XO酱 草虾 Shrimp with XO Sauce

Pinyin: XO jiàng cǎo xiā

Shrimp are just damn delicious so they frequently make their way to my dinner table. I’ll give this dish bonus points for looking great as well as tasting great. I’ve never been huge on presentation one way or the other, growing up eating home cooked American meals of potatoes and canned vegetables there wasn’t a lot in the presentation department, but I’m learning to appreciate it.

The shrimp have been sliced along the bottom from head to tail and they’ve been cooked in XO sauce. Then stacked nicely on this dish with just a few sprigs of onion added on top for some color contrast. XO sauce has a unique flavor that is sweet and salty and in my opinions suits an American palate quite well.

It was a bit strange that the shrimp were sliced along the bottom. It allowed the juices to sink in which was nice, but it was slightly different getting the shells off, more difficult but not impossible. This dish was a definite win and I won’t hesitate ordering and then devouring it.