RECIPE: FRIED NOODLES WITH SEAFOOD IN XO SAUCE

This is one of Mr G and my favourite. If you can find hand made noodles, it makes the dish so much nicer. Also, don’t skimp on your XO sauce. This is one instance where the dearer the XO sauce, the tastier the meal.

FYI, XO sauce is a spicy seafood sauce. It was developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine. The sauce is made of roughly chopped dried seafood, such as scallop, dried fish and shrimp that has been cooked with chilli, onion, garlic and oil. Once a prestigious concoction confined to gourmet seafood restaurants, XO sauce can now be found as a pre-made product on grocery stores shelves, produced by Asian food companies like LEE KUM KEE. (Source: WIKIPEDIA)

Ingredients
500g fresh hand made noodles or egg noodles

2-3 cloves - garlic minced
200g assorted seafood – prawns, squid, firm fish pieces etc - marinated in 1 tbsp of light soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil

1-2 tbsp Chinese light soy sauce
2-3 tbsp Lee Kum Kee XO sauce
1-2 handfuls of bean sprouts - optional
3 spring onion – cut into 3 cm lengths2 tbsp veg oil

Method
If using egg noodles, wash the noodles in water several times to get rid of excess oil. Then, if using either noodles, quickly blanch the noodles in boiling water. Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.

Heat oil, sauté garlic and seafood until nearly cooked. Add egg noodles, followed by XO sauce and soy sauce, stir-fry until the noodles are heated through. Add bean sprouts if using. Moisten with some chicken stock or water if required. You may need to adjust the sauces according to your taste. Stir through spring onions and serve whilst hot.

NB: I like eating this with 'dried chilli flakes in oil'. The ‘Hub Asian Supermarket’ in Canberra (Tuggeranong and Gungahlin) sells jars made by the owner and instead of vegetable oil, it is made with olive oil. Delicious.