Supernormal's XO king prawn with XO sauce is Melbourne's most-ordered restaurant dish of the past decade: a single fat prawn in a roasted dried seafood sauce that has been on every iteration of the menu since 2014.

Andrew McConnell opened Supernormal on Flinders Lane in 2014 as a pan-Asian counterpoint to his European Cumulus Inc. across the street, and the XO king prawn appeared on the opening menu. The XO sauce, named after the cognac classification because the original Hong Kong inventors thought of it as the most prestigious sauce, is a Hong Kong creation of the 1980s built around dried scallop, dried shrimp, Yunnan ham, chilli and shallot. The Supernormal version intensifies the dried-seafood reduction and balances it with sweet prawn, charred head, and rice to mop up the sauce. The dish was Eater Melbourne's number-one most-ordered restaurant dish of the late 2010s.

Where to eat XO King Prawn at Supernormal in Melbourne

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Make it at home

Serves 41 hr 30 minAdvanced

Ingredients

  • For the XO sauce: 50g dried scallops (conpoy)
  • 30g dried shrimp
  • 100g Yunnan or jamon ham
  • 8 dried Tianjin chillies
  • 6 shallots
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 4cm ginger
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 500ml peanut oil
  • 4 large king prawns (about 80g each), head-on, deveined with the shell split down the back
  • 1 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 spring onion, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 200g cooked jasmine rice to serve

Method

  1. Soak the dried scallops and dried shrimp in warm water for 30 minutes, drain. Shred the scallops by hand into fine threads, chop the shrimp finely.
  2. Pulse the chillies, shallots, garlic, ginger and ham separately in a food processor to fine mince.
  3. Heat 500ml peanut oil in a wide wok to 150 degrees Celsius. Fry the shallot mince 4 minutes until pale gold, lift out with a slotted spoon. Repeat in turn with the garlic, ginger, chilli, then the ham, scallop and shrimp, frying each to fragrant golden brown.
  4. Return all the fried elements to the pot with the oil, add sugar and fish sauce, simmer 8 to 10 minutes very gently until oil separates and the solids settle. Cool and store in a jar.
  5. For the prawns: heat the wok screaming hot, add 1 tbsp oil and lay the prawns flat. Sear 90 seconds per side until charred and just opaque.
  6. Add 3 heaped tbsp of XO sauce to the wok, shaoxing and light soy. Toss for 30 seconds until everything glazes.
  7. Off heat, finish with sliced spring onion and a drizzle of sesame oil.
  8. Plate the prawns over warm jasmine rice with extra XO spooned on the side.

Editor tip. Make the XO sauce in advance; it keeps refrigerated for 3 weeks and improves after the first day. Cook each element separately in the same oil for clarity of flavour, then unite at the end.

Common allergens: Shellfish, Fish, Soy, Gluten.