Lee’s restaurateur granddad happened upon it one day while boiling up oysters. He forgot the pot and on return, discovered a rich, gooey umami sauce that became the meaty condiment so popular globally in Chinese cuisine.
My favourites included the premium XO sauce, a bird’s nest of highly pungent and delicious scallop shreds, which was steamed with a Scottish scallop on mung bean vermicelli.
Being a chilli oil aficionado, I loved the shrimpy Chiu Chow chilli oil which I used as a dipping sauce for the dim sum. Dim sum, I didn’t realise, means “touch heart” and the excellent prawn roll with a crispy tofu skin made a good attempt.
Linda, vice president of the company who seemed completely uncorporate and sweet, told me how I could make dreaded broccoli more appealing by flash frying it in oyster sauce with garlic. What other unpalatable vegetables I wonder can I do this with? I reckon most yukky situations are remedied with a dose of good chilli oil.