Shallots (hom daeng)

Essential Ingredients pad thai

In Thai cooking shallots are used instead of onions. The Thai shallots which are the same as the Southeast Asian variety are purplish red and smaller than the regular orangish brown shallots sold in the West. The Southeast Asian variety is more powerful in smell than the regular variety. In Thai curries, red shallots are indispensable in the preparation of all kinds of curry or chili paste, dipping sauces, spicy salads, and of course, pad thai. Essentially crushed and shredded red shallots make the flavor of pad thai different from other fried noodles influenced by Chinese cooking.

Shallots (hom daeng)

Shallots (hom daeng)

Shallots are also fried into crisp pieces to garnish, adding aromatic flavor to certain dishes as the Thai Chicken Biryani, for exsample. Shallots have to be peeled and sliced into thin pieces, and dried first before frying. They should be deep fried in hot oil over medium heat, stirred occasionally, until golden brown. Drain through a fine wire-mesh strainer and reserve the fragrant shallot oil for other stir-fry dishes. Packaged crisp-fried shallots are available, but of much less aroma than those freshly prepared.