Sheet-Pan Salmon and Eggplant With XO Sauce

By Kay Chun

Updated September 2, 2021

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(289)
Comments
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XO sauce, a prized seafood condiment from Hong Kong, involves frying pricey dried shrimp and scallops with Chinese cured ham and aromatics until jammy and full of umami. This pantry-friendly version uses smoked mussels to replicate the seafood flavor without breaking the bank. The rich, sweet-salty sauce balances fatty salmon and silky eggplant, but the savory condiment has endless uses: Dollop it on scrambled eggs, fried rice, roasted veggies or noodles. Extra sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for one month.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 (4-ounce) can smoked mussels

  • 1 ½ pounds Japanese eggplant (5 to 6 medium), trimmed, halved lengthwise and then crosswise

  • ¾ cup safflower or canola oil

  • Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) and black pepper

  • 1 shallot, finely chopped (about ¼ cup)

  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic

  • 1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger

  • 1 ounce sliced prosciutto (about 2 slices), finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

  • 1 green Thai chile, seeded and minced

  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce

  • 4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets

  • Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish

  • Steamed rice, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

42 grams carbs; 115 milligrams cholesterol; 956 calories; 33 grams monounsaturated fat; 19 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 66 grams fat; 8 grams fiber; 1313 milligrams sodium; 49 grams protein; 15 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Drain the mussels and reserve the liquid. (You should have about 2 tablespoons of liquid.) Finely chop half of the mussels, reserving the rest for another future use. Set aside chopped mussels and liquid.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, combine eggplant and 2 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat, arrange skin side down and roast until tender, 15 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine ½ cup oil and the shallot over medium; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallot is softened, 3 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Add garlic and ginger to the shallot oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until just light golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add prosciutto and cook, stirring, until well combined, 1 minute. Add Shaoxing wine and cook for 1 minute.

  5. Step 5

    Stir in chopped mussels and reserved mussel liquid, sugar, chile, soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish sauce, and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. You should have about 1 cup of sauce.

  6. Step 6

    Spread ¼ cup of the XO sauce on top of the eggplant and move to one side of the baking sheet. Rub salmon with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt. Arrange salmon next to eggplant, skin side down, and roast until it’s cooked through and the eggplant is golden, about 10 minutes longer.

  7. Step 7

    Divide salmon and eggplant among plates. Spoon some XO sauce over salmon, garnish with scallions and serve alongside steamed rice, if you like.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
289 user ratings
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Comments

To use prepared or purchased XO Sauce

* only ¼ cup (125ml) oil required * OMIT: shallots, mussels, garlic, ginger, prosciutto, sugar, chile, soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce * DELETE: Steps 1, 3, 4 and 5

Dan

Use 1/4 cup purchased XO sauce in step 6 and a drizzle in step 7.

Stephanie

This is freaking great. I only made the XO sauce. I used half smoked oysters, half smoked scallops. Served it over chicken katsu and noodles. It’s perfect. This sauce would rule in guys grocery games, lol.

sasmatas

Absolutely delicious! Used bacon instead of prosciutto and more soy sauce and sugar instead of oyster sauce, because my pantry lacked those items. Roasted green beans along with the eggplant because I love that combination. Also threw some small, seeded, sliced longwise fresh hot chilies and a couple of old scallions on the sheet pan. Wish I had doubled the sauce recipe to use all the oysters. That said, I plan to make a celery and salted lemon cocktail from bon appétit magazine to use the remaining oysters as garnish. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/celery-and-salted-lemon-cocktail

Charles Pascual

Terrific dish - easy to make (I used store-bought XO sauce). This is a keeper.

Barbara

Umami bomb! I made it with an entire 3oz tin of smoked baby clams, and no prosciutto. I used less than half the oil, and didn’t miss it. I used very small globe eggplants, cut in wedges so they were similar size to Asian eggplant, not salted or drained. I baked the eggplant separately until soft, then brushed w the sauce and baked another 10 min while the salmon baked in its own dish. Perfect! I served steamed brown rice and plain steamed broccolini on the side, for a refreshing contrast.

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