Fried shallots

Fried shallots — bawang goreng in Indonesian and Malay, hom jiew (หอมเจียว) in Thai — are thin slices of shallot deep-fried in oil until they collapse into brittle, glassy, deep-gold flakes. The frying strips out the raw bulb's water and sulfurous bite and browns its sugars through the Maillard reaction, so the flavour turns toasty, sweet and deeply savoury with a nutty, almost caramelised edge, and the texture shatters into an audible crunch. Across Southeast, South and East Asia they are a foundational pantry item rather than a mere topping — showered over rice, soups, noodles, salads, congee and curries — and, like black garlic, they function as their own ingredient with a character quite distinct from the fresh shallot they are made from.