Is there really "XO wine" added to the "XO sauce" of hot pot seasoning?

It is my habit to eat hot pot at least twice a month since high school.

In a hot pot restaurant, when you take a dip, you can always see a seasoning called "XO sauce".

Speaking of XO sauce, I will associate it with "XO wine", giving people a feeling that "XO sauce is so expensive".

I always thought that XO sauce was made from brandy XO wine, which contained alcohol.

A lot of people think so. Otherwise, why is it called "XO" sauce instead of other sauces?

Look how expensive XO wine is!

The famous XO in remy martin can't carry a bottle for one or two thousand yuan, and XO wine is used as hot pot seasoning. What a luxury!

Is it actually true?

Many food innovations are related to economic prosperity.

That's what people do. As soon as they got rich, they began to pay attention to eating and drinking.

XO sauce was invented in Hong Kong in1980s.

At that time, Hong Kong was already one of the four little dragons in Asia, with rapid economic development and many rich people.

There are some controversies about its inventor in Hong Kong, and there are two opinions.

It is said that XO sauce was invented by the chef of Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.

Peninsula Hotel is the oldest hotel in Hong Kong and one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

You can see its luxury from its fleet. The fleet of 14 Rolls Royce cars is the most luxurious in the world.

In that prosperous era, the rich people in Hong Kong were proud of staying or dining in the Peninsula Hotel.

As a result, those hotel chefs and food consultants are trying their best to think about dishes and innovation, because rich people have eaten everything and it tastes good!

In this case, XO sauce appeared.

To put it another way, XO sauce was invented by Huang Yongzhi, a famous chef of Hong Kong Yayuan Restaurant.

It is said that it was developed to cooperate with seafood hot pot.

Huang Yongzhi is also the inventor of the famous Hong Kong-style dessert Yang Zhi Gan Lu.

Anyway, because Hong Kong is a small place, people don't look up and see it, and they don't care too much about who is the real inventor.

Kindness makes money!

When eating hot pot, if you want to have something to say, you can tell the story of the name of XO sauce.

The name of XO sauce is really related to brandy XO wine.

Unexpectedly, however, this is also related to the Shanghai rich before liberation.

In the 1920s and 1930s, French brandy was very popular in the French Concession in Shanghai.

Drinking brandy is a symbol of the rich in Shanghai. Martell and Hennessy are the darlings of "Shili Yangchang".

At that time, there was a couplet "Huangmeitian in May, Samsung Brandy" that has been handed down to this day.

After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, many wealthy people in Shanghai were afraid of the new regime and ran to Hong Kong. Then, they opened up a new world and became Hong Kong tycoons.

From time to time, Hong Kong rich people in TV series will pop up a few words of Shanghai dialect, which is how "Ala Shanghainese" and "Nong knows how to cut" come from.

When Shanghai tycoons came to Hong Kong, they also brought brandy to Hong Kong.

In 1960s and 1970s, during the heyday of Hong Kong's economy, remy martin, Hennessy and other top French brandy brands flooded into Hong Kong, which was widely circulated among the rich in Hong Kong.

Of course, brandy was very popular in Hong Kong because Hong Kong was a British colony at that time.

British upper class likes to drink French cognac, which is world-famous.

French brandy is divided into VS, VSOP and XO from low to high according to the length of time in oak barrels. XO stands for the highest grade and the most expensive.

(For the meanings of VS, VSOP and XO, see Fujian people who love brandy, tell you about VS, VSOP and XO).

At that time, the newly invented "XO sauce" was for the rich, using the best ingredients at that time, such as scallops and Jinhua ham.

As a result, the price of XO sauce was also rising, which was equivalent to Lu in seasoning.

In the eyes of ordinary Hong Kong people, XO sauce, like Carina Lau and Charmaine Sheh, is out of reach.

Therefore, they affectionately call the newly invented sauce "XO sauce", which is as "luxurious" and "top-notch" as XO wine.

Today, XO sauce has long been associated with the local atmosphere and has become a common condiment for ordinary people, but its name has been used to this day.

XO sauce was once a high-grade condiment, but its formula was never a secret.

In Hong Kong, every chef has his own unique method of making XO sauce.

On weekdays, people in Hong Kong and Guangdong also make XO sauce at home.

The ingredients of XO sauce have nothing to do with brandy XO wine.

The main ingredients of XO sauce are dried seafood, ham and pepper, plus some ingredients and accessories, which are cooked together.

Dry seafood, such as scallop, shrimp, shrimp skin, small salted fish, etc.

Scallop, called Yaozhu in Hong Kong, is the product of scallop.

In the practice of XO sauce, in order to make the sauce more delicious and chewy, a large number of scallops are used and processed into filaments.

Shrimp is used to enhance fragrance and taste, shrimp is used to fry before frying, and dried salted fish is used to increase the salty taste of sauce after turning over.

As for ham, the best is Zhejiang Jinhua ham, which is rich in flavor and chopped into small pieces.

Pepper can be added according to personal preference.

Other ingredients, such as onion, garlic and peanut oil (or the amount of oil used), also affect the taste of XO sauce more or less.

Freshly made XO sauce usually appears clear brown, red and dark yellow.

But these colors may make people feel that there is no added pigment or something.

In fact, don't worry, the color of XO sauce comes from the raw material itself, not artificially added.

If you want to introduce XO sauce to others, you can also say,

"XO sauce is not a simple spice and seasoning, just mix it casually, but it is carefully cooked in the way of cooking, and you need to pay attention to color, fragrance and taste!"

This is also the obvious difference between XO sauce and other seasonings.

Half of the delicious hot pot comes from the dip you choose.

This is my feeling as a hot pot expert.

XO sauce is a seafood-flavored seasoning, so it tastes best with seafood hot pot or stone fish head pot.

Seafood seafood, eat that delicious food.

XO sauce, on the other hand, is full of seafood flavor and chewy, with a little spicy flavor. Mix them together and add fresh food to make them delicious and satisfying.

Some people may ask, "Zheng Aote, why is XO sauce not good with mutton and beef-based hot pot?" Such as Chaoshan beef hotpot? "

(For Chaoshan beef hotpot, see Do you know that it takes three ups and downs to eat Chaoshan beef hotpot? 》)

Here's the thing.

XO sauce is too strong, which will affect the original flavor of the ingredients.

Mutton and beef have a strong meat flavor, and XO sauce has a strong seafood flavor. The taste of beef, mutton and XO sauce is not very good together.

Therefore, many hot pots eat less XO sauce with beef and mutton hot pot.

It is not a good choice to use XO sauce with Chaoshan beef hotpot.

However, if you like the taste of the sword going sideways, give it a try!

Sitting in a Hong Kong-style restaurant and opening the menu, you will find many dishes made with XO sauce, such as pasta with XO sauce, Chezai noodles with XO sauce, fried rice rolls with XO sauce, 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 jokes.

When Zheng Aote went to Hong Kong for the first time, I sat in a roadside tea restaurant, looked at the names of the dishes and began to get lost in thought. Hong Kong people use XO wine to stir-fry rice and noodles. How rich they are!

However, after knowing the reason, I have to sigh.

"XO sauce is really a' makeup master' of light dishes!"

Whether it's cold salad, noodle soup or stir-frying, adding XO sauce as seasoning can make food become a beautiful girl in a second and a man in an instant!

For example, when cooking rice and noodles, just add a spoonful of XO sauce to make fried rice and noodles full of flavor and fresh air.

This is the charm of XO sauce!