XO White Miso Mayonnaise
XO sauce?!?! What is this and is it even a word? XO sauce, which originates from Hong Kong and is found in many different Cantonese style dishes. It’s made with dried scallops (sometimes dried shrimp, abalone or fish), Jinhua ham (Chinese style ham similar to prosciutto), dried red chilies, fried garlic—and sometimes onions—in oil. The intense flavors of these ingredients infuse together, laying down foundational seafood richness with a mild heat and a good dose of umami. Mixing this sauce into a fatty sauce, such as a mayonnaise base sauce makes a lot of sense, as this is like clarified butter with crab | lobster | prawns, its a slice of heaven. Instead of using just simple store-bought mayo, I suggest using my umami-rich White Miso Malt Vinegar Mayonnaise and blending XO sauce into that recipe. The hard part now is what ‘not’ to use this condiment on… XO White Miso Mayonnaise was My first thought in designing a recipe to mix beer poached prawns into, that has been cooled and served in a steamed boa bun, with Thai pickled carrots and cucumbers. It’s as if a lobster roll met a banh mi sandwich is a dark alleyway, this sandwich would have crunch, texture, acid, umami, sweet, savory, a touch of spice, decadent and a flavor to be remembered.
Now that I have played with this flavor profile, I can say, this XO sauce would be great in making a lobster roll, crab cakes to crab salad, bay shrimp salad stuffed into deviled eggs, added to fried rice made with prawns or other seafood, to a tuna salad sandwich ‘on crack’ or as a spread on a fried fish sandwich… Give it a try. Let me know what you do with it… In and out of the kitchen.
Makes: 1 pint of XO White Miso Mayonnaise
- 1 each egg, extra large, whole
- 1 each egg, extra large, yolk
- 2 tablespoon miso, white
- 1 tablespoon vinegar, malt
- 1 teaspoon salt, kosher
- 1 each garlic, clove, peeled
-
2 tablespoon
XO Sauce Available here: XO Sauce
- 1/2 cup oil, olive
- 1/2 cup oil, vegetable
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the eggs, white miso (or other miso), malt vinegar, salt, garlic, and XO sauce. Seal with the lid and pulse several times until all the ingredients are puréed together. The inside of the bowl might need to be scraped down with a rubber spatula, depending on the size of your food processor.
- Once all the Base Ingredients are incorporated, measure out the two oils into a liquid measuring cup. I use a blend of the two oils to create a more balanced flavor. If you use all olive oil, the resulting mayonnaise will be strong in olive oil flavor and have a harder hue of yellow. Turn the food processor on and slowly add the oil, starting with just a few drops at a time. After a tablespoon, you can add the oil a little faster (a drizzle), but never pouring the oil in. This will slowly incorporate the oil into the egg yolks, making a fluffy/pillowy sauce vs a broken sauce (were the oil looks like rain drips with splotches of egg yolk swimming in it.
- Taste the XO White Miso Mayonnaise; it should be balanced with enough acid to cut part of the richness (as the sauce is rich), with a wonderful pop of umami with a distinctive mayo undertone, going into a rich seafood succulence. Transfer the finished mayo to a 16 ounce Mason jar and seal. Place into the refrigerator and this sauce will last for 1 month (if it lasts that long).
- In the pitcher of a blender, add the eggs, white miso (or another miso style), malt vinegar, salt, garlic, and XO sauce. Seal with the lid and pulse several times until all the ingredients are puréed together. The inside of the pitcher might need to be scraped down with a rubber spatula, depending on the size/brand of your blender.
- Once all the Base Ingredients are incorporated, measure out the two oils into a liquid measuring cup. I use a blend of the two oils to create a more balanced flavor. If you use all olive oil, the resulting mayonnaise will be strong in olive oil flavor and have a harder hue of yellow. Turn the blender on to a low speed and slowly add the oil, starting with just a few drops at a time. After a tablespoon, you can add the oil a little faster (a drizzle), but never pouring the oil in. This will slowly incorporate the oil into the egg yolks, making a fluffy/pillowy sauce vs a broken sauce (where the oil looks like rain drips with splotches of egg yolk swimming in it.
- In a medium-sized metal bowl, add the eggs, white miso (or another miso style), malt vinegar, salt, garlic, and XO sauce. Whisk to create a paste-like consistency.
- There are a few different approaches to make adding the oil while whisking the bowl, a critical technique in initializing the emulsification. The "I wish I had a third hand," thought rolls through your mind... To help stabilize the bowl, take a clean dish towel and unfold it to a large rectangle. Take the opposite corners, one in both hands, and flip it over to spin the towel into a rope. tie the two ends together loosely to make a ring. Set it on the workspace and place your bowl in the center. This will stabilize the bowl from rocking.
- Another trick is to whisk only the bottom of the bowl. The more pressure on the side of the bowl will cause the bowl to rock, making it harder to get clean whisks through the mixture, when more oil can pool (if pouring the oil to fast).
- The last trick is to get another person (family member, friend, roommate, significant other) to hold the bowl.
- Measure out the two oils and have them ready. Whisking the egg mixture, slowly, in a very fine stream, add the oil to the center of the bowl, Keep whisking as fast as you can, watching the egg mixture dissolve the oil into itself. The mixture will start to thicken the last 1/4 cup of oil. Extra-large egg yolks can emulsify up to 1/2 cup of oil, per yolk. This is also when the mayonnaise will be the right consistency. The mayonnaise is done when the whisk leaves a trail of where the whisk was, like a thick custard. Using a spatula, transfer the finished mayo to a pint Mason jar (or other sealable containers with a 1 1/2 cup size) and seal with a lid. The mayo will thicken slightly more, once refrigerated.
- If the mayonnaise breaks (broken sauce), don't throw it away and start over. Simply pour the contents of the food processor bowl into a measuring pitcher. Add a whole egg to the bowl and turn on the blade. Slowly re-add the ingredients from the pitcher and the emulsification will restart.
Try using this recipe in:
Lobster Roll
Prawn Roll
Asian Style Potato Salad
Tuna Fish Salad
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