Fried shallots are not like salt. With salt the flavour barely varies; what differs is where it comes from. Fried shallots are bought for aroma, and not just any jar labelled “fried shallots” will make a dish taste good — most of what is on the market has very little smell at all.



So why do Cheng Chi’s smell stronger than the rest? It comes down to the quality of the shallots and to forty years of knowing how to fry them — finding the technique that matters, and then refusing to cut corners on it.



Winter is white radish season, and radish cake with fried shallots in it is easy to find at any market. Buy a piece and you will notice something: there is hardly any aroma.

Then try radish cake made with Cheng Chi fried shallots. It changes your mind rather quickly — you get what you pay for.



Radish cake recipe: https://www.shallot.com.tw/news/html/~665.html