Hot pot is my favorite.
Since high school, it has been my habit to eat hot pot at least twice a month.
In a hot pot restaurant, you can always find a seasoning called XO sauce when you take dip.
speaking of XO sauce, I will associate it with "XO wine" and give the impression that "XO sauce is so expensive".
In the past, I always thought that XO sauce was mixed with brandy XO wine, which contained alcohol.
many people think so, otherwise, why is it called "XO" sauce instead of other sauces?
look, how expensive XO wine is!
The famous Remy Martin XO can't move one or two thousand yuan a bottle. It's extravagant to use XO wine as a seasoning for hot pot!
actually, is that true?
the innovation of many cuisines is related to economic prosperity.
people are like this. As soon as they have money, they begin to pay attention to eating and drinking.
XO sauce was invented in Hong Kong in 198s.
At that time, Hong Kong was already one of the four little dragons in Asia, with a rapid economic development and many rich and wealthy people.
There were some controversies about its inventor in Hong Kong, and there were two opinions.
It is said that XO sauce was invented by chefs of Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
Peninsula Hotel is the oldest hotel in Hong Kong and one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.
Its luxury can be seen from its fleet. The fleet of 14 Rolls Royce cars is the most luxurious in the world.
In that prosperous era, Hong Kong's rich people were proud of staying or dining in Peninsula Hotel.
So, those famous chefs and food consultants in the hotel are trying their best to think about the dishes and want to innovate, because the rich have eaten everything, and the taste is delicious!
in this case, XO sauce appeared.
In another way, XO sauce was invented by Huang Yongzhi, a famous chef of Hong Kong Yayuan Restaurant.
it is said that it was developed to match seafood hotpot.
Huang Yongzhi is also the inventor of the famous Hong Kong-style dessert Yang Zhi Gan Lu.
Anyway, because Hong Kong is a small place, people can't look up and see, and they won't care too much about who is the real inventor.
harmony makes money!
When eating hot pot, if you want to have something to talk about, you can tell the story of the name of XO sauce.
the name of XO sauce is really related to brandy XO wine.
Unexpectedly, however, it has something to do with the Shanghai tycoons before liberation.
In the 192s and 193s, French brandy was very popular in the French Concession in Shanghai.
drinking brandy is a symbol of the rich in Shanghai. Martell and Hennessy are the darlings of "Ten Miles of Foreign Markets".
At that time, there was a couplet that has been handed down to this day, "Huangmeitian in May, Samsung Brandy".
After the Anti-Japanese War, many Shanghai tycoons were afraid of the new regime and ran to Hong Kong. Then, they opened up a new world and turned themselves into Hong Kong tycoons.
from time to time, the rich people in Hong Kong in TVB TV series will pop up a few Shanghainese words, and that's how "Ala Shanghainese" and "Nong knows how to cut" come from.
When Shanghai tycoons came to Hong Kong, they also brought brandy drinking to Hong Kong.
In the 196s and 197s, when Hong Kong's economy was at its peak, top French brandy brands such as Remy Martin and Hennessy flooded into Hong Kong, which was widely circulated among the rich people in Hong Kong.
Of course, brandy was popular in Hong Kong because Hong Kong was a British colony at that time.
The British upper class likes to drink French cognac, which is famous all over the world.
French brandy is divided into VS, VSOP and XO according to the length of time in oak barrels, and XO represents the highest grade and the most expensive.
(For the meanings of VS, VSOP, XO, see "Fujian people who love brandy, tell you about VS, VSOP, XO")
And the newly invented XO sauce was for the rich, using the best ingredients at that time, such as scallops and Jinhua ham.
then, the price of XO sauce at that time also rose, which was equivalent to LV in condiments.
In the eyes of ordinary Hong Kong people, XO sauce is just like Carina Lau and Charmaine Sheh, which are beyond our reach.
So, they affectionately called this newly invented sauce "XO sauce", which is as luxurious as XO wine.
Up to now, XO sauce has long been connected with local flavor and has become a common condiment in ordinary people's homes, but its name has been used to this day.
XO sauce was once used as a high-grade condiment, but its formula was never a secret.
In Hong Kong, every chef has his own unique method of preparing XO sauce.
On weekdays, people in Hong Kong and Guangdong also make XO sauce at home.
the raw material of XO sauce has nothing to do with brandy XO wine.
dried seafood, ham and pepper are the main ingredients of XO sauce, and some ingredients are added to cook them together.
dry seafood, such as scallops, shrimps, dried shrimps and small salted fish.
scallop, called Yaozhu in Hong Kong, is the product of dried scallop.
in XO sauce, a lot of scallops are used and processed into filaments, so as to make the sauce more delicious and chewy.
Shrimp is used to increase the aroma and flavor. Shrimp is used to explode before frying, while dried salted fish is used to increase the salty flavor of the sauce after turning around.
As for ham, the best one is Jinhua ham from Zhejiang, which is rich in flavor and chopped into small pieces.
according to your personal preference, you can decide how much pepper to add.
Other ingredients and accessories, such as onion, garlic, peanut oil (or oil consumption), also affect the taste of XO sauce to some extent.
freshly made XO sauce usually presents a clear brown, red and deep yellow color.
However, these colors may make people feel that there are some pigments added.
actually, don't worry, the color of XO sauce comes from the raw material itself, not artificially added.
If you want to introduce XO sauce to others, you can also say,
"XO sauce is not a simple spice and seasoning, just stir and mix it, but it is carefully cooked in the way of cooking a dish, and it is also necessary to pay attention to color, flavor and taste!"
This is also the obvious difference between XO sauce and other seasonings.
half of the delicacy of hot pot comes from the dip you choose.
this is my feeling as a hot pot expert.
XO sauce is a seafood-flavored seasoning, so it has the best taste when used with seafood hot pot, or with stone fish and fish head pot.
seafood, fresh and delicious.
XO sauce, however, is full of seafood flavor, full of chewiness, with a little spicy flavor in the umami flavor. Mix it together, add fresh to the fresh, and let the freshness and satisfaction explode your mouth!
Some people may ask, "Zheng Otter, why is XO sauce not good with mutton and beef-based hot pot? Such as Chaoshan beef hot pot? "
(For details about Chaoshan beef hotpot, please refer to Do you know that eating Chaoshan beef hotpot takes three ups and downs! ")
It's like this.
XO sauce is too strong, which will affect the original taste of ingredients.
mutton and beef have a strong meat flavor, and XO sauce has a strong seafood flavor. When they are combined, the flavor of beef, mutton and XO sauce is not easy to taste.
Therefore, XO sauce with beef and mutton hotpot is seldom used in many hot pots.
XO sauce with Chaoshan beef hotpot is not a good choice.
However, if you like the taste of the sword going sideways, you might as well try it!
Sit in a Hong Kong-style restaurant and open the menu. You will find many dishes made with XO sauce, such as spaghetti with XO sauce, chezai noodles with XO sauce, fried rice rolls with XO sauce, fried scallops with XO sauce and so on.
There are also fried rice with XO sauce and tofu with XO sauce, which are common dishes on the streets of Hong Kong.
I'm not afraid of jokes.
Zheng Otter When I first went to Hong Kong, I sat in a roadside tea restaurant and looked at the names of the dishes. Hong Kong people used XO wine to stir-fry rice and noodles. How rich they are!
However, after knowing why, I have to sigh,
"XO sauce is really a' master of plastic surgery' for light dishes!"
whether it's cold salad, noodle soup, or stir-frying, adding XO sauce as seasoning can make the food turn into a beautiful girl in a second and a man in an instant!
For example, when cooking rice and noodles, just add a spoonful of XO sauce to make fried rice and noodles full of flavor and fresh air.
this is the charm of XO sauce!