to overheat the oil which might result in the shallots getting burned instead.

Usage of fried shallots

These golden and crispy shallots are added to fried rice, porridge, vegetables, soups and savoury dishes as garnishing.

They are also used to add flavour to dishes. For example, fried shallots are a must in Penang Hokkien mee

Storage of fried shallots

Once the fried shallots are ready and had cooled to room temperature, store them in a bottle and placed it at a cool area. As mentioned in the video, they can be kept for up to a month.