Hot pot is my favorite.
Since high school, it has been my habit to eat hot pot at least twice a month.
In the hot pot store, when taking the dipping sauce, there is always a seasoning called " XO sauce".
When it comes to XO sauce, I would associate it with " XO wine", and the impression that "XO sauce is expensive" comes up.
I used to think that XO sauce was made with brandy XO wine, which has alcohol in it.
A lot of people think the same thing, otherwise, why is it called "XO" sauce and not something else?
You see, XO wine is very expensive!
The famous Remy Martin XO costs a couple thousand dollars a bottle, so it's a luxury to use XO wine as a seasoning for hot pot!
In fact, is this really the case?
Many of the innovations in food are related to economic prosperity.
That's how people are, as soon as they have money, they start to talk about food and drink.
XO sauce was invented in Hong Kong in the 1980s.
At that time, Hong Kong was already one of the four little dragons in Asia, and the economy was rapidly taking off, with many tycoons and rich people appearing.
About its inventor, there is some controversy in Hong Kong, and there are two ways of putting it.
One theory, XO sauce was invented by the chefs at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
The Peninsula Hotel is the oldest hotel in Hong Kong and one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.
Its luxury is evident in its fleet of 14 Rolls Royces, the most luxurious in the world.
In those prosperous days, Hong Kong's rich and famous took pride in staying or dining at The Peninsula.
So, those hotel celebrity chefs and food consultants dug in their heels to figure out the dishes and try to innovate, because the rich had eaten everything, and their tastes were gripping!
In this case, there is the emergence of XO sauce.
Another theory is that XO sauce was invented by the famous chef of Hong Kong's Elegant Garden Restaurant, Mr. Wong Wing-bing.
It is said that it was developed to go with seafood hot pot back then.
Wong Wing-flag is also the inventor of the famous Hong Kong-style dessert, Yangzhi Ganlu.
In any case, since Hong Kong is a small place and everyone looks up, they don't bother too much about who is the real inventor.
It's all about harmony!
When you eat hot pot, you can tell the story of the name of the XO sauce if you want to have something to talk about.
The name XO sauce is indeed related to the brandy XO wine.
However, unexpectedly, it is also related to the pre-liberation Shanghai tycoons.
In the 1920s and 1930s, French brandy was very popular in the French Concession in Shanghai.
Drinking brandy was a symbol of the rich in Shanghai, and Martell and Hennessy were the favorites of the "Ten Miles of Ocean Front".
At that time, there was a couplet that has been passed down to this day, "Yellow plum day in May, three stars brandy".
After the end of the War of Resistance, many Shanghai tycoons, fearing the new regime, ran to Hong Kong and proceeded to open up a new world, transforming themselves into Hong Kong tycoons.
TVB TV series in Hong Kong rich people, from time to time will emerge a few words of Shanghai, "Allah Shanghainese", "Nong know fah", and that is exactly how it came.
The Shanghai tycoons came to Hong Kong, and at the same time also brought the culture of drinking brandy, to Hong Kong.
In the sixties and seventies, when Hong Kong's economy was at its peak, the French top brandy brands Remy Martin and Hennessy came to Hong Kong in large quantities, and were widely rumored to be amongst the rich in Hong Kong.
Of course, there was another reason why brandy was popular in Hong Kong, because Hong Kong was a British colony at the time.
And the British upper class was known around the world for their love of French cognac brandy.
French brandy, according to the length of time in oak barrels, from low to high, is divided into VS, VSOP and XO, XO represents the highest level, but also the most expensive.
(The meaning of VS, VSOP, XO, see "Fujian people who love to drink brandy, tell you about "VS, VSOP, XO")
And the newly invented "XO sauce", is for the rich to enjoy! The XO sauce was invented for the rich and famous, and used the best ingredients of the time, such as dried scallops and Jinhua ham.
So, the XO sauce, the price also rose, equivalent to the condiments in the LV ah.
In the eyes of ordinary Hong Kong people, XO sauce is like Liu Jialing and Charmaine Sheh, unattainable.
So they called the newly invented sauce "XO Sauce", which is as "luxurious" and "top-notch" as XO wine.
Nowadays, XO sauce has long been on the ground, and has become a common condiment in ordinary people's homes, but the name has been used ever since.
XO sauce, back in the day, was a premium condiment, but its recipe was never a secret.
In Hong Kong, every chef has his own unique way of making XO sauce.
On weekdays, people around Hong Kong and Guangdong also make their own XO sauce at home.
The ingredients of XO sauce have nothing to do with brandy XO wine, at all.
Dried seafood, ham, and chili peppers are the main ingredients of XO sauce, along with a number of ingredients and accessories, which are combined and cooked.
Dried seafood, such as dried scallops, shrimp, shrimp, small salted dried fish.
Dried scallops, called scallops in Hong Kong, are the product of sun-dried scallops.
In the XO sauce, a very large amount of dried scallops are used, processed into a fine julienne shape, with the aim of making the sauce more flavorful and chewy.
Shrimp is used to add aroma and enhance the freshness, shrimp is used to pop the aroma before frying, and small dried salted fish, with the heads removed, is used to add saltiness to the sauce.
Ham it, the best to use the Zhejiang Jinhua ham, rich in flavor, chopped into small pieces.
The chili pepper can be added according to your personal preference.
Other ingredients, such as onions, garlic, and peanut oil (or oil consumption), also affect the flavor of the XO sauce to a greater or lesser extent.
Freshly made XO sauce usually has a clear, deep brownish-red color.
However, these colors may make people think that there is some kind of coloring added.
In fact, don't worry, the color of the XO sauce comes from the raw material itself, not from artificial additive.
If you want to introduce XO sauce to others, you can also say,
"XO sauce, not simply spices and seasonings, stirring and mixing a little bit on the good, but to cook a dish in the same way, carefully crafted, but also to pay attention to the full range of colors and flavors it!"
This is the obvious difference between XO sauce and other seasonings.
Half of the deliciousness of hot pot also comes from your choice of dipping sauce.
That's an epiphany from the hot pot maven in me.
XO sauce is a seafood-flavored seasoning, so use it with seafood hot pot, or, for that matter, with stone pot fish or fish head pot, the taste is the best.
Seafood and river food, eat is that fresh flavor.
And the XO sauce, seafood flavor, full of chewy, fresh flavor with a little spicy, with together, fresh on fresh, let the fresh aroma and satisfaction burn your mouth!
Some people may ask, "Zheng Xiao Otter, why is XO sauce not good with lamb or beef-based hot pot? For example, Chaoshan beef hot pot?"
(For more on Chaoshan beef hot pot, see "Did you know that eating Chaoshan beef hot pot requires three ups and three downs! ")
Here's the thing.
The XO sauce is overpowering and takes away from the original flavor of the ingredients.
Lamb, beef, these itself meaty flavor, plus, XO sauce seafood flavor thick, the two together, beef and lamb and XO sauce flavor, are not easy to taste.
Therefore, many hot pot eaters less with XO sauce with beef and lamb hot pot.
Using XO sauce with Teochew beef hotpot is not a good choice.
However, you might want to give it a try if you like the flavor of the sword!
Sitting in a Hong Kong style teahouse and flipping through the menu, you'll find so many dishes made with XO sauce, such as Spaghetti with XO sauce, Car Noodles with XO sauce, Fried Intestine Noodles with XO, 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 laughing when I say this.
Zheng Xiao otter when I first went to Hong Kong, sitting in a roadside café, looking at the name of the dish, began to froze out of sight, Hong Kong people with XO wine to fried rice fried noodles, can really money!
However, after knowing the reason, we also have to sigh,
"XO sauce, is indeed a light dish 'facelift master'!"
Whether it is cold, soup noodles, or hot stir-fry, put XO sauce as a seasoning, can make the food seconds into a beautiful woman, instantly molded male!
For example, rice, noodles, when cooking, just add a small tablespoon of XO sauce, you can make fried rice, fried noodles, fresh flavor, fresh air.
This is the charm of XO sauce!