Shallot.

Hom daeng are the small shallots with thin, red-purple skin, often growing two or three cloves joined at the base. They're milder and sweeter than a big onion, with a scent that turns warm and toasty when they meet heat. Thai cooking leans on them heavily. They go into nearly every curry paste and chilli dip, and fried shallots end up on top of a long list of dishes.

Ways to use it

• Pound them with chilli, garlic, lemongrass and galangal for curry paste.
• Grill them whole in their skins, then pound with grilled chilli for nam prik num or nam prik ta daeng.
• Slice thin and fry slowly in oil until golden for crispy shallots. Keep the oil for stir fries.
• Toss raw slices through a yum salad or larb.
• Serve a few peeled cloves raw beside khao soi, or with fermented pork.

Peeling a pile goes faster if you trim the root end first and soak them in water for a few minutes, so the skin slips off.

Storing it

Keep shallots somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated, out of direct sunlight, in a basket or open bowl rather than a closed bag. That way they keep longer than most fresh vegetables. Peel them just before use, and use peeled or cut shallots the same day, or keep them covered in the fridge.

Where it comes from

Grown to certified organic standards. The certificate for each lot is shown when you trace your pack.

Every pack will carry a lot code. Enter it on the Trace your pack page and you will see the farms in that lot, the harvest date and the certificate.