Homemade XO Sauce

Rich, decadent and luscious, homemade XO sauce with dried scallops, dried shrimp and dried ham isn’t cheap to make but it sure is delicious. Well worth the cost and time!

XO sauce was reportedly created in Hong Kong back in the 1980s in Spring Moon, an upscale restaurant in the five-star luxury hotel, The Peninsula Hong Kong, as a symbol of wealth and decadence. The name XO was taken from the very best extra old cognac, to indicate that the sauce was also of the highest caliber. 

It caught on and became popular over all of Asia, and now the jarred condiment is available on store shelves worldwide. Sometimes the ingredients aren’t actually extra special and that’s why homemade is often best. They tend to skimp on the scallops.

I totally get that because I couldn’t find dried scallops in a local shop. I considered my options and decided I couldn't skimp so I went one extra step and dried some fresh Channel Island scallops as my first step. Seven ounces yielded only 2 oz when dried. The recipe below assumes you are able to find some!

Homemade XO Sauce

If you would rather your XO sauce not be quite as spicy, you can remove the seeds from the chili peppers. We love spicy so I leave ours in. This makes about 2 1/4 cups or 475g. Start this recipe early in your day. It can take up to five hours to make. 

Ingredients

2 oz or 57g dried scallops

2 oz or 57g dried shrimp

2 oz or 57g Jinhua or Yunnan ham, or prosciutto

6 large garlic cloves

4 large red or golden shallots

6 large red chili peppers

2 cups or 480ml peanut oil

1 tablespoon cayenne

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Method

Soak the scallops and shrimp separately each in 1 cup or 240ml of hot water for at least 1 hour. Drain well, reserving the strained liquid from the scallops.

Peel your shallots and garlic and chop them roughly. Destem the peppers and chop them as well. (See note above ingredient list.) Put all three into your food processor and chop them finely with a few quick zaps

You are looking for finely minced, not puréed. 

Use your clean hands to pull the ham apart into fine shreds.

Shred the drained scallops by pounding them a few at time in a mortar to separate the fibers. 

Roughly grind the drained shrimp in a mortar and pestle as well or cheat like I do by using a food processor. The shrimp are tough to grind and after pounding the scallops, who even has the energy? 

Preheat your oven to 212°F or 100°C. (If your oven won’t go this low, you can continue on the stovetop but you will have to watch the sauce very carefully and keep the fire very low so it doesn’t burn.) 

Heat 1/3 cup or 80ml of the peanut oil in a medium, oven-proof pan or pot over low heat and fry the garlic, shallots and chili peppers for about 10 minutes until they are fragrant and softened. 

Add the shredded scallops, shrimp, ham or prosciutto, salt, sugar, cayenne powder, soy sauce and about a 1/4 cup or 60ml of the soaking liquid from the scallops. 

Bring to a simmer and cook over a low flame until the liquid is evaporated or absorbed, stirring often. Make a space in the middle of the sauce with a spatula or wooden spoon and wait a minute or so to see if liquid fills the hole. (Left photo below,) If it does, stir again and cook a little longer to dry the mixture a little more. (Right photo below.)

Add the remaining oil and stir well.

Put the pot in your low oven and cook uncovered for 3-4 hours until the color of the sauce intensifies and it becomes thick, oily and jammy. Stir the mixture occasionally.

Transfer the XO sauce to clean jars and top with any oil left in the cooking pan. 

Seal and refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce will keep for about 6 months.

Homemade XO sauce is excellent stirred through steamed rice or egg noodles, as part of a dipping sauce for dumplings or as a topping for stir-fried greens or a fried egg. In fact, it’s good with just about anything savory! 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 24th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter X. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the X recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Homemade XO Sauce
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Pai Huang Gua Hé Xigua
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Rotisserie Chicken Xavier Soup with Fennel 
• Culinary Cam: The Luxurious Umami Bomb that is (Homemade) XO Sauce + How to Use it
• Palatable Pastime: Vietnamese Sesame Shrimp Noodles (Mi Xao Tom) 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Xacuti Chicken Mince Stuffed Bell Peppers#AlphabetChallenge 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Xanthia Cocktail
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Xavier Soup 
• A Messy Kitchen: Xiao Mi Zhou (Millet porridge/congee) 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Xocolati- Mexican Hot Chocolate 

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

V. Mirabelle Plum Vodka 

W. Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero 

X. Homemade XO Sauce – this post! 

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Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad

A delightfully fresh dish for summer, this shrimp and quail egg garden salad make a lovely lunch for two by itself or side dish for a potluck or barbecue. 

Since I was a child, I’ve loved quail eggs. Hardboiled with a spicy mayo dipping sauce, they are the perfect picnic food. But they are also very versatile and an easy, tasty, bite-sized way to add protein to a meal. 

If you are also a fan of quail eggs, you might want to check out a few of my recipes that feature them. 

• Spicy Sweet Soy Eggplant Tofu Quail Egg Stir-fry
• Scotch Quail Eggs
• Malaysian-style Curry Laksa 
• Deviled Quail Egg Shrimp Canapés 

Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad

I happened to have some blood oranges in my fruit drawer so I used them in the salad and the dressing. Substitute regular oranges, mandarins or even tangerines if you don’t. 

Ingredients to serve two for lunch

For the dressing: 

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

Freshly ground black pepper

3 oz or 85g crumbled feta

For the salad:

1/2 heart of romaine

1 heirloom or summer tomato

1 orange

10-12 cold boiled shrimp, peeled, tails intact

10-12 hardboiled quail eggs, peeled and halved

2 green onions, green part only, sliced

Method

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice and vinegar along with the mustard powder and black pepper. 

Add in the crumbled feta and stir. Set aside until ready to serve. Chill if it will be a while.

Wash and spin your lettuce leaves. Trim any hard ends and discard. Rip the rest into bite size pieces and spread them around on your serving plate. Cut the tomato into wedges and add them to the lettuce.

Peel the orange and cut it into bite-sized pieces. 

Scatter them among the tomatoes, along with the shrimp and halved quail eggs. 

Sprinkle on the sliced green onions. Give the dressing another good stir then serve it alongside the salad so each person can dress their own (especially if you think there might be leftovers) or spoon the dressing over the salad and serve.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 17th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter Q. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Q recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Quinoa Idli 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Blueberry Banana Quick Bread 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Sourdough Quinoa Bread 
• A Messy Kitchen: Roasted Cauliflower Quiche 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Nectarine Quinoa Salad 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Shrimp Fajita Quesadillas 
• Magical Ingredients: Queso Dip 
• Culinary Cam: Quince Sharlotka 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Parmesan Potato & Zucchini Crustless Quiche 
• Blogghetti: Ham and Broccoli Quiche

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad – this post! 

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Deviled Quail Egg Shrimp Canapés

Made with hard-boiled quail eggs and cold boiled shrimp, you'll want to serve these tasty deviled quail egg shrimp canapés at your next party! 

When I came across a dozen already cooked quail eggs at my local grocery store the other day, discounted price even, I knew they were coming home with me. And then, in the very next refrigerated case there was another discounted item, a container of cold boiled shrimp. I couldn’t wait put them together to create a delicious appetizer. 

I debated about what to set them on, besides a flavored cream cheese (in my head, that was already a given) and finally settled on making blinis but if you want, you can serve these atop cucumber slices or even round toasted slices of baguette, depending on the size of your shrimp.

Shrimp Deviled Quail Egg Canapés

If you don’t have already hard-boiled quail eggs, you can follow my instructions in my Scotch quail egg post, but let the eggs boil for four minutes. It’s a bit of a faff but not cooking them all at once makes them easier to peel, in my humble opinion. The blini batter will make more than you need. Eat the extras like pancakes with butter and jam and/or syrup. 

Ingredients

For the spread:

1 green onion top (green part only)

3 1/2 oz or 100g cream cheese, softened

1 fresh lemon wedge for juice

freshly ground black pepper

For the blini batter:

1 1/2 cups or 188g all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup or 240ml milk, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for the pan

For the toppings:

12 hard-boiled quail eggs, peeled

12 cold boiled shrimp, peeled

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

hot sauce, optional

Smoked paprika for garnish

Method

First, finely mince the green onion top and set aside a little bit for garnish. Mix the rest with the softened cream cheese and a good squeeze of fresh lemon. Give it a few good grinds of black pepper, stir then set aside. 

Next, make the blini. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller bowl, whisk the milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon melted butter together.  Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk until the batter is fully combined.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cooking several blini at a time, drop batter, one tablespoon at a time, onto the heated skillet. Cook until bubbles form, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until brown, about 1 minute more. 

Move to a paper towel-lined plate.  Repeat with the remaining batter until all the blini are cooked.

Halve the quail eggs and carefully remove the yolks to a small bowl.

Mash the yolks with a fork then add in the mayonnaise and mustard, continuing to mash and mix until you have a smooth mixture. Add a dash of hot sauce, if desired and mix again. 

Slice the shrimp in half lengthwise. 

To assemble the canapés, divide the cream cheese mixture between 24 blini arranged on a serving platter and spread it.

Top with a half shrimp followed by a half quail egg white. 

Use a piping bag or baggie with a corner cut off to pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg whites. 

Sprinkle with smoked paprika and the reserved green onion.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and we are celebrating National Egg Month by sharing egg recipes. Check out all the links below.

• Breakfast Pizza from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cottage Cheese Scrambled Egg Skillet from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Egg Ghee Roastfrom Mayuri's Jikoni
• Deviled Egg Dip from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Deviled Quail Egg Shrimp Canapés from Food Lust People Love
• Indo Chinese Style Chilly Omelette Stir Fry from Sneha's Recipe
• Pickled Quail Eggs from Culinary Cam

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Shrimp Pasta Primavera

This simple shrimp pasta primavera uses a mix of spring vegetables including asparagus, sugar snap peas, garden peas and spring onions. It’s a celebration of the season!

When we lived in Southeast Asia, the only asparagus we got in our local grocery stores was quite thin but they won my asparagus hating husband over. Turns out he had only ever been offered canned asparagus as a child and thought they were nasty. 

Fresh asparagus are completely different! In the States and in Jersey, Channel Islands, the asparagus are typically thick. The husband was unsure again but I’ve gradually won him over, especially when I cook them simply with a little butter and lemon. Or in a pasta dish like this Shrimp Pasta Primavera. 

Shrimp Pasta Primavera

If using fresh pasta instead of dried, cook 12 oz or 340g to serve four people. Regarding the peas: I prefer the frozen peas called petit pois because they are young and more tender, if you can find them. Do not, for love of all that is holy, use canned peas. This recipe is adapted from one on New York Times Cooking. 

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus plenty extra for the pasta boiling water

Freshly ground black pepper, more as needed

5 1/3 oz or 150g sugar snap peas

8 oz or 226g asparagus, ends snapped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup or 23g thinly sliced green onion, white part only

10 oz or 285g peeled, cleaned shrimp

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

9 oz or 255g fettuccine or tagliatelle

2/3 cup or 60g grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, at room temperature

1/2 cup or 123g crème fraîche or sub whole milk Greek yogurt, at room temperature

1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon

3/4 cup or 113g frozen young peas, thawed

(To thaw the peas and cook them just enough at the same time, pour boiling water over them. When cool, drain the water and repeat. Drain again when cool and the peas are ready to add in at the end of the recipe.)

Optional garnish: tender pea sprouts

Method

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.

While the water is coming to a boil, string and slice snap peas diagonally.

Trim the asparagus tips off, leaving them whole. Slice the asparagus stems into ¼-inch-thick lengths, also on the diagonal. 

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add snap peas, asparagus and green onions. 

Cook until the vegetables just start to soften, then add the shrimp. 

Cook for 3-4 minutes until the shrimp are pink throughout. 

Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more. 

Season with the salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper; set aside.

Drop the pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente (1 to 3 minutes for fresh pasta, according to the manufacturer’s instructions for dried pasta.)

Drain well and transfer pasta to a large bowl. Immediately toss the pasta with the shrimp and vegetables. Mix well. 

Add in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, crème fraiche, tarragon and peas and stir well. 

Season generously with more salt and pepper, if needed.

Return to your warm pasta pot, garnish with pea sprouts, if using, and serve immediately.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and since spring has sprung, we are sharing recipes with asparagus and I am hosting! Check out all the links below. 

• Asparagus Farro from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Asparagus Three Ways from Our Good Life
• Macaroni and Cheese with Asparagus and Prosciutto from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Shrimp Pasta Primavera from Food Lust People Love
• Spring Risotto Topped with Shaved Asparagus from Culinary Cam
• Stir Fried Chickpeas and Asparagus from Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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