XO sauce facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
XO sauce

Rice topped with XO sauce
Type	Condiment
Place of origin	Hong Kong
Main ingredients	dried scallop, chilli peppers, Jinhua ham, dried shrimp, garlic, canola oil

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 to be a chic product at the time. 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 canola oil. Some other recipes also call for salted cured fish and diced onion.

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  An XO sauce gift pack

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  Anji Brand XO Sauce, made in China

Uses

XO sauce atop soft-boiled eggs at Valley Bar + Bottle in Sonoma, California.

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.

See also

In Spanish: Salsa XO para niños