Frozen abalone recipe?

[lowviz]

Serious progress here...

My Asian grocery store got a bunch more abalone in recently. Same size, exactly same weight as above. Those abalones have to be farmed somewhere, they are all the same!

So, I have the luxury of practicing! OK, first off, I'll admit that I've discovered that I'm no expert on trimming them. Tried simmering until firm in lightly salted water. Interesting. Flavor is nice but really needs something. Worse yet, there still remain all sorts of tough stuff stuck (that I didn't cut off) to the lovely meat. But, at least now I know why people eat abalone!

Good taste, but needs something that is a bit richer. Bone soup. Never really liked the stuff, but it has a haunting taste. So I made the real stuff. Beef marrow bones simmered for three days. Yep, three days. Use distilled water to keep topping it up or you will concentrate all the junk in your drinking water. First day, exactly what you would expect. Why am I doing this? About to quit when something interesting happens half way into the second day. It starts to turn milky. Third day it is done. Put the pot into the refrigerator and then throw out all the fat. Reheat. Strain through a coffee filter supported in a small strainer. Twice. Done.

Simmer abalone in this and you get both tastes, very nice. The firmed up abalone clearly shows what I missed when trimming. The tough stuff turns yellowish in contrast to the snow white meat. Now easy to finish the trimming job. This could be a great dish. Working on a lightly spicy abalone and crab soup. Chunk crabmeat from a can, the real deal would overwhelm the delicate abalone taste.

The other abalone offering will be slices that were simmered just enough to go tender in bone broth. So easy to ruin abalone by overcooking. Forget raw, don't know the country of origin, don't trust it as sushi.

More to come...

 

[Lorenzoid]

How about miso soup? I would think a light Asian-y flavor would complement the mild flavor of abalone.

I think simmering marrow bones and then tossing out the fat is a waste of good marrow, but that's just me. Roast the bones and then scoop out and eat the bone marrow on toast. Yum.

 

[lowviz]

How about miso soup? ...

Yes, the problem is rather complicated, but I'll take a shot at it. Korean cooking is all about balance.

I've come to really like abalone, very delicate taste, and the texture is unlike anything found on the East coast. I am also completely impressed with how easy it is to mess it up by overcooking it. So what to balance its taste with? Miso is a great suggestion but that is more of the same flavor. Umami.

The standard fish stock, unfortunately, is still more of the same. (Fish stock: Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking pg 86)

...//... I think simmering marrow bones and then tossing out the fat is a waste of good marrow, but that's just me. Roast the bones and then scoop out and eat the bone marrow on toast. Yum.

Your view is well supported. Seolleongtang (Beef Bone Soup) - Korean Bapsang

One of the side dishes will be slices of abalone ever so lightly cooked in diluted bone soup. Nice taste and texture. (I have a lot of bone soup in the freezer) Still working on a way to serve abalone in nice chunks. Trying to see if it will hold up in a light seafood chowder...

 

[Sam Miller III]

Where did these abalone come from and how big" are these abalone meats you speak of?
The reason I ask is because we have a real poaching problem up here on the North Coast of CA. Where the big reds are amongst the last on earth.
Many times these illegal poaching operations are on a commercial harvest level. The authorities don't have enough boots on the ground to Patrol the shorelines, and the illegal trade on a nationwide level to the asian market is rampant.
I sure hope the abalone spoken about aren't from an illegal source.
That's why I ask "how big", because there is a commercial farming operation in Monterey, CA under pier 2. There is an enterprising guy who has special F&G permits to grow abs in cages and he sells them to restuarants and specialty seafood markets, I believe nationally. They have to be harvested by law no larger than 4" on the longest length of the shell so there is little doubt in the eyes of F&G that the abs were harvested illegally. They figure that abs small probably wouldn't be worth the effort to poachers, so they have determined that size to be the max size for commercial farmers.
The meats from a 4" abalone are about 3" in diameter.
Just curious.
We are very sensitive about our resource and fiercly protect it.
Thank you
.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Just by casual observation it is very apparent that the OPs Abalone is NOT Haliotis rufescens aka California red abalone. The abalone's size, shape and color would be more closely related to h. sorenseni aka white or threaded abalone which as been on the endangered list for about 30 years. Perhaps you recall the 25 to 30 year old article by the great and very prolific California and national diving author Eric Hanauer :The last white abalone ?"

However, since the h. sorenseni is on the endangered list and natural habitat is primarily Monterey south ii is highly improbable that the abalone is a h. sorenseni. I would expect that it is quite possible a variety closely related to the cold water abalone h. kamtschatkana-- It's size, shape and flesh color is what I recall after so many years resembles a h. kamtschatkana.

