How to Make Pickled Shallots in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Crunchy and Delicious

How to Prepare Pickled Shallots

• 1

  Prepare the Ingredients

  After purchasing shallots, rinse them in water to remove excess dirt. Then, place them in a basin with 1 tablespoon of salt. To shorten the soaking time, you can add warm water to the basin until it just covers the shallots, and soak them for about 2 hours.

  Next, use a knife to cut off the roots and peel the thin layer of the shallots, then soak them in another basin of cold water.

  Finally, remove the shallots and rinse them in another basin of water mixed with 1 tablespoon of salt, then take them out and let them dry in the sun.

  For the carrots, peel the skin, rinse with clean water, and cut them into pieces about 1/3 of a finger’s thickness. You can rinse them together with the diluted salt water from the shallots or rinse separately with salt water for about 4 – 5 minutes.

  

  

  

  
• 2

  Sun-drying the pickled onions

  Dry the onions on a tray (or any large basket) under the sun until they are dry, and when weighed, they should be around 250g.

  Avoid drying the onions in too harsh sunlight as it can cause them to dry out, shrink, and the final product of the pickled onions will not be fragrant and appealing.

  

  
• 3

  Making the brine

  Add 250g of sugar and 150ml of fish sauce into a pot and place it on the stove over low heat. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat and let it cool.

  

  

  

  
• 4

  Wash the pickled shallots with vinegar

  You continue to use a knife to peel off any remaining outer layers or roots on the shallots. Then, you wash the shallots in a bowl containing 2/3 cup of vinegar for about 3 – 4 minutes.

  Next, you will remove the shallots from the vinegar bowl and do not need to rinse them with water.

  Tip: Cleaning the shallots a second time with vinegar will help them stay white, crispy, and taste better with a slight sourness when eaten!

  

  

  

  
• 5

  Soak the pickled shallots

  First, you wash a glass jar with hot water, let it dry completely, and clean it before using it to soak the shallots.

  Next, you use chopsticks to arrange the shallots in the jar and pour in the cooled fish sauce with sugar until the jar is full. Close the lid and leave it in a cool place for about 7 – 10 days before using.

  Tip: After the shallots are ready to eat, you should store the jar of shallots in the refrigerator to keep them longer, even up to 6 months.

  

  

  

  
• 6

  Final product

  Pickled scallions in fish sauce have a distinctive aroma of sweet fish sauce, the scallions are crunchy with a bit of pungent, spicy flavor and seem to absorb the salty-sweet taste of the sweet fish sauce evenly. Pickled scallions are delicious and appealing when served with chưng cake, tét cake, or hot rice!