" X.O." sauce: do you use it?

[rotuts]

about 10 years ago or so the BBC had one of their many Cooking show Series; this one with Gary Rhodes.

One show was in Hong Kong, outside, in the harbor. It featured 'XO' sauce which he made with two Chinese chef's said to invent the stuff a while back.

Ive only tried it once, but got another small jar:

Im hoping w suggestions Ill be more impressed this time. Its (relatively) expensive stuff with a pronounced flavor.

So how do you use yours? the jar I have I had to ask for, as they keep this stuff 'under the counter'

cant say if this brand has anything going for it other than its at my house now.

[Keith_W]

XO sauce contains: dried prawns, dried scallops, fermented tofu, sweet shallots, chilli, ginger, and some other things.

It will go with nearly everything you would eat the above condiments with. You could stir fry it with Asian greens - something like Chinese watercress or pea sprouts works well. You could steam it with fish, mussels, or pipis. You could slather it on tofu and eat it cold, or fry it, or steam it. You could fry rice with it, or fry noodles.

[rotuts]

pea sprouts works well

in my local Farmers market, the Hmong family has some stunning pea shoots.

Ill try that w the P.S's

thanks.

[jmolinari]

I like it so much i made my own because $10 for a jar enough for one fried rice (i like a lot of it in there:) ) seemed excessive.

It's great in rice, in greens, on noodles, scrambled eggs...

[rotuts]

well I have to find that Vid from the BBC. it might be on VHS ...;.

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/603704

http://uktv.co.uk/food/stepbystep/aid/603571

" For the XO sauce

• 125 ml peanut oil, plus 1 tbsp
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 stem lemongrass, finely chopped
• 25 g dried shrimps, chopped
• 25 g Parma orBayonne ham, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
• 15 g conpoy (dried scallops), optional "

I guess one need a 'Krack' to see the vid!

Edited June 17, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Simon Lewinson]

Tonight I made a batch of XO sauce using a fusion of recipes from the internet. To say that this is a labour intensive recipe is an understatement, with nearly three hours spent in the kitchen.

Was it worth the effort I asked myself, and after tasting the finished product the answer is a resounding yes! The complexity and depth of flavour eclipses any of the sauces that I have tasted in restaurants or purchased in jars.

[chefmd]

Can you please provide the link to the recipe?

Thanks

[FeChef]

I buy the XO stuff in the jar as shown in your picture. I use it when i make shrimp fried rice. It is expensive so i only use about a TBSP for 2 cups of cooked rice. I also use a TBSP of shrimp paste in oil (Gach Tom Xao Dau An). Best fried rice ive ever had.

[Simon Lewinson]

The inspiration came from http://www.foodcanon.com/2013/12/home-made-xo-sauce-recipe.html and http://www.keropokman.com/2013/05/recipe-homemade-xo-sauce.html.

My final recipe was:

200g shallots, sliced finely

100g dried scallops

80g dried prawns

30g dried large red chillis, seeded and chopped

30g dried shiitake mushrooms, chopped finely

40g prosciutto, chopped finely

10 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp grated ginger

250ml oil

30ml sesame oil

60ml soy sauce

80ml oyster sauce

Soak dried scallops in warm water for 2 hours. Drain and reserve liquid. Tear scallops into threads. Soak dried prawns in warm water for 2 hours. Drain and chop finely. Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes, drain and reserve liquid. Soak chillis in warm water for 1 hour, drain and blend using a small amount of water.

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden. Reserve shallots and most of the oil.

Fry garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add blended chilli and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add prawns and fry till fragrant, adding some of the shallot oil as needed. Add prosciutto, mushrooms and scallops and continue to fry over moderate heat. Add reserved liquid, stirring continuously and add shallot oil as necessary to prevent burning or sticking. This can take 30-40 minutes until mixture is dark and well caramelized. Add fried shallots, sesame oil, oyster and soy sauces and stir till combined. Test for seasoning then put into sterilized jars. Store in fridge.

Simon

Edited February 28, 2015 by Simon Lewinson (log)

[Simon Lewinson]

I buy the XO stuff in the jar as shown in your picture. I use it when i make shrimp fried rice. It is expensive so i only use about a TBSP for 2 cups of cooked rice. I also use a TBSP of shrimp paste in oil (Gach Tom Xao Dau An). Best fried rice ive ever had.

I use the bought XO sauce but after tasting the difference will not be buying any more. The difference is amazing!

Hmmm, sous vide ginger and soy chicken breast with XO fried rice for dinner sounds good.

[huiray]

Simon, could you show us what the final sauce looks like "bottled", so to speak?

 

Thanks for posting your recipe. If I find the energy to replicate it I shall label it "SL's XO Sauce". :-)

[Simon Lewinson]

Huiray, I can't get a good photo of it in the jar but it looks just like the photo on Keropokman except that is a really deep mahogany hue. I will try to get a photo when I open up a jar of it.

Thanks for the compliment.

Simon

[aprilmei]

Here's a very good recipe for XO sauce. I like to make a big batch (this one starts with 500 grams of dried scallops) because it takes a long time to make. You can eat it after cooking it for just a few hours, but I cook it for longer (about eight hours) because it gets darker and more intense.

 

Disclosure - that's me in the video.

 

scmp.com/lifestyle/food-wine/article/1710084/cooking-susan-jung-how-make-xo-sauce

 

scmp.com/video/lifestyle/1705373/cooking-susan-jung-how-make-xo-sauce

[torolover]

I remember reading about dangers of storing garlic and oil in the fridge because of Botulism concerns. How long can your store this?

 

David Chang has a recipe for XO sauce and said you can store it in fridge for months.  Is this safe?

[KennethT]

I think the botulism concern is over raw garlic in oil.  When the garlic has been cooked for as long as that XO sauce has been, I think it would be as safe as any other ingredient.

[Simon Lewinson]

Huiray, here is a photo of the sauce.

I used some in stir fried brown rice tonight and it added a wonderful complexity and depth of flavour

Simon

[huiray]

Huiray, here is a photo of the sauce.

image.jpg

I used some in stir fried brown rice tonight and it added a wonderful complexity and depth of flavour

Simon

 

Simon,

 

Thanks a bunch.  Looks very nice indeed.  I'd like a plate of that fried rice!

[FeChef]

I just made some XO shrimp fried rice yesterday and it was good, but there is this other ingredient that some chinese take outs use mainly in rice noodle stir fry (mei fun) that is so good. Its not curry, i hate curry. I dont know what it is. Its very distinct in flavor and aroma. Its not maggi either. It might be light in color since the mei fun has a clear-ish color. They could also counter it with cornstarch so i dont know for sure that the color is a good indication. Really has been bothering me for years. Got to love that language barrier that prevents asking questions.

[Simon Lewinson]

MSG?

[FeChef]

MSG?

LOL, I love MSG, use it all the time. I have a 32oz container of MSG in my spice cabinet.

[Simon Lewinson]

LOL, I love MSG, use it all the time. I have a 32oz container of MSG in my spice cabinet.

What about a good, concentrated stock? Loads of umami and depth of flavour.

[FeChef]

What about a good, concentrated stock? Loads of umami and depth of flavour.

I have tried very concentrated chicken and pork stocks, all homemade. The flavor is not meat related. If it is a stock, its made from an ingredient that is not normal to american cooking. Atleast i have not come across this flavor, and i am open to alot of things. Over the years i have come to the conclusion that whatever this ingredient is, it does not want to be shared. Maybe its just that it is an ingredient that has not been converted to english language.

 

I had to drill a chef at a sushi bar to figure out what "piko" is. Anyone care to guess what it is? Its common in sushi. Sometimes its green, commercially its yellow. I probably gave it away, but it took me months to figure it out. Hint: its a language barrier that produces the work "piko"

[liuzhou]

 

Its Pickled Diakon Radish.

 

I thought of that but your suggestion that it was "the length of a standard sushi roll" was misleading. Daikon radishes are huge.

 

Daikon (Japanese:大根) means Big Root. Derived from theh Chinese 大根 dà gēn, although Chinese calls it 白萝卜 (bái luó bǔ) or "White Radish".

Edited March 4, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[eugenep]

I just made XO sauce today using the recipe from Phoenix Claw and Jade Tree. 

 

Simple recipe: dried scallops, dried shrimp, fresh chilis, garlic, and small onion 

 

The recipe called for dried fish. There are too many at the Chinese grocer - yellow croaker, anchovy, etc. - not sure which to get so I just substituted with canned tin anchovy 

 

Smells great!!! 

 

 

[liuzhou]

9 hours ago, eugenep said:

The recipe called for dried fish. There are too many at the Chinese grocer - yellow croaker, anchovy, etc. - not sure which to get so I just substituted with canned tin anchovy 

 

 

 

The yellow croaker is the most likely candidate. Very common.