XO sauce or dry scallop sauce

An excellent way to enhance the flavor of everything, serve on toast, on rice, noodle, mix with stir-fry vegetable, in meat stew, or just on its own, an explosion of umami taste, and so much better than those shop bought ones.

1. Ingredients in the ratio of: one cup of dry scallop, one cup of dry shrimp, one cup of garlic, one cup of scallop, fresh hot red pepper (as much as you like it), a lot of olive oil, salt and brown sugar.

2. Soak dry scallop and dry shrimp with water and couple tablespoons of brandy, just enough to make them soft and no more. Tear scallop apart and chop shrimp, red pepper with seeds, shallot and garlic finely, keep in separate bowls, do not mix them up. 

XO Sauce

3. In a big wok at medium low heat, add scallop and enough oil to cover, turn scallop regularly and let water evaporate, until around 80% dry. Take scallop out.

4. Repeat this process using the same oil and cook one by one shrimp, shallot, garlic and finally red pepper, all to 80% dry.

5. The oil will have most of the chili hotness from the red pepper, depending on how hot you like it, keep part of it aside to add later on.

6. Put all the cooked ingredients back to the wok, add enough oil to cover, at medium low heat, stir and cook out the remaining water. Add salt and brown sugar to taste, and if not hot enough, add the chili oil back in. Cook until deep brown but not burnt. Keep in jars with enough oil to cover the top.

XO Sauce