Shallot Sauce
Shallot sauce is a condiment paste made from Allium cepa var. aggregatum, the shallot, in which sliced bulbs are fried in oil until the sugars caramelise and the pungent sulphur compounds are converted into the sweet roasted character of fried shallot. It is an oil continuous paste carrying suspended fried shallot solids, and functions as a ready made aromatic base for Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking.
The chemistry that distinguishes it from raw shallot is enzymatic and thermal. Cutting the bulb allows alliinase to release thiosulphinates from the S alk(en)yl cysteine sulphoxides, giving the sharp eye watering note of the fresh material. Frying inactivates the enzyme and rearranges the unstable intermediates into sulphides, dithiins and thiophenes, while the high fructan content of shallot browns readily to give pyrazines and furans, so the fried product reads as sweet and roasted rather than pungent.
The sauce is fully dispersible in fat phases and in hot aqueous systems but requires shear to go into a cold water base. Its shelf life is limited by oxidation of the oil phase and by rancid development in the fried solids, so grades are packed with headspace nitrogen or with an antioxidant, and shelf stable versions are either retorted or made with the water content driven low during frying.
We source bulk Shallot Sauce from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shandong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Oil continuous paste with suspended fried shallot solids, golden to dark brown |
| Odour and Taste | Characteristic fried shallot, sweet and roasted, no burnt or rancid note |
| Identification | Sensory profile conforms to retained reference sample |
| Shallot Solids | Not less than 30% as declared per grade |
| Oil Content | 40 to 65% as declared |
| Moisture | Not more than 15% |
| Sodium Chloride | 1 to 6% as declared |
| pH | 5.0 to 6.5 |
| Peroxide Value of Oil Phase | Not more than 5.0 meq/kg |
| Acid Value of Oil Phase | Not more than 2.0 mg KOH/g |
| Lead | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | Not more than 5,000 cfu/g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
The main grade distinction is the degree of fry. A pale golden grade retains some fresh allium sharpness and is used where the shallot should stay in the background, while a deep fried amber to dark brown grade is dominated by caramelised and roasted notes and is the version used as a noodle sauce base. Overshooting the fry brings acrylamide and burnt bitterness, so colour is a controlled specification rather than a preference.
Composition grades vary on the ratio of shallot solids to oil, typically from about thirty to sixty percent solids, on the base oil used, and on whether salt, sugar, dried shrimp, garlic or chilli are included as part of the formulation. Particle grades run from a coarse fried slice suspended in oil to a smooth homogenised puree. Chilled, frozen and retorted ambient stable versions are all traded, and a dehydrated fried shallot powder is offered separately where an oil free format is needed for dry blending.
Applications
- Noodle dressings and cold noodle sauces, where fried shallot is the defining aroma
- Instant noodle oil and paste sachets, dosed as the aromatic component of the seasoning pack
- Central kitchen stir fry and braising bases, replacing the step of frying fresh aromatics
- Dumpling, wonton and bun fillings, distributing allium character through a meat farce
- Congee, soup and broth toppings, added after cooking so the aroma survives
- Marinades and tumbling brines for roast poultry and pork
- Compound sauces such as XO sauce and sambal, where it forms part of the aromatic base
- Savoury bakery fillings and laminated pastry, flavouring the fat phase directly
- Retorted ready meals and frozen prepared foods, dosed before sealing
China Manufacturers of Shallot Sauce
Top Shallot Sauce manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Shallot sauce is a compound food rather than a food additive and carries no E number. Its components are ordinary foods, and any additive used in it, an antioxidant in the oil phase, a preservative, or a stabiliser, must be permitted for the food category in the destination market and declared in the ingredient list. In the European Union this falls under the food additives framework, and in the United States under the food additive and GRAS provisions of 21 CFR.
Manufacture in the United States sits under the preventive controls requirements for human food. A shelf stable product packed in a hermetically sealed container is a low acid canned food unless it is acidified, and requires a filed scheduled process, because a low acid particulate suspended in oil at ambient temperature presents a Clostridium botulinum hazard that the oil itself does not control. Pesticide residues on the incoming bulbs are checked against the maximum residue limits of the destination market, with Codex limits as the international reference, and acrylamide formed during frying is monitored against the benchmark levels applied to fried vegetable products in the European Union.
Manufacturing Process
Shallot bulbs are received, topped, tailed and peeled, then washed to remove skin fragments and field soil. The bulbs are sliced or diced to a uniform thickness, since uneven pieces brown at different rates and produce both raw and scorched material in the same batch. The cut shallot is charged into a jacketed frying kettle or a continuous fryer holding heated vegetable oil and fried with agitation while the moisture boils off and the colour develops to the target for the grade.
Frying is stopped by rapid cooling or by discharging into cool oil, since carryover heat continues to brown the solids. The mass is standardised with additional oil, salt and sugar to the declared composition, and is homogenised or colloid milled where a smooth grade is wanted. Ambient stable product is filled and retorted, chilled product is hot filled and cooled quickly, and frozen product is filled and plate frozen. Antioxidant is added to the oil phase where a long ambient shelf life is specified, and filling is carried out under nitrogen where oxidation sets the date code.
