Asian Pear Salad With Crispy Shallots

Name: Asian Pear Salad With Crispy Shallots
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: ⅓ cup vegetable oil; 2 large shallots, thinly sliced; Kosher salt; ¼ cup white wine vinegar; 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard; 1 Tbsp. honey; Freshly ground pepper; 4 Asian pears, cored, cut into 3x½" sticks; 1 Fresno chile, very thinly sliced; 1 cup (packed) cilantro leaves with tender stems and mint leaves, plus more for serving

By Kendra Vaculin

October 21, 2025

A platter of matchstickcut pears tossed with shallots fresno chiles cilantro and mint all atop a vibrant green tablescape.

Photograph by Andrew B. Myers, Food Styling by Micah Morton, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness

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 notes

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