Most oceans of the world contain abalone - for whatever reason the area with the greatest variety-- 8 distinct abalones and the largest (Haliotis rufescens) are (were?) found on the California coast.

There are numerous countries who have a very active abalone harvesting and exporting industries. the Japanese women "Ama" (women of the sea) divers of Hegua island have been harvesting abalone for many centuries and at one time exported it to the US---recall the Akron stores that doted California? They imported canned Abalones from the Amas.

The OPs daughters country of birth Korea sisters to the Japanese Ama is the Haenyo (Sea Women) divers located on Jeju island .

Both industries used (use) only female divers and harvested only by breath hold diving and originally with out thermal protection ---It is COLD in Korea and I suppose Japanese waters.

New Zealand has had a very active commercial abalone diving industry for many years. I suspect that the abalone in question may have originated from that area. I have abalone shells from that area but I have never seen a picture of the flesh---does the package have a label indicating county of origin? or can you have a chat with the market owner as to the origin of the abalone ?
(An inquisitive mind wants to know!)

In addition to Scrap Lundy's book on California abalone I would also suggest that you might want to add to your library the following

CF&G " Review of the Abalone in Californian - Keith Cox 1960 (out of print)

Compendium of sea shells R. Tucker Abbott & S. Peter Dance ISBN 0525932690 (out of print)

The latest and certainly most comprehensive book which was published in 2012
"Abalone: World Wide Haliotdae" by Daniel L. Geiger & Buzz Owen by Conch books
ISBN 978 -3-939767455 ----German publish number 94844
This is a German book by a German author but published in English (Yea!.) . It is with out a doubt the most comprehensive book on abalone ever published and possibly ever be printed -- It is not inexpensive -but Christmas is coming !

Hope this provides you with a wee bit of insight on the abalone and you daughters heritage and the Haenyo divers .

No back to writing for $$$$ and my book..

Good luck!


SDM

 

[lowviz]

...//... I would think a light Asian-y flavor would complement the mild flavor of abalone. ...

Yes, I agree. But how does one actually go about doing that with Western tastes? Both Lup Jung and Mr. Lee have both reveled in their efforts to enlighten me. So fun for all of us. Don't click this or you will get more than you want.

Spoiler

5 basic tastes:

Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami

Umami - Wikipedia “It can be described as a pleasant "brothy" or "meaty" taste with a long lasting, mouthwatering and coating sensation over the tongue. The sensation of umami is due to the detection of the carboxylate anion of glutamate in specialized receptor cells present on the human and other animal tongues.[11][12] Its effect is to balance taste and round out the overall flavor of a dish.”

Umami taken to the next level:

Disodium ribonucleotides - Wikipedia “Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides, E number E635, is a flavor enhancer which is synergistic with glutamates in creating the taste of umami. It is a mixture of disodium inosinate (IMP) and disodium guanylate (GMP) and is often used where a food already contains natural glutamates (as in meat extract) or added monosodium glutamate (MSG).”

“A mixture of 98% monosodium glutamate and 2% E635 has four times the flavor enhancing power of monosodium glutamate (MSG) alone.”

Food-Info.net : E-numbers : E635 : Sodium ribonucleotides Guanylates and inosinates are generally produced from meat, but partly also from fish.

Tastes: Say it like a Korean! How to describe taste in Korean. | Crazy Korean Cooking

Excerpts from above link:

“Professor Shintaro Kodama, a disciple of Ikeda, discovered in 1913 that dried bonito flakes contained another umami substance.[21] This was the ribonucleotide IMP. In 1957, Akira Kuninaka realized that the ribonucleotide GMP present in shiitake mushrooms also conferred the umami taste.[22] One of Kuninaka's most important discoveries was the synergistic effect between ribonucleotides and glutamate. When foods rich in glutamate are combined with ingredients that have ribonucleotides, the resulting taste intensity is higher than would be expected from merely adding the intensity of the individual ingredients.”

“This synergy of umami may explain various classical foodpairings: Japanese make dashi with kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes; the Chinese add Chinese leek and Chinese cabbage to chicken soup, as do Scots in the similar Scottish dish of cock-a-leekie soup; and Italians combine Parmesan cheese on tomato sauce with mushrooms.”

And now that we are all on the same page, there is this. The art of balancing: http://lifehacker.com/learn-to-make-any-dish-you-cook-better-with-the-science-1477864259

Enjoy!

...//... Just by casual observation it is very apparent that the OPs Abalone is NOT Haliotis rufescens aka California red abalone. ...//... I would expect that it is quite possible a variety closely related to the cold water abalone h. kamtschatkana-- It's size, shape and flesh color is what I recall after so many years resembles a h. kamtschatkana.

Thank you so much for that, maybe these two pics (above) help.



BTW, in an attempt to not be part of the problem, I bought green abalone shells