hwoo.lee•
March 2, 2026
David Chang once called it the greatest dish on the planet, XO Pipis are one of the greatest Cantonese-Australian culinary creations. If you ever visit Sydney, there is a restaurant called XOPP, and yes it's an entire establishment dedicated to just selling XO Pipis. Feb 10th 2025, I first tried this dish at a restaurant in Melbourne called Old Beijing - it was the first time I met Kathryn's parents, and I was nervously sucking on these clam shells while her older sister grilled me on my "intentions with their daughter". Anyway, what is a Pipi? Pipis are a type of small surf clam found locally to Australia. There is a North American counterpart that is similar called a 'Coquina' Clam - but I don't know the exact counter-part or substitution. You could definitely make this recipe with mussels or other types of clams, but it will be a slightly different experience. Lastly, what is XO sauce? XO is actually a misnomer. There isn't any XO Cognac in it, it was a marketing tactic to convey luxury like an XO Cognac. This cantonese condiment has a variety of premium ingredients in it - dried scallops, dried shrimp, jinhua ham, chillis, garlic, shallots, and more. it is readily available at asian grocery stores, but a homemade version is exponentially better in quality. the XO sauce I have is a secret recipe from Kathryn's mom - i do not have her permission to share the recipe yet unfortunately.
My method for making this is slightly adjusted for the home-cook - cooking with a wok is fast-paced and unreasonable in a home-kitchen.
Place a colander or a rack in a container, set the live pipis on top, and then submerge in your salt water.
the reason to set on a colander or rack is so that as the clams spit out sand, they fall below and don't get re-circulated
Purge sand for as long as possible, an hour will suffice. Do not put in the fridge, ideally slightly colder than room temp.
Submerge dry rice vermicelli in very warm water for about 20 minutes, until the noodles are cooked. Strain in a colander
Optionally - lightly season with salt, neutral oil, and a little corn starch on the noodles once drained
this is a 'tip' from Kathryn's Mom (she used to own a Cantonese restaurant in Australia)
In a wok or sauté pan, add neutral oil over med-high heat and add the drained, cooked vermicelli noodles. gently press down to form a pancake
add neutral oil and flip as needed until both sides are crispy. this vermicelli pancake will serve as a "plate" that soaks in all of the XO gravy. Place the vermicelli pancake on a warm plate.
In a wok over med-high heat, add neutral oil, sauté aromatics, for 30 seconds, and then add all of the pipis.
Add a small ladle of warmed chicken stock, then immediately place a lid to allow to steam
You may gently shake the wok to agitate the clams, but as soon as they start to open, they are ready. Remove the lid, remove all of the pipis, and save the remaining pipi juices as well.
Wipe down your wok/sauté pan, and start fresh with a dry hot wok. Add 2 tbsp of neutral oil or XO Sauce Oil over med-high heat, then add garlic, shallots, and scallion whites and saute aromatics for 30 seconds
The aromatics should smell fragrant, then add the pipi juices and a ladle of chicken stock, and season with soy sauce, salt, sugar, and MSG. This should be a soup consistency, and it should adequately seasoned.
I sometimes omit salt and MSG depending on the XO Sauce's saltiness and savoriness
Make sure your cornstarch slurry is ready beforehand - then add into the wok and stir to make an "XO gravy". adjust seasoning as you would, and then add all the pipis back in.
Make sure to coat pipis thoroughly with the "XO gravy", and then immediately plate on top of the vermicelli pancake. Garnish with cilantro, scallion greens, and chili (optional).
to be honest, this dish is about the "gravy". sorta like how they say Raising Cane's is a "sauce company" - the true highlight is sucking the "gravy" off of each shell.
Add 'Australian' as a cuisine category please
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