INDONESIAN FRIED SHALLOTS CRISP / BAWANG GORENG (UPDATED)

Shallots are important ingredients in Southeast Asia kitchen. They are called for in almost majority of Indonesian recipes if I can put it that way. They are used for stir-fry, stew, deep-fried as toppings, and also eaten raw too. It’s one of my favorite ingredient to cook with as well. We call shallots as “bawang merah” in Indonesia. The Southeast Asian version of shallots are much more smaller in size and more intense in color, purplish red. The European version of shallots are longer and bigger and more pale in color.

Fried shallots crisp or known as bawang goreng in Indonesia is a highly popular topping on dishes like noodles, curry, rice, salad, etc. I personally LOVE..LOVE fried shallots crisp. In fact, each time if a family member come to visit us, I always ask them to help me get fried shallots crisp from Indonesia. Fried shallots crisp is available here in the Asian grocery store too. My mom complained about it not being “original” enough 🙂 and I can’t blame her for that because if you eat the two side by side, you’ll know what I mean.

Making your own fried shallots aren’t too terribly complicated. Some work like slicing the shallots is required and that also means some tears 🙂 Maybe putting on the onion goggles will help 🙂 The shallots are usually thinly sliced and then soaked in the water and then let them air dried. This method will ensure you consistently get a crispy shallots.

I decided to make this post because I have few recipes posted and coming up that use fried shallots crisp. So, here it is 🙂

INDONESIAN FRIED SHALLOTS CRISP / BAWANG GORENG

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**The recipe is written in Metric and sometimes I include U.S. Measurements**

Please weigh ingredients with a digital kitchen scale instead of using measuring cups as they are not very accurate especially when it comes to recipe that requires precision.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 lb of small Indonesian shallots - you can use regular shallots too if you can't find
• Salt
• Grape seeds oil or peanut oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

• Peel the shallots and then slice them thin enough, but not too thin and preferably cut in the same direction and the same thickness so they will cook evenly. Place the sliced shallots in a pot of water and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Drain off the water and place in a shallow plate and let it air dry. Toss with some salt
• Pour oil into a wok or wide skillet and preheat until really hot. When oil is ready, gently put the sliced shallots into the hot oil and fry until they are light golden brown and crispy. Remove with slotted spoon and place on absorbent paper towel and repeat to fry in small batches.
• When they are completely cool, store in a glass container if you have with tight lid and I always store them in the refrigerator and they can be kept for a long time, almost indefinitely if I say, but that never happens because we go over them too fast 🙂

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