Fried shallots & shallot oil

  1. Peel the shallots and slice thinly, then break apart into little rings by tossing gently with your fingers. Dab them dry first, then toss with the salt, which helps them crisp up better. Do this at the last moment before you fry them or they might sweat.
  2. Heat about 5cm of oil in a wok or a heavy-based pot over a medium heat. If the heat is too low, the shallots won’t fry; if it’s too high, they will burn. A good test is to stick a chopstick into the oil – there should be very tiny bubbles sizzling around it gently.
  3. Add the shallots to the heated oil. They should bubble mildly. Let cook for about 8–10 minutes, until the edges get a bit brown. Pay attention from this point onwards. From now on, you can go from beautiful crispy shallots to a burnt mess really easily. Once more than half the shallots are golden, remove from the heat and let them continue to sizzle in the residual heat of the oil until they are perfectly browned. If you wait until they are already brown before removing from the heat, they will end up burning.
  4. Drain the fried shallots – they crisp up as they cool. DO NOT discard that fragrant flavourful oil. You can store the shallots in the oil too, but still drain and let it cool, otherwise the shallots will keep cooking in the hot oil.