XO sauce is a Hong Kong chilli condiment that emerged in the 1980s. It is commonly made by frying ingredients such as dried scallops, Jinhua ham, dried shrimp, shrimp roe and chillies; it is served as a starter or dip and used in cooking.[1]
Name
XO abbreviates “Extra Old,” a cognac ageing grade. The sauce borrowed the name to convey a premium status.[1]
Accounts of its origin
Several accounts attribute the sauce's creation to different people and restaurants. One credits Han Peizhu, who made a chilli sauce for guests in the 1970s. Another credits chef Wong Wing-chee, who created a sauce at Lei Garden in 1981; the restaurant owner's wife named it XO sauce. A third says that Spring Moon, the Chinese restaurant at The Peninsula Hong Kong, offered a scallop and chilli oil called XO sauce when it opened.[1]