The name is something of a fake — XO sauce. The Asian condiment contains no cognac, which is what the XO (“extra old”) term famously applies to. Nor is it a sauce in the traditional, smooth sense but more of a chunky relish.
Leave any quibbles at the kitchen door, though, for XO’s savory, sea-salty, spicy flavor will set your head spinning, especially given the jaw-dropping prices of its main ingredients.
The sauce is expensive because it calls for, among other things, dried scallops, which can cost hundreds of dollars per pound. That’s what makes XO sauce seem so right for celebrations, like the Lunar New Year, which was Feb. 19.
New Year menus always call for foods symbolic of good fortune. There’s shrimp, which sounds in Cantonese like the word for laughter, according to Young; a whole duck, a symbol of fidelity; eggs for fertility; even pot sticker dumplings, whose shape resembles gold ingots of old. It’s also a time for luxurious fare.
“If a food is not symbolic, we would eat it because we’re treating ourselves to something really nice,” Young adds.
XO sauce is just that sort of treat, with a flavor that enlivens even the simplest of dishes, from fried rice to stir-fried Chinese broccoli to roasted oysters.
“I love that it has this seafood funk I just adore,” says Nancy Leson of Seattle, a food writer, KPLU-FM radio food commentator and XO sauce fan. “I love that it takes a plate of boring noodles and turns it into something exotic to my taste buds. I hate to use the word ‘umami,’ it’s so overused, but XO brings up the flavor of simple vegetable preparations, like green beans. It’s just a delicious, sexy flavor.”
“It’s not really a sauce but a topping I guess. It’s not like a beurre blanc,” says Ming Tsai, the TV cooking show host and cookbook author, when asked about XO sauce. His version makes a relatively dry and very textured paste.
XO sauce is also a relatively new creation. It was invented in the 1980s, according to “The New Food Lover’s Companion,” which traces its origins to Hong Kong. The name was borrowed from cognac to lend the sauce status.
“I think in the 1980s there was a lot of optimism,” Tsai says. “Chefs wanted to create something. … They thought, ‘What can we create and charge a lot of money for?’”
Most chefs at upscale restaurants will create their own versions of XO sauce, says Martin Yan, the San Mateo, California-based restaurateur, but nearly everyone will charge you if you request some.
“It will be $5 or $8 for a dish, a little plate,” adds Yan. “You only need a spoonful. It will add flavor and give you a kick and also lots of texture, being made from diced this and diced that.”
At home you can use commercially produced XO sauce. (A 7.8-ounce jar of Lee Kum Kee’s XO sauce is $32.95 on Amazon.com.) Or hunt down the ingredients to make your own. The hallmarks of XO sauce are dried scallops and dried shrimp, but secondary ingredients vary by recipe. Tsai’s version, for example, calls for diced Chinese sausage, while others use various types of ham.
“I’m totally into ham in my XO,” Leson says. “I’ve used prosciutto. I’ve used country ham.”
Ming Tsai’s XO sauce
1link (5 inches long) lap cheong sausage, diced
8cloves garlic, minced (4 tablespoons)
1piece (3 inches long) ginger, peeled, minced (4 tablespoons)
2ounces each: dried scallops, dried shrimp
11/2teaspoons red chili flakes
2tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
2tablespoons canola oil
Ming Tsai offers his take on XO sauce, producing a drier condiment than you might expect. Look for dried scallops and dried shrimp at Asian markets. If you can’t find Chinese lap cheong sausage, substitute an equal amount of bacon or prosciutto. Just add a teaspoon of honey to replace the sausage’s sweetness, Tsai says. A vegetarian option would be to replace the dried scallops and shrimp with dried shiitake mushrooms.
Soak the scallops and shrimp overnight in a shallow bowl of cold water to hydrate them. Strain.
Place the sausage, garlic, ginger, scallops, shrimp, chili flakes and Shaoxing wine or sherry in a food processor. Pulse until a fine mixture is formed.
Add 2 tablespoons canola oil to a heated saucepan. Add the scallop-shrimp mixture; cook over low heat until the mixture appears dry, about 45 minutes. Serve warm or refrigerate in a closed container for future use.
XO shrimp
Sauce
1tablespoon each: oyster sauce; Shaoxing wine
11/2teaspoons light soy sauce
1teaspoon each: sesame oil, white rice vinegar, sugar
1/4teaspoon salt
Shrimp
21/2cups chicken stock
1piece fresh ginger (about 1/2 inch thick), peeled, lightly smashed, plus 11/2 tablespoons peeled, minced ginger
1pound large shrimp (40 count per pound), peeled, deveined, cleaned
1tablespoon peanut oil
3tablespoons diced shallots, about 1/4-inch pieces
3tablespoons XO sauce
11/2teaspoons mung bean starch mixed with 11/2 teaspoons water
The shrimp are first blanched in stock to seal them, then stir-fried. Corn starch may be used in place of mung bean starch; 11/2 tablespoons of dry sherry can substitute for 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine.
For the sauce, mix together all of the ingredients in a small bowl; reserve.
Place the stock and ginger slice in a wok; heat to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp; blanch just until they begin to turn pink, 30-40 seconds. Turn off the heat, remove the shrimp with a strainer and drain well over a bowl. Reserve. (Save the stock for another use, discarding the ginger.)
Dry the wok with paper towels. Heat it over high heat, 30 seconds. Add the peanut oil, using a spatula to coat the wok with the oil. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add the minced ginger; stir briefly. Add the shallots; stir-fry until they soften, about 1 minute. Add the XO sauce; stir-fry until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp; stir-fry until they are well coated with the XO sauce, about 1 minute. Stir the reserved sauce; drizzle it over the shrimp. Stir to mix until the shrimp are well-coated. Stir the starch-water mixture, pour it into the wok and stir just until any liquid thickens. The shrimp should be well-coated and there should be no moisture in the wok. Transfer the shrimp to a heated dish and serve.
Use it on
Young, Yan and Tsai share ideas on cooking with XO sauce:
Dumplings and dim sum: Spoon 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon on top of each piece as desired.
Stir-fried vegetables: Add to Chinese broccoli, bok choy or green beans.
Steamed fish: Try it over salmon or sablefish.
Noodle soup: Stir some into the broth before serving.
Roasted oysters: Place oysters on hot grill. When the shells pop open, garnish with XO sauce and a squeeze of lime.
Pasta: Stir a little toasted sesame oil into the XO sauce to make for a looser consistency, then toss it with noodles or pasta. Or stir some into a scallion and ginger lo mein dish.
Fried rice: Try with crab fried rice or on risotto topped with seared scallops.
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