Shallot

Shallots grow especially well in Indonesia’s cool volcanic highlands, so no wonder it is almost omnipresent in our dishes. We use shallots in flavoring pastes, thinly slice them into salads, and deep-fry them for sprinkling over stir-fries, soups, and curries. The local shallots have a variety of oval-shapes, roughly four centimeters long. They have pink, coppery skin, pink and white flesh and usually come in clusters of two or three bulbs attached to a single root. The Asian types are small, nearly identical to those in Southeast Asia, whilst the European variety is larger and more elongated in shape. The first are milder, more aromatic, and sweeter than the latter, which are often forcefully oniony. But you’ll probably find the Asian variety deep-fries slightly better because its flesh contains less moisture.