Instructions
Cooking is a polyglot profession.
Yep, that’s right, polyglot!
It’s such a cool word and I’ve been trying to find a way to use it for nearly a year. And yes, for what it’s worth, I know how nerdy that sounds.
Polyglot means ‘containing many languages’, and it is the perfect way to describe both the multicultural face of kitchen brigades in Sydney, as well as the many different terms people sometimes use for the same ingredient.
Take shallots for example. Or maybe you call them green onions, or scallions, or spring onions, or eschalots, or Welsh onions or escallions. The ones I mean are the long green things, they look a bit like a fine leek, but the ends are hollow. I can’t think of another food that causes so much confusion amongst chefs from different countries, or even just from different states of Australia.
It’s a versatile ingredient that is found in the cookery of many different cultures, from Irish to Chinese, French to Filipino. Shallots are a very mildly flavoured vegetable, and retain their perfume even once cooked. By contrast, cooking makes most other onions become gentler, less acidic or sweeter.
The shallot has two obvious parts. It has a firm white base, and long green shoots, and both parts are completely edible, although their flavours are subtly different. The white part is tart and peppery, while the green is sweeter and slightly sour.
Shallots can be sautéed gently in butter to create a sweet and delicate base for a crab omelette, or steamed under fish fillets to impart a floral aroma into your seafood. But they are perhaps best used when sliced finely and eaten raw. Include them in salads or as garnish for barbecued meats and fish.
You can keep shallots for up to a week in the fridge, provided they are stored correctly. Moisture is the enemy of shallots so they need to be dry. Wash and dry them thoroughly, then wrap the bunch in paper towel. Place into a plastic bag then store in the coldest part of your fridge.
Yau ja gwai – Green shallot pancake