If you’ve been hanging around me long enough, you know I have a thing come Thanksgiving for Trader Joe’s fried onions, a seasonal product. The Trader Joe's onions from the Netherlands come close to Asian-style shallots. But the other day, in the middle of summer, I spotted an end cap display at Trader Joes of a new product -- fried shallots (called hanh phi in Vietnamese). Maybe I don't have to wait till fall to stock up?!
The fried shallots are sold at Trader Joe’s in a foil-ish bag. Each bag contains 5 ounces for $2.49. An amazing price for that quantity. To make that much yourself, you'd have to prep 2 to 3 pounds of shallots, process them so they're dryish, then and carefully fry them. There's good value in the fried shallots from Trader Joe's. But, are they good?
There are only 2 ingredients — shallot and palm oil, which has been controversial so become informed about the tropical oil. The tip that they were likely good was that they’re from Thailand. I’ve been mail ordering Thai fried shallots by Maesri for years and always felt weird about mail ordering them.
The fried shallots sold at Trader Joe’s are fragrant, crunchy, and naturally sweet tasting. It’s been a while since I’ve been this impressed with an Asian product sold at Trader Joe’s. We used them at a cookbook photo shoot recently and some folks ate the fried shallots as a snack. The look good and taste good.
8 recipes for enjoying fried shallots
On the package they suggest it as a topping for their squiggly noodles (a knock off of Momofuku’s, I reckon), but there is no need to stick with Trader Joe's suggestion! You can use the fried shallots for so much more than topping noodles. A number of recipes in my latest cookbook, Ever-Green Vietnamese call for fried shallots, like the cover dish of banh cuon steamed rice rolls and steamed banh mi wraps. Southern Viet salads use them practically like bacon bits for rich crunch. Thai salads often call for them too.
Additionally, use fried shallots for recipes on this website an at my newsletter. A few to get you started.
Ramen-shop okara “potato” salad: After trying this potato salad at a Japanese noodle shop, I had to make a dupe of it at home. It's a fun way to use soy milk lees and fried shallots lend crunchy bling.
Vietnamese bun rice noodle bowls: Use my blueprint recipe for making noodle bowls from practically anything. Bun can go in many directions and the blueprint will guide your journey. Fried shallots contribute rich sweetness to the salad. Use as much as you like.
Kien Giang Fish and Shrimp Noodle Soup (Bun Ca Kien Giang): Noodle soups from southern Vietnam often have a topping of fried shallot. It's not just for looks but also for fattiness. The soups are lean so you need a little extra something to make them super special. Fried shallots are part of the answer.
Sticky rice with roast chicken (Xoi Ga Ro Ti): A favorite street food and homey dish, this sticky rice benefits from a generous fried shallot finish to lend textural contrast and richness to the sticky rice and roast chicken.
Sticky rice with mung bean and fried shallot (Xoi Xeo): A breakfast treat in Hanoi, sticky rice with buttery mung beans and crispy shallots satisfies without weighing you down. The vegan preparation is a street food favorite with locals. You can easily make it at home!
Taiwanese Five-Spice Pork Sauce Rice Bowl (Lu Rou Fan): Interestingly, fried shallots go into the simmered pork sauce to set the flavor foundation.
Grilled whole fish with tamarind sauce (Ca Nuong): Vietnamese whole grilled fish benefits from a generous finish of fried shallot and peanuts for crunch and also for dressing up the fish, which often looks slightly sad after grilling.
Oro Blanco Grapefruit Salad (Goi Buoi): Pomelo salad is a central Vietnamese classic but good pomelo fruit is hard to find. My solution is to use oro blanco, which separates beautifully into small pieces for a Viet-American rendition.
If you have experience with this product, share your thoughts! And what other brands do you like?
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