XO Scallops
The Hong Kong banquet wok's luxury register and the XO sauce's own finest vehicle: the scallops' sweet discs seared to the golden crust's caramel and folded through the XO's dried-scallop-and-bacon perfume — the dish where the ocean's sweetness meets its own concentrated essence, the luxury sauce on the luxury shellfish, the Cantonese seafood wok at its most indulgent. The technique is the scallop's dry sear and the XO's brief toss, the two expensive arguments handled at the discipline their price demands.
Quantities live in the recipe card.
The scallops
- the wet-pack's brine the sear's own enemy), patted bone-dry
- the whisper's toss
The XO stir-fry
- or the house-made's own dividend)
- the sauce's barest set
- the green's counterpoint
- The scallop's dry law and its clock: the dry-pack scallops (the untreated shellfish's own moisture) patted dry and seasoned at the last moment — and the scallop's whole cooking a mercy of 90 seconds a side, the mise en place's severity the expensive ingredient's own respect. The wet-pack's soak (the phosphate's brine) weeps white at the sear and refuses the crust.
- The XO's jar and its brief argument: the XO sauce measured and ready — the sauce's own dried scallop, ham and chilli's concentrated perfume needs only the wok's warmth to open, and the long-cooked XO the fried sauce's bitter end.
Doneness & Quality Checkpoints
- The scallop: the dry-pack law, the bone-dry pat, the 90-plus-60's golden faces.
- The sauce: the XO's 20-second bloom, the barest set, the amber's flecked gloss.
- The reunion: the 30-second coat's warmth, never the simmer's second cooking.
Finish & Plate
The scallops fanned to the platter with the XO's glossy scatter and the green's fresh counterpoint — the banquet's own luxury at the family table's scale, and the rice's bowl the sauce's honest companion.
XO Scallops
Prep: 20 minutes · Cook: 6 minutes · Total: About 30 minutes · Serves 2–3
Ingredients
The scallops
- 500 g large sea scallops (the sashimi-grade's dry-pack — the wet-pack's brine the sear's own enemy), patted bone-dry
- ½ tsp (2 g) salt, ¼ tsp (1 g) white pepper, 1 tsp (5 g) cornstarch — the whisper's toss
The XO stir-fry
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil
- 3 slices ginger; 2 cloves garlic, sliced; 2 spring onions, whites and greens separated
- 2 tbsp (30 g) XO sauce (the jar's honest luxury — or the house-made's own dividend)
- 100 ml chicken stock, 1 tsp (5 ml) light soy, ½ tsp (2 g) sugar
- ½ tsp (2 g) cornstarch in 1 tbsp (15 ml) water — the sauce's barest set
- 100 g sugar snap peas or the gai lan's hearts, blanched 60 seconds — the green's counterpoint
Instructions
- The scallops' sear — 90 seconds a side at the fierce flame. The oil at the smoking wok's full heat (the 230 °C threshold, the wok-hei doctrine's own floor), and the scallops spread to the single undisturbed layer — 90 seconds to the first side's golden crust (the sear's caramel at the shellfish's sugars), the single flip, and 60 seconds more to the second face's gold — the scallops pulled at the centre's translucent whisper to the waiting plate. Checkpoint — each seared disc wears the two golden faces and the centre's just-opaque tenderness at the touch's spring — the over-cooked scallop's rubber the 30-seconds-past argument, and the pull at the whisper the dish's whole clock.
- The XO's brief bloom and the sauce's lightest body — 90 seconds. The ginger, garlic and spring onion whites through the wok's remaining oil for 30 seconds, the XO sauce mashed in for 20 seconds' perfume (the sauce's oils opening at the warmth), and the stock, soy and sugar to the instant boil — the blanched greens tossed through, the cornstarch's barest whisper to the sauce's lightest cling. Checkpoint — the sauce runs the XO's amber-flecked gloss with the dried scallop's shreds visible through the body — the lightest set (the spoon's film, never the gravy) the luxury argument's own frame.
- The scallops' return — the 30-second reunion. The seared scallops folded back through the XO's perfume for the final 30 seconds' toss (the coat's marriage, never the simmer — the scallop's second cooking the mere warmth), the spring onion greens and the pepper's finish. Checkpoint — the eating test: the scallop's sweet crust and the centre's buttery tenderness carrying the XO's deep, oceanic perfume — the dried scallop's concentrated sweetness meeting the fresh scallop's own — the green's snap the fresh counterpoint, and the whole dish's luxury held at the lightest touch.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Scallops wept, refused the crust | The wet-pack's brine, or the damp surface | The dry-pack's law; the bone-dry pat's discipline |
| Scallops rubbery at the centre | The clock past the opaque's whisper | The 90-60's pull; the 30-second return's warmth |
| XO's perfume lost, the sauce flat | The long-cooked XO's bitterness | The 20-second bloom; the sauce's last-moment addition |
Storage, Make-Ahead & Variations
- The dish serves the wok's moment — the scallop's clock and the XO's perfume same-minute arguments; the leftover's re-heat the rubber's apology refused. The blanched greens and the sauce's base hold 1 day for the scallop's on-demand sear. - The XO's canon runs the scallop's finest vehicle here and the noodles', the fried rice's and the shrimp's own registers — the same 2-tablespoon bloom's law throughout. The scallop's plainer cousins (the ginger-scallion's crab doctrine, #69's) carry the same sear's law at the sauce's other arguments. - The canon's seat: the Hong Kong luxury wok's master — the dry sear's crust and the XO's concentrated perfume — at the banquet table's indulgent first rank.