Dried Scallop XO Sauce Recipe: The Perfect Asian Stir Fry Condiment
What Is XO Sauce? Why is it a popular Condiment?
XO sauce is a popular Chinese condiment made from a combination of dried seafood and fragrant ingredients, such as garlic, cured ham, and chili. It's a popular condiment for its fragrance and savoury umami flavour.
The ingredients are typically cooked in oil to release their flavours and create a thick, umami-rich sauce. XO sauce is often used as a dip or stir-fry ingredient and is especially popular in Cantonese cuisine.
While you can buy ready-made Lee Kum Kee XO sauce from your local Asian supermarket; or specialty Chinese or Japanese grocery stores, it can be quite expensive.
Read on to find the best recipe for homemade XO Sauce.
Why Is It Called “XO Sauce?”
The dish known as XO sauce is a Chinese condiment made from a variety of dried seafood and meats. The name XO sauce comes from the fact that it is a very high-quality sauce that costs much more than other sauces. The main ingredient in XO sauce is conpoy, which are dried scallops that have been aged for at least a year. Other ingredients include jinhua ham, dried shrimp, and dried chili peppers. These ingredients are all simmered together to create a succulent and flavorful sauce.
So, What Can I Do With XO Sauce?
Dried scallop XO sauce is a versatile and delicious ingredient that can be used in a variety of dishes. Here are some ideas of what you can do with it:
- Add it to rice or noodles for a quick and easy meal
- Stir fry vegetables and protein with XO sauce for a flavorful dish
- Use it as a dipping sauce for dumplings or spring rolls
- Add it to soup for an extra boost of flavor
- Make a stir fry sauce by mixing XO sauce with other ingredients like oyster sauce, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar
No matter how you use it, XO sauce is sure to add a delicious boost of flavor to your dish. So next time you're looking for something new to try, don't forget about XO sauce!
Which is the Best Dried Scallop XO Sauce Recipe?
We took a look across several food blogs and we found that the recipe from the Woks of Life has the best traditional dried scallop xo sauce. If you cannot find dried scallops, you can substitute with dried shrimp. You can also use the dried shrimps and scallops together.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup dried scallops (broken) or 1/4 Dried Shrimp (You can buy dried scallops here, and Dried Shrimps here)
- Boiling Water
- 8 Tablespoons Shaoxing Wine
- 14 Large Shallots, finely chopped
- 3 Heads garlic
- 10 fresh red chili peppers
- 200g cured ham (eg: Jinhua ham, Prosciutto, Bacon etc)
- 1 3/4 cups of chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 7 cups vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons dark mushroom soy sauce
- 1/4 cups fish sauce
- 1/2 cup dried chili flakes (or you can buy a dried chili and pound them into a powder with a mortar and pestle)
Check out their recipe on their post for the instructions on how to make this umami condiment.
If you want a video tutorial, we found that Marion's recipe is easy to follow. Watch the video below for a walkthrough and alternate recipe:
What is the Best Fried Scallops with XO Sauce Stir Fry recipe? (XO醬帶子炒麵)
If you haven't got enough of scallops, then you'll love this recipe from Woks of Life again. Here, they've added an extra flavor with crispy garlic.
They've followed the same steps to making the usual stir fried rice, and then they pan sear fresh scallops. They add the scallops and XO sauce to the mix.
If you want to read their recipe, you can check out their recipe for Stir Fry Scallops and XO sauce here.
Alternatively, You can also follow this alternative recipe from Women's Weekly: