A rich protein asks very little of a sauce. Wagyu is already complete; uni needs a whisper; a good piece of fish wants warmth and contrast, not a blanket. The sauces that earn their place beside them are the ones that add a single clear note — deep savoury heat, nutty warmth, clean salt. Of the three below, the first is a small project, and we will be honest about why: we don't sell a bottled XO sauce. We sell the ingredient it is made from, and a homemade XO, made slowly once, seasons a season of dinners.
Miss A's Handpick Fine Food is a Singapore premium grocer founded in 2017, online at missa.sg with a store at 421 East Coast Road. The ingredient is our Japanese dried scallop from Hokkaido — 200g, M size, $79.96, air-dried without preservatives — and it lives in the Pantry Staples collection.
The XO: an afternoon that pays for months
Soak a handful of dried scallops until they yield, then shred them fine — the shredding is the texture of the finished sauce, so take the time. Reserve the soaking liquid. In a wok or heavy pan, warm a generous amount of neutral oil and cook the shreds low and slow with finely chopped garlic, shallots and dried chillies from your own pantry, stirring often, until the mixture turns a deep amber and smells unmistakably like itself — many cooks add a little finely diced cured ham from their own store cupboard at this stage; it is welcome but not required. Season with a touch of soy and sugar, splash in some of the soaking liquid, and cook it down until the oil rises clear and red around the shreds.
Jarred hot, covered with its own oil and refrigerated, a batch keeps for weeks and improves for the first several days. Use it where depth is wanted: a spoonful through fried rice or noodles, over steamed fish, on congee — and, with restraint, a little of its oil touched onto uni or a slice of wagyu, where it seasons rather than sauces.
Brown butter, for the fish course
Butter cooked past melting to a nutty amber — beurre noisette — is the fish course's oldest friend: over seared hotate, over a fillet of salmon, over vegetables that need warming company. Our Yotsuba block (its page) browns beautifully; watch it in a light pan and pour it off as it turns. The method, and butter's other table work, are in Butter at the Table.
Good salt, for the wagyu
And sometimes the correct sauce is none. A5 wagyu, seared hard and sliced, wants flaky salt and perhaps a dab of mustard — seasoning that points at the meat. The cuts are in the Japanese Wagyu collection; the fuller argument for restraint is in our pairings guide. A homemade XO on the table beside it, for the rice and the vegetables, is the generous version of the same idea.
FAQ
How long does homemade XO keep?
Refrigerated, under its layer of oil in a clean sealed jar, several weeks comfortably. Always take it out with a clean, dry spoon — moisture and crumbs are what shorten a jar's life.
Can I make a smaller batch?
Yes — the method scales down to a few scallops and a small pan. Make what a month of cooking will use; freshness of aroma is the point of making it yourself.
Is XO too strong for delicate seafood?
As a sauce, it can be; as a seasoning, no. Use the infused oil and a few shreds rather than a spoonful of the whole mixture, and delicate things — hotate, uni, steamed fish — take it beautifully.
