Mushroom XO Sauce
A spoonful of this is pure fireworks: crispy, spicy, savory, a little sweet. A jarred luxury sauce from Hong Kong that people put on everything. The boldest thing in the book.
SEARED · The mushroom keeps its bite. Chewy, meaty, crisp at the edges.
XO sauce was invented in Hong Kong in the 1980s, a lavish condiment of dried seafood, chili, and garlic, named after XO cognac to signal how premium it was. Ours swaps the dried seafood for mushrooms crisped until they shatter, keeping the technique: fry everything slowly in plenty of oil until crisp, then unite.
Makes about one and a half cups. Keeps two weeks.
- 12 oz Blue Oyster mushrooms, very finely chopped
- Half a cup neutral oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 2 to 3 tbsp chili flakes (to taste)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 01
Chop the mushrooms very finely, then squeeze them as dry as you possibly can in a clean towel. Wet mushrooms will never crisp.
- 02
Add the dry mushrooms to a wide pan over medium heat, no oil yet, and cook them a few minutes to drive off more water. Then add the oil and fry, stirring often, until they shrink and turn crisp and deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Patience here is everything.
- 03
Add garlic, shallots, and ginger. Fry until they too are golden and crisp, 5 minutes more.
- 04
Add chili flakes, soy, and sugar. Cook 2 minutes until it smells toasty and looks dark and glossy.
- 05
Off the heat, stir in sesame oil. Cool and jar it, making sure the oil covers the solids.
- Spooned over rice, noodles, tofu, or dumplings.
- On avocado toast.
- Over the blended soups for a hit of crunch and fire.
The low, patient fry is what makes it. Rushing the heat burns the aromatics before the mushrooms crisp.
