A small, mild, refined onion relative — the preferred onion of French cuisine, with a softer flavor and more delicate texture than common bulb onions.
Why French chefs prefer them
Shallots are the default “onion” in classical French cuisine — used wherever a milder, more refined onion flavor is wanted. The reasons:
- Less harsh — won’t overpower delicate sauces
- Higher sugar — caramelizes faster and sweeter
- Finer texture — dissolves more cleanly into reductions
- Subtle garlic notes — adds complexity without strong garlic
A béarnaise or beurre blanc made with onion instead of shallot tastes “wrong” — coarser, more aggressive. The shallot is essential to the dish’s character.
Asian fried shallots
Across Southeast Asia and South Asia, fried shallots are a major ingredient — thin shallot slices deep-fried until golden and crispy, then used to garnish nasi goreng, pho, biryani, and many other dishes.
Commercial fried shallots are widely available in Asian groceries, but home-fried are dramatically better — the smell of frying shallots is one of the most evocative aromas in Asian cooking.
More expensive than onions
Shallots typically cost 3-5x more per pound than yellow onions. The reasons:
- Smaller per-bulb yield
- More labor-intensive harvest
- Lower-volume production
- Premium positioning in Western markets
Many home cooks substitute regular onion in shallot recipes for cost reasons. The substitution mostly works — but in a beurre blanc or vinaigrette where shallot is featured, the difference is real and noticeable.
Find more vegetables by letter
Shallot starts with S and ends with T. Browse other vegetables along the same letter.
Vegetables that contain a letter from "Shallot":