Home-made Pipis cooked in wok XO sauce with fresh chillies

 Ingredients

• 150ml water
• 1 kg Pipis
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 3 red shallots, quartered
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 40g ginger, peeled and thinly sliced lengthways
• 1 tablespoon salted black beans (see note)
• 2 tablespoons XO sauce
• 50ml Shaoxing wine
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 100ml chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 long red chillies, halved lengthways
• 3 green onions, cut into 5cm lengths
• to serve: sprigs of coriander

Method

1. Heat a wok over high heat, add 150ml of water and bring to the boil. Add Pipis, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, removing pipis as they open. Drain and reserve.
2. Heat oil in wok over high heat, add shallots, garlic and ginger and sauce for 2 minutes then add black beans, XO and Shaoxing and simmer for 2 minutes. Add soy, chicken stock and sugar and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add Pipis, chilli and green onion, toss to combine and serve garnished with coriander.

Review by Terese Hanna The Chilli Chick

Home-made Pipis in wok XO sauce with fresh chillies – HOLY MOLY! I know that in a lot of my reviews I call my dishes heavenly, and that is because they are … but after trying this dish, this is what should be called heavenly. I don’t think I have ever experienced a dinner like this and there no word is good enough to describe to the experience; Amazing, Tasty, Perfection! All of these words are just racing through my mind as I continue to write this, while I continue to crave this fabulous dish.

It was my Dads birthday a few days ago so my mum decided to experiment and make a new and exciting dish, and it definitely was. Just the smell of this dish as I entered my house made me keen for what was coming. We all sat around the table as a family while mum served the food, and this was the dish I attacked first since it was the only one my eyes were following.

After my taste of these Pipis cooked in wok XO sauce with fresh chillies, I immediately put another serving in my plate just to make sure that I didn’t miss out on seconds when I finished. So, firstly, Pipis are just delicious in general, but it’s the AMAZING sauce and fresh chillies that caught my attention, it was just the perfect match.  The balance between all the flavours left me drooling for more, it was just too exciting.

Now, let’s talk about the chilli side to this dish. It was hot, but it was perfect. The heat just added that extra kick to this dish, allowing for the flavours to be so special. If you have read my previous reviews, you may know about my 16 year old sister, the one who seriously cannot handle chilli. Well sometimes she still decides to try things, knowing that they are chilli, just in the hope that she can handle it … well she can’t, so here is another story about her. She also decided to try my mum’s Home-made Pipis cooked in wok XO sauce with fresh chillies and I am sure you can imagine already how this story is going to end. After her first bite, yet again, her face turned red while her eyes began to tear up, and off she went, running to the fridge for some water. I do hope that maybe one day, she will eventually learn her lesson. For me, I rate the chilli on this dish a 6/10.

Verdict

Overall, Home-made Pipis cooked in wok XO sauce with fresh chillies is a dish definitely worth trying. For me, this has now become the BEST and most PERFECT dish that I ever tasted. The Pipis were cooked to exact perfection, drenched in a perfectly balanced sauce with those fresh chillies, allowing this dish to plate up in faultless. If you love chilli and you love pipis, then this is the dish for you. I rate this dish a heavy 10/10.