“Tony Tan’s recipe for XO sauce is the best ever – it should almost go without saying. It’s a no-brainer.”
Ingredients
XO sauce
Method
Main
1.For XO sauce, heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat, add garlic, shallot, jamòn, shrimp and scallop and stir occasionally until starting to colour (2 minutes). Add chillies, shrimp paste and sugar and stir occasionally until starting to caramelise (6-8 minutes). Add soaking liquid from scallops, then cook until liquid has reduced by half (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat, transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
2.Heat oil in a large wok or saucepan over high heat, add bok choy and cook for 1 minute, tossing constantly to coat with oil. Add 2 tbsp water, cover, cook for 1 minute to steam, then remove lid and add spinach and cabbage. Stir until all vegetables are just cooked (1-2 minutes). Drain, toss with 2 tbsp XO sauce and serve hot. Remaining XO sauce will keep refrigerated for a month.
Note To roast shrimp paste, or belacan, wrap in aluminium foil and roast at 200C until fragrant (4-5 minutes).
Notes