Thai Shallots: More Antioxidants Than Onions

Thai Shallot — หอมแดง (hom-daeng) — Allium ascalonicum.

Thai shallot — hawm-daeng — the little red bulb pounded into nearly every Thai curry paste and fried into crispy shallots, plus how it's used and what studies measured. Gram for gram it packs more antioxidant phenolics than the onion it resembles, and the part you eat is the small red bulb. Early studies back that phenolic comparison; a blood-sugar drop showed up only in animal studies. For Thai shallot nutrition, the bulb delivers vitamin B6 and potassium. Vitamin B6 supports normal energy metabolism, a healthy nervous system, and red blood cell formation. Potassium supports normal blood pressure and healthy muscle and nerve function, and helps keep fluids in balance. Nam Pla Waan is a sweet-and-salty Thai dip: raw shallots sliced into a simmered palm-sugar and fish-sauce caramel, served with sour green mango. Kai Look Keuy is fried hard-boiled eggs under a sweet tamarind sauce, topped with crispy fried shallots and eaten with jasmine rice. The bulbs are eaten cooked or raw, and the green tops can be used like spring onion. Shallots multiply by division, so one planted bulb can become a harvestable cluster.

Nam Pla Waan — น้ำปลาหวาน (nam-plah-waan)
Kai Look Keuy — ไข่ลูกเขย (kai-look-koey)

Food and nutrients

Rich in: vitamin B6, potassium

Research context

Shallot review compared phenolics and summarized animal glucose-marker work — review, 2022

Sources

Source: Therapeutic uses & pharmacology of shallot (Allium ascalonicum): systematic review. Front Nutr (2022) 9:903686. DOI:10.3389/fnut.2022.903686

Narration transcript

Opening

Thai cooks pound these little red bulbs into nearly every curry paste, then fry them into the crisp golden shallots scattered over rice and salads. Thai shallot — หอมแดง, hawm-daeng. You eat the small red bulb: raw and sharp in a relish, or slow-fried sweet and crunchy.

Nam Pla Waan (น้ำปลาหวาน)

This sweet-and-salty Thai dip, nam pla waan slices raw shallots into a simmered palm-sugar and fish-sauce caramel, then serves them with sour green mango.

Kai Look Keuy (ไข่ลูกเขย)

Kai look keuy is fried hard-boiled eggs under a sweet tamarind sauce, topped with crispy fried shallots and eaten with jasmine rice.

Nutrition summary

Those little red bulbs bring a good amount of vitamin B6, plus manganese and fiber for something so small.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 contributes to normal energy metabolism, supports a healthy nervous system, and helps your body make red blood cells.

Potassium

Potassium helps with normal fluid balance and muscle function.

Closing

The bulbs go in raw or cooked, and the green tops work like spring onion. Best of all, one planted bulb divides underground into a whole cluster, so a single shallot becomes next season's harvest. Follow Longevity Biome, and LIKE this video for regular updates.

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