Recipe for the weekend

Shrimp Lo Mein with XO Sauce 🌞

Happy Friday. Today, I’m sharing a recipe for shrimp lo mein that I made earlier in the week. It was a huge hit, and I’m sure you’ll love it too.

The lo mein sauce strays from more common lo mein flavors by incorporating XO sauce. I have a few recipes using XO sauce, including these Lobster Noodles and these XO Noodles with Pork. It’s a condiment that I strongly encourage you to keep in your refrigerator! It has a super luxe flavor profile that works well with noodles, seafood, meat, or rice dishes.

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If you didn’t read my previous posts about XO sauce, I’ll give you a debrief on it below:

• The sauce was developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong.

• The name XO Sauce comes from XO (extra-old) Cognac, though the sauce contains no cognac at all. XO Cognac–a popular liquor in Hong Kong–shortened to just XO, was used to denote luxury and prestige, particularly in reference to the expensive ingredients used to make XO sauce.

• It’s made from chopped, dried seafood–scallops, shrimp, and fish–as well as chilies, onions, and garlic. 

• Even though scallops, fish, and shrimp are the base of this sauce, you need not limit yourself to using this with fish or seafood dishes. It pairs perfectly with chicken, beef, tofu, or pork, like this recipe!

• If you can’t find XO sauce from your local grocer, you can find it online.

Don’t let me tell you what to do, but this is just one of those condiments that you must keep in your refrigerator at all times. It adds a great umami punch to seafood dishes, soup, noodles and rice, or meat (particularly pork and chicken).

Anyway, I’m sure you’re ready to start cooking! The recipe is below, but you can find nutritional information and adjust the servings on my website by clicking the button below.

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Shrimp Lo Mein with XO Sauce

Servings: 4 | Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• ⅓ cup light soy sauce

• ½ cup water

• 2 teaspoons XO sauce

• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• ½ teaspoon cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce

• 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce

Lo mein:

• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

• ½ teaspoon cornstarch

• 16 ounces frozen or dry lo mein noodles

• Neutral oil, for frying

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into thin wedges

• 2 bell peppers, trimmed, seeded, and sliced into thin strips

• 8 ounces green beans, roughly chopped

• 2 ribs celery, trimmed and thinly sliced on a bias

• 5 scallions, minced; white and green parts kept separate

• Sesame seeds, optional, for serving

• Salt, to taste

Instructions:

Prepare the sauce:

• Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine until smooth. Set aside.

Prepare the shrimp:

• Place the shrimp in a bowl and toss to coat with ½ teaspoon cornstarch. Pour 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the shrimp and toss to combine. Transfer to the refrigerator until needed.

Cook the noodles:

• Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Fry the vegetables:

• Heat 2 tablespoons neutral oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Once very hot and shimmering, add the vegetables and the white parts of the scallion, cooking in batches if needed. Cook until beginning to char and soften for 3–5 minutes total. Season very lightly with salt. Transfer back to the bowl.

Cook the shrimp:

• Keep the heat on the wok on high and add the shrimp. Cook without moving for 1–2 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 1–2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of vegetables. The shrimp do NOT need to be cooked through.

Finish the lo mein:

• Pour the remaining sauce into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3–5 minutes, stirring regularly, until thickened. Continue whisking until any small lumps of cornstarch are completely worked out, and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Taste and season.

• Add the lo mein noodles to the sauce and toss to combine. Add the cooked vegetables and shrimp and cook, stirring to incorporate, until the shrimp are pink and opaque and the noodles are well-sauced. Turn off the heat.

To serve:

• Transfer the shrimp lo mein to a large serving platter and garnish with minced scallion greens. Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. Enjoy!

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Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend with lots of tasty food. :)

-kylie