I’m sure many of you in Singapore would have eaten canned abalone before especially during Chinese New Year period when Chinese restaurants would serve yu sheng with it or at Chinese wedding banquets too. But have you tried whole abalones with shell on yet?
I hadn’t previously so when I came across this Abalone with Shell on Qoo10, I decided to buy one pack for my experimental cooking.
Even though the seller’s listing states that there would be 8 pieces of abalone in each 500g pack, I only received 7 in mine. I guess it depended on the final weight.
The abalones required a bit of work to clean them up but it wasn’t difficult to do so. Just have to use a spoon to somewhat scoop the whole abalone out of the shell and then use a pair of scissors to cut away the guts that’s underneath. Rinse the abalone and shells when done and they are ready to be cooked.
I decided that I would steam them to preserve their natural flavours and all it took was just 8 minutes to do so. They weren’t very tender but weren’t overly tough or chewy too. Turned out better than I expected. I would probably go for such abalones next time – not great to consume canned/processed abalone that contains preservatives and MSG.
Worth giving a try.
STEAMED ABALONE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS (serves 3-4)
- 500g whole abalones with shell on (approx. 7pcs)
- 7 slices ginger
- 1 bulb garlic, peeled & minced
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- spring onions as garnish
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp Shao Xing Hua Tiao wine
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put one slice ginger in each abalone shell and place the abalone on top.
- Transfer to a steaming dish and steam at high heat for about 8 minutes.
- While the abalone is steaming, heat oil in pan and fry the minced garlic till golden brown and crispy. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil.
- When the abalone is ready, drizzle the sauce over.
- Top with the crispy garlic and garnish with spring onions.