r/Cooking • u/NopeTrainToKnowhere • 16h ago

Crispy shallot help

Hey y'ens, I recently made some shallot-garlic oil (and it's awesome!) but I was hoping to have some nice, crispy shallots and garlic for toppings. Alas! While delicious, my shallots and garlic were soft and gooey and not useful for crunchy topping. Any ideas about what I did wrong?

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3

u/Hairy_Tough7557 16h ago

If you could share more information regarding your process or the process you’re following could be helpful in pointing you in a more crispy direction. For me being aggressive with the paper towels, drying the shallots after frying made a big difference. Starting with cold oil? Starting with hot oil?

1

u/NopeTrainToKnowhere 15h ago

I started with the shallots and onions in cold oil. Brought them up to a boil at medium then lowered it to low for about half an hour. Removed the golden brown shallots and garlic to a paper towel to drain. The oil is LOVELY but I was hoping for some crunchy bits.

1

u/Hairy_Tough7557 15h ago

Sounds like you may be cooking them more confit than frying. I use a similar method but keep heat medium to high and only cook for 8-10 minutes until they’re brown. Then drain and spread over a triple layer of paper towels and put another triple layer on top and smash them to remove every bit of oil possible. Then just let them cool. They come out nice and crispy for me.

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u/NopeTrainToKnowhere 14h ago

Great! I'll try that next time. Thank you!!

4

u/xzkandykane 16h ago

No advice as I always burn mine. But the asian market sells crispy onion/shallot/garlic topping.

1

u/wildcard_71 15h ago

I’ve been doing them in the microwave with great results. Slice 1/8th inch wide into rings, toss in oil, nuke them in a glass bowl for 5 minutes. Then take them out, toss, and nuke again for 30-45 seconds. Repeat until desired golden brown. 4 or 5 times. Drain on a paper towel and let them crisp up. Foolproof!

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u/Pewpewkitty 6h ago

Here’s my go to recipe. Try to get them to this brown color since they’ll keep cooking for a few minutes outside of the oil, anything more and they’ll burn.

https://www.seriouseats.com/thai-style-fried-shallots

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u/forbidenfrootloop 6h ago

Cold oil soaks into food. Hot oil flah sears the outside

2

u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348 5h ago

Likely cook too low&slow/didn’t let fry long enough. For crisp result, slice thin&fry in oil over med heat. Stir often til gold brown. Then remove immediate&drain on paper towel. They crisp as they cool