Fried Shallots

I absolutely love fried shallots as a condiment to my dishes. No not those store bought fried shallots… I meant those authentic homemade ones.

I remember growing up eating them especially with my fried beehoon, fried noodles, porridge and anything possible. These crispy thin slices of shallots will transform a simple dish to a culinary delight.

To make them you only need 2 ingredients ie Shallots and sufficient oil to deep fry them. However, not many people are keen in making them as it is tedious (slicing all those shallots into thin and even slices). The deep frying timing has to be precise as too short a time will result in soggy shallots while too long in the fryer will yield burnt shallots.

Here is how I do it…..

Peel shallots and rinse them before slicing. Dab dry with a kitchen towel then slice thinly and uniformly to ensure even cooking. (Quantity is up to you). Leave this in room temperature for a couple of hours so that the moisture will dry up.

Heat up the wok. Pour in sufficient cooking oil. The oil will be ready for frying when you see bubbles coming out from the bamboo chopsticks (see above).

Pour in the sliced shallots.

Keep stirring and you will see the shallots slowly changing colour. Do not add anymore oil once you added in the shallots.

Once the shallots turn light golden brown, get ready to remove it from the wok. This is the most important and tricky process. If you let the shallot turn brown, they will be burnt as the shallots will continue to cook even when you remove them from the wok.

Remove the shallots from the oil using a slotted ladle.

Blot out excess oil by draining the shallots on kitchen paper towels or tempura paper.

Cool. Store the fried shallots in an airtight container in the fridge.

To use, simply take them out from the fridge and sprinkle sufficient amount to topped over almost any dish.

Enjoy :)