Homemade XO Sauce

I made this Chinese XO Sauce for a Hong Kong style mooncake. I don’t know why they call it XO Sauce though. Based on the ingredients used, I would call it a Hong Kong Sambal! LOL

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Recipe - Homemade XO Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

(A)

60g dried scallops

60g dried shrimps

150ml / 10 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine

2 tbsp hot water

(B)

2 large red chillies, seeded and cut

2 large onion, peeled and cut

5 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

(C)

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

80- 100g ham, chopped (I omitted)

1 tsp dried chillies flakes

250ml - 300 ml cooking oil

METHOD:

Ingredients A - Wash the dried scallops and shrimps, then soak them in Shaoxing wine overnight, plus 2 tbsp hot water. Drain and reserving the wine. Blend the soaked dried scallops and shrimps in a food processor. Keep aside.
Ingredients B - Blend all the ingredients B in a food processor until fine and become a paste. Add some oil to the mixture if processor doesn’t move.
Ingredients C – Combine all the ingredients C in a bowl and set aside.
Heat up 250ml cooking oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add in the dried scallops and shrimps mixture. Fry for around 5 minutes or until darker gold and crispy. Remove the fried scallops and shrimps from the oil. If you have difficulty remove them, drain them by using a strainer or sift. Keep aside.
With the same oil, fry the chillies, onion and garlic paste until aromatic and golden brown. Add in 1 tsp chillies flakes. You may add in ham at this time too if you use.
Add in the fried scallops and shrimps. Then pour in the sauce and let it boil. Remove from stove and let it cool before transferring to an airtight jar. It can store up to a month in refrigerator.