If you don’t have time for that, though, just buy it to use and you won’t regret it. Ingredients for making XO noodles Turn up the heat. Stir fry over high heat until smoke starts rising and the rice smells fragrant, which takes about half to one minute.

Veggie substitutes. Sliced broccolini, bok choy, choy sum, regular broccoli or other leafy Asian greens can be used in place of the Chinese broccoli. Sliced baby corn, asparagus (ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces), or green beans can replace the snow peas. Other great veggie options are sliced carrots, bell peppers, and celery. Using a food processor, pulse the scallops about 6-7 times, in 3 batches, until they resemble short, fine threads.

What Is XO Sauce?

If you cannot find yu choy, you can replace it with baby bok choy or napa cabbage. It’s possible to replace it with broccoli, as well, but you will need to blanch the broccoli before using it. Type of noodles

Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, add the shallots and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallots look like soft caramel. Large Red Chili: This is mild and similar to red bell pepper in terms flavor. You can substitute with red bell pepper or omit completely as I’ve use it mainly for color. Add the mushroom mixture, cook for 10 minutes, then add the soy sauce, sugar, brandy, spice and salt. Cook for a further three minutes, then take off the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. It may sound odd, but it is, in fact, epically delicious and an explosion of umami deliciousness that you’ll want to slather on literally anything and everything you can find.

Recipes to try!

Turn off the heat. Using a fine-meshed strainer, transfer the seafood mixture to a second large skillet or wok, letting the oil drain off. Spring Onion (Scallion/Green Onion) – cut into 1.5-inch pieces, white & light green parts separated from dark green parts Stir-fry the onion and aromatics: Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil and 1 TSP chili oil (if using) in the wok over high heat. Once hot, add the yellow onion and spring onion white and light green parts. Sauté for 30 seconds until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, large red chili, and small red chilies and stir-fry to combine for 30 seconds until fragrant. The quality and depth of flavor of XO sauce is apparent in its name. “XO” is actually a Hong Kong shorthand for high-quality, prestige, and luxury. Think about the price of fresh shrimp and scallops, and then think about taking all of that luscious seafood, drying it, and then making it into a jar of sauce. Stir through spring onion greens: Stir through the spring onion dark green parts, then switch off the heat.

If you cannot find this type of noodles, you can simply use dried chow mein, lo mein, or thin egg noodles. Cooking process Shao Xing Rice Wine: A Chinese cooking wine with a fragrant floral aroma that is commonly used in meat marinades and stir-fries. Substitute with dry sherry if unavailable. XO sauce is popular in Hong Kong as well as the southern regions of China’s Mainland, like Guangdong. The ‘XO’ comes from the same denotation assigned to cognac, “extra old”, even though this sauce doesn’t use cognac in the creation of it. It uses dried seafood such as scallops and shrimp, along with dried ham. It is most certainly a luxury item. Making it yourself definitely requires patience as well as plenty of unusual ingredients that you’ll have to round up at the Chinese supermarket.Dish out. Sprinkle the remaining scallion and the XO sauce on top of the rice to serve. Recipe 2- Stir-fry mushrooms and vegetables Stir-fry the onion and aromatics. In a bit of canola oil and pure chili oil (if using) in the wok over high heat. Stir-fry the yellow onion and spring onion white and light green parts until slightly softened. Then add the garlic, ginger, both types of red chilies and stir-fry to combine until fragrant. Cooking applications for this sauce are pretty basic–the easiest and most delicious way to eat it is on a bed of plain rice or noodles, perhaps with a pile of veggies of your choice on the side. You will end up with leftover sauce, and I encourage you to slather it liberally over everything. The leftovers can also be kept in the fridge for up to a week. If you’re having a slightly thriftier month, brandy (instead of cognac) and chestnut mushrooms (instead of shiitake) are good substitutes. Stir-fry the veggies: Add the snow peas and Chinese broccoli and season with kosher salt. Toss to combine for a minute, until the leafy parts of the Chinese broccoli have slightly wilted.

Arrange the bok choy along the peripheral of a round plate. Place the stir-fried mushrooms at the center. Add the overnight cooked rice. Keep the heat low so that you have time to break up the lumps of rice with the wok spatula. After breaking up all the large lumps of rice, mix it with the egg. Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce: I use low sodium soy sauce so that I can have better control over the salt levels in my Asian cooking. If you’re using regular soy sauce, please use less and adjust to taste.Basically, all you need to know is that XO sauce will take your regular, ordinary food and elevate it to heavenly, decadent godly levels of delicious. This Catalan “pesto” (a ground mix of toasted almonds, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and freestyle herbs) is, says Shumana Palit, a co-owner of the Ultracomida delis in Wales, terrific for adding depth to sauces, soups and stews. “A spoonful makes everything come to life,” she says. Epicurious has a good recipe. Typical ingredients of XO sauce include dried scallop, red chilli pepper, Jinhua ham, dried shrimp, garlic and canola oil. [5] Some other recipes also call for salted cured fish and diced onion. [6] Prepare the fresh ingredients: Prepare/chop the yellow onion, spring onion (separating the white and light green parts from the dark green parts), garlic, ginger, large red chili, small red chilies, Chinese broccoli, and snow peas as indicated in the ‘Ingredients’ section. Adjust spice level to taste. Use less fresh red chilies (or omit completely) and a regular (not extra spicy XO sauce) for a milder dish. You can also omit the pure chili oil for cooking to reduce the spice level.