Pipis with XO noodles
Prep 40 mins
Cook 1 hr 15 mins
Serves 4
Difficulty 4
This dish has been a favourite of mine since my early days of cooking in Sydney when my head chef used to take us for late night supper at Golden Century restaurant, since then it’s been an obsession of mine and now it's amazing to be able to serve this dish at Stanley to our customers and see the excitement on their face when it hits the table. The XO sauce makes double what you need but extra keeps well if covered with oil for another use.
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp table salt
50g oyster sauce, preferably Megachef brand
15g cornstarch mixed with 20ml cold water
400g pipis
250g fresh thin egg noodles
120ml canola oil
Thinly sliced green shallots, to serve, white part reserved for stock
XO SAUCE
50g dried scallop (conpoy), soaked in cold water
25g dried shrimp, soaked in cold water overnight, finely chopped (see note)
150 ml canola oil
125g large red chilies halved, deseeded and finely chopped (see note)
30g garlic (½ head), finely chopped (peel reserved for stock)
25g smoked speck, diced (offcuts reserved for stock)
20g ginger, finely chopped (peel reserved for stock)
2 tsp black beans (optional), finely chopped
125 ml Shaoxing cooking wine
1. For XO sauce, steam scallops in a small bowl or on a plate in a steamer over a saucepan of boiling water until tender (15 minutes). Cool scallops, then shred them into fine strands and set aside. Heat oil in a saucepan over low heat then add ingredients together. Cook on a low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until a deep red color and very aromatic (45 minutes -1 hour). Set half aside and reserve remaining for another use.
2. Meanwhile, boil 2 litres water with aromatics, shallot and speck offcuts and set aside to infuse until required, then strain.
3. Cook noodles in a large saucepan of boiling water until the noodles are just cooked (1 minute). Strain and set aside.
4. Heat quarter of the oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add half the noodles and spread until plate size. Cook until crisp (1-2 minutes), then flip the noodles and cook on the other side until golden brown, then continue to turn until every surface is golden brown and crisp though still soft on the inside (4 minutes; if the noodles start to stick at any point, add more canola oil to help loosen and avoid burning). Set aside and keep warm on absorbent paper.
6. Add 2 cups stock to the reserved XO base in a wok and bring to the boil. Add sugar, salt and oyster sauce and simmer to combine, then add corn starch slurry, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens and is a glossy consistency. Add pipis and cook until all the pipis open and soak up the sauce, stirring constantly (2-3 minutes). Add half the green shallot and stir to combine.
7. To serve, cut noodles into quarters and arrange on a serving platter. Spoon cooked pipis over the noodles piling up on top of each other with a generous amount of sauce. Sprinkle the remainder of the green shallot rings all over the dish.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
N O T E
You can also blend the prawns, chilli, garlic and ginger together in a food processor to finely chop easily.
Recipe by Louis Tikaram. Image by Eatable.
