MOUEEL
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condimentdried-scallop · dried-shrimp · cured-ham · fried-shallot · chilli

XO sauce

Dried scallop, ham and shrimp fried into chilli oil, then priced like the cognac it was named after.

on its own
0.0sour
1.0sweet
5.0savoury
0.0bitter
5.0umami
order · canon first

2 of these 13 are wild — theory says yes, nobody has cooked them. why →

13 pairings for XO sauce.

Rice

classic

One spoonful over plain rice is dinner. That was the entire design brief.

Scallop

classic

Dried scallop on fresh scallop: the same animal, concentrated and alive.

The oil clings and the shreds catch in the folds. Cheung fun wants nothing else.

Egg

common

Scrambled soft and folded through. The fat is present, the umami was not.

Blanched greens carry water and bitterness. This brings salt, fat and crunch.

Tofu

common

Blank curd is the best canvas there is for something this loud and expensive.

Prawn

common

Fresh shellfish plus dried shellfish. The dried half explains the fresh one.

Cabbage

uncommon

Charred leaf sugar under salted marine fat, which is the missing sweetness.

A luxury seafood condiment on the plainest possible green, which is exactly the point of the contrast.

Oyster

rare

Two concentrations of the same sea. Grill the oyster, spoon this over it.

Free glutamate on free glutamate, Cantonese and Emilian. Same molecule.

Dried scallop is sweet. Cocoa butter lactones meet it exactly halfway.