What Makes XO Sauce The 'Caviar Of The East'

If you’ve visited any fine dining Chinese restaurant, you might have come across the XO sauce on their menu. While the Schezuan sauce and the Kung Pao sauce might be a popular choice that diners across India make, the lesser tried out XO sauce, is just as delicious and could be a much welcome change of taste. Before we delve deeper in to what the XO sauce is, it is necessary to draw the difference between the two ways in which Chinese sauces are used in cooking. For those who are used to cooking Chinese delicacies, it won’t come as news that, Chinese sauces are used both as a condiment and also a gravy. Depending on how intense the sauce is, it’s either diluted with milk or water to make a gravy, or simply used as much as a pinch, when used in the form of a condiment. In its most pure and concentrated form, these Chinese sauces are used as a condiment or a flavour enhancer. 

The saying, ‘a little goes a long way,’ couldn’t be truer when it comes to using the flavourful XO sauce. In order to understand why this sauce is referred to as the 'Caviar of the East' and what you’re in for if you opt for cooking with this sauce, it’s important to first, understand it’s taste. 

The XO sauce can be used as a table condiment or in cooking to enhance the flavour of fish, meats, vegetables, and otherwise bland foods such as tofu or noodles. The XO sauce is ideal for cooking as a gravy after being diluted by certain agents. It can also be served as a dipping sauce or be spread on a toast or cracker for flavoursome snack.