Subtly sweet and extremely crunchy, Asian pears are an underutilized but deeply effective salad ingredient. Cut into batons, they look a bit like potatoes destined for the fryer, but they soak up a bright vinaigrette with ease and play very nicely with chiles and herbs. If you can’t find Asian pears, crisp apples or other varieties of underripe pears would make a great alternative. Also, store-bought crispy shallots work in a pinch if you’d rather not fry your own.
Recipe information
Total Time
20 minutes
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
⅓
2
¼
2
1
4
1
1
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Step 1
Heat ⅓ cup vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium-high. Cook 2 large shallots, thinly sliced, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 7–9 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl. Remove sieve from bowl and sprinkle shallots with a big pinch of kosher salt; toss to coat. Set fried shallots aside. Let oil cool slightly, then measure out ¼ cup shallot oil.
Step 2
Whisk ¼ cup white wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, and 1 Tbsp. honey in a large bowl to combine. Gradually stream in ¼ cup shallot oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Season dressing with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Step 3
Add 4 Asian pears, cored, cut into 3x½" sticks, to dressing and toss to coat. Add 1 Fresno chile, very thinly sliced, 1 cup (packed) cilantro leaves with tender stems and mint leaves, and most of reserved fried shallots and toss to combine. Top salad with more cilantro and mint and remaining fried shallots.