Recipe: David Chang Called These XO Pippies the “Best Dish in the World”

When Sydney Cantonese institution Golden Century announced the closure of its original Chinatown restaurant in 2021, the tributes came in thick and fast. Many diners remembered one dish in particular – pippies in XO sauce, which American celebrity chef David Chang once called the “best dish in the world”, and were a staple of Golden Century’s enormous menu since 1989. 

Thankfully, those famous pippies would live on at Golden Century’s new location at Crown Sydney, and the Wong family’s Darling Square restaurant XOPP. It’s also relatively easy to recreate at home. The dish combines fresh, sweet bivalves – carefully removed from the heat just as they open – with pungent house-made XO sauce and a scattering of spring onions.

The hot tip from Golden Century’s master wok chefs to make sure you don’t overcook the pippies – two to three minutes in boiling water should be just long enough. Also, store-bought XO sauce is a fine substitute if you don’t want to make your own. It’s an umami-packed pantry essential that goes well with just about anything – from stir-fries to folded eggs and more.

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Golden Century’s XO sauce pippies

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 tbsp of peanut or vegetable oil
150g dried vermicelli noodles, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, then drained
1 tsp cornflour
1kg pippies
2 tbsp XO sauce
100ml chicken stock
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp of salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1 bunch of spring onions, green and white parts, sliced

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Lay the vermicelli evenly over the pan and fry until lightly browned. Flip and do the same for the other side. Remove to a large serving plate and keep warm.

Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water until smooth.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add 1 litre of water and the pippies, cover and bring to the boil. Remove the pippies as they open and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a wok over high heat, add the XO sauce and stir through quickly. Add the stock, sugar, salt and soy sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Add the pippies and cook for 1-2 minutes until the shells are fully open. Add the cornflour mixture and the spring onions and toss to combine.

Serve the pippies on top of the pan-fried vermicelli.