XO sauce

Spicy seafood sauce from Hong Kong

XO sauce
Rice topped with XO sauce
Type	Condiment
Place of origin	Hong Kong
Created by	Unknown
Main ingredients	dried scallop, chilli peppers, Jinhua ham, dried shrimp, garlic, vegetable oil
Media: XO sauce

XO sauce

Traditional Chinese

XO醬

Simplified Chinese

XO酱

Cantonese Yale

XO jeung

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	XO jiàng
Bopomofo	XO ㄐㄧㄤˋ
Wade–Giles	XO chiang
IPA	XO
Wu
Romanization	XO cian
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳ	XO chiong
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	XO jeung
Jyutping	XO zoeng3
IPA	XO
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	XO chiùⁿ
Teochew Peng'im	XO ziên / XO zion
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUC	XO cuóng
Northern Min
Jian'ou Romanized	XO cio̿ng

XO sauce is a spicy seafood sauce from Hong Kong with an umami flavour. It is commonly used in southern Chinese regions such as Guangdong.

History

Developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, XO sauce is made of roughly-chopped dried seafood, including dried scallops (conpoy), fish and shrimp, which are cooked with chilli peppers, onions and garlic. This dried seafood-based sauce resembles the Fujianese shacha sauce. Spring Moon, the Chinese restaurant of the Peninsula Hong Kong hotel, is often credited with the invention of XO sauce, although some claim it came from other nearby restaurants in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon.

Etymology

The name XO sauce comes from fine XO (extra-old) cognac, which is a popular Western liquor in Hong Kong, and considered by many at the time to be a chic product. The name is a misnomer since the condiment contains no cognac, and it is not really a sauce in the traditional, smooth sense, but more chunky, like a relish. The term XO is often used in Hong Kong to denote high quality, prestige and luxury. Indeed, XO sauce has been marketed in the same manner as French liquor, using packaging of similar colour schemes.

Ingredients

Typical ingredients of XO sauce include dried scallop, red chilli pepper, Jinhua ham, dried shrimp, garlic and vegetable oil. Some other recipes also call for salted cured fish and diced onion.

An XO sauce gift pack
Anji Brand XO Sauce, made in China

Uses

XO sauce can be used as a table condiment or in cooking to enhance the flavour of fish, meats, vegetables, and otherwise bland foods such as tofu or noodles.

References

Vos, Heidemarie (2010). Passion of a Foodie. Strategic Book. p. 591. ISBN 978-1-934925-63-8.
Dan Holzman and Matt Rodbard (16 Dec 2015). "The Secrets of Making XO Sauce, the Magic Condiment of China". Saveur.
"XO sauce". gourmettraveller.com.au. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
Bill Daley (18 Feb 2015). "XO sauce adds luxurious flavour to Chinese New Year". Chicago Tribune.
"Flavor Ammo: Is XO Sauce the World's Most Baller Condiment?". Grubstreet. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
"Hong Kong's best condiment". CNN Go. 15 October 2010. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

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History

Etymology

Ingredients

Uses

See also

References

Further reading