Hong Kong XO Sauce with Dried Scallops and Ham

What you need

• 50 g (1/3 cup) dried scallops
• 80 g (3 oz) dried shrimp
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine, divided
• 80 g (3 oz) dry-cured ham, Jinhua ham or prosciutto
• 4 banana shallots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 fresh red chillies
• 20 small dried red chillies, stems and seeds removed
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) neutral oil
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Put the scallops and shrimp in separate bowls, cover each with just-boiled water and add 1/2 tbsp of the Shaoxing wine to each. Soak for 45 min.

2. 2

   Drain both, keeping the soaking liquid. Shred the scallops into fine threads with your fingers and chop the shrimp finely.

3. 3

   Chop the ham, shallots and garlic very finely, keeping them in separate piles.

4. 4

   Seed and finely chop the fresh chillies. Snip the dried chillies into small flakes.

5. 5

   Heat the oil in a wok or heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to about 120 °C (250 °F).

6. 6

   Add the scallops and shrimp and fry gently, stirring often, until they turn a deep golden color and smell toasty, 12-15 min.

7. 7

   Add the ham and fry for 2-3 min more.

8. 8

   Stir in the shallots and garlic and cook until soft and pale gold, 5-7 min. Keep the heat low so the garlic does not scorch.

9. 9

   Add the fresh chillies and dried chillies and stir for 2 min, until the oil turns red.

10. 10

    Mix the soaking liquid with the remaining Shaoxing wine, the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and white pepper, then pour it into the pan.

11. 11

    Simmer, stirring now and then, until the liquid has cooked away and the oil sizzles clear again, 8-10 min.

12. 12

    Remove from the heat and leave until fully cool.

13. 13

    Spoon it into a clean jar, making sure the solids sit under a layer of the oil, and keep it in the fridge.

Imported from honestcooking.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.