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Abalone Soup ~ CNY 2011



Hi, I'm back!  Made this Abalone Soup for the reunion dinner and the soup was really delicious.  Abalone is 'Bao Yu' in Cantonese, 'Bao' sounds like 'guaranteed' and 'Yu' sounds like 'excess' so put together it sounds like 'guaranteed excess'!   Now, that's something to look forward to, to usher in the New Year!  I used fresh abalone and it was my first experience handling this and thought that it would be a daunting task.  Surprisinlgy it was not to be and removing them from their shells and cleaning them weren't that difficult after all.



I used these three ingredients for the soup .... Wai San, Gojiberries and Tung Choong Choe and these 3 strands of 'roots' cost me a whopping 20 ringgit!


Pried open the shell and here's the abalone intact with the guts, head, etc.  I used a spatula  to slide along the edge and the abalone slid out.  The abalone attached to its shell with a solid round muscle at the bottom and there's a slimy, bluish sort of pouch.  Cut  off  all the guts and  used a toothbrush to scrub off the black film along the sides of the abalone under running water.  Cut off and discard the curled edges and pointed end.


A 'clean shaven' abalone ready to be cooked.  Scrub off the dirt from the shell, air dry it for decorative purpose if you wish. 





Chicken soup ........now where's the abalone?   Hold on .........


The star of the show ...... I dished out the abalone, made some sauce and served them on a bed of young choy sam, 'choy far'.  So this has been transformed into a '2 in 1' dish with a nutritious and tasty soup, seafood and veggie.

Ingredients
  • 420 gm pork ribs
  • 600 gm free range chicken
  • 6 fresh abalone
  • 3 strands Tong Choong Choe
  • 10 gm Gojiberries
  • 10 gm Wai San
  • 4 cups water
  • Salt to taste
Preparation
  1. Boil some water in a pot and blanch the cleaned and washed abalone for a while, dish out.
  2. Bring to the boil another round of water and blanch the pork ribs, dish out and drain.
  3. Prepare a double boiler and add in 4 cups of water of hot water in the pot.
  4. Add in the abalone, pork ribs, chicken and double boil for 3.1/4 hours under medium low heat.
  5. Add in the tong choong choe, gojiberries, wai san and double boil for another 45 mins.
  6. Add salt to taste.
  7. Dish out the abalone and set aside.
  8. Serve the soup, hot.
Sauce for the abalone
  • 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1.1/2 cups water
  • 1/4  tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
  • 2 tsp cornflour + 1 Tbsp water to thicken
In a pot of boiling water, add in 2 tsp oil and a pinch of salt, blanch the choy far, remove, drain and place on a serving plate.
Mix the oyster sauce, sugar and water.  Bring to the boil, add in the thickening.  Test for taste, switch off fire and add in the wine.
Arrange the abalone on the bed of vegetables.
Pour the sauce over and serve.


Comments

  1. Very appetising. Hope you hada great time.

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  2. Glad u are back!miss you so much;) your food I mean ;p where u bought the fresh abalone from ? And how much did u pay for them. Next meet up tell me about it ;)

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  3. I can't remember when was the last time I had abalone. I have not even seen the canned ones being sold here. Your herbal chicken soup and abalone dish looks so mouth watering!

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  4. A great idea! One ingredient, two dishes!

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  5. Cheah, wishing you & your family a very happy chinese new year.
    祝你一家 :新年快乐 心想事成 身体健康!恭喜恭喜!
    Btw, I'm coming over for dinner tonight. Don't mind, right! haha... Have a great day.
    Best wishes,
    Kristy

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  6. Hi, kong hei fatt choy. Your this abalone dish looks sinfully delicious. Can practically get the lovely aroma of the spices.
    Outstanding!

    Have a wonderful Rabbit year.
    Lee.

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  7. Wow, fresh abalone!

    I only can canned abalone this year and I added them as toppings to my chicken congee.

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  8. Ha ha ha, two for the price of one. I like! And it sounds very tasty too. Wishing you and your family a very prosperous and happy year of the rabbit.

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  9. Shirley
    Yes, having a great time but it's super hot these days!

    Elin
    Ok will do!

    Biren
    I enjoyed the soup very much, every drop of it!

    Angie
    Yes, I always look out for such dishes, better still if it's 3 in 1!

    Kristy
    I can see that you are having a fantastic time with your folks! You enjoy your day too, dear.

    Uncle Lee
    Gong xi fa cai to you and your family too!

    tigerfish
    Less work with canned ones and they're tasty too!

    Shaz
    Happy New Year to you and your family too!

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  10. Penny
    At my age, must indulge, once in a while!

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  11. Cheah, your soup and abalone look so good! I've tried to make fresh abalone once only....because the abalone was very toughed after cooking for few hours. Next time I must follow your recipe, thanks!
    恭喜发财!

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  12. You love your recipe. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Well-done! looks good. I have noted your recipe and is keen to try. I cook alot and am always looking for fresh idea. Will be using canned abalone so will have to modify some steps. thanks fr marie

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  14. This is how my mother made abalone soup and I make it that way today. De-eee-lish!

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  15. Just one question. What do you do with the chicken (from the ingredient list)?
    Hard to get cordyceps in Australia...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eat the chicken from the soup. You can omit cordyceps if not available. Add some red dates, seeded, or some ginseng roots.

      Delete

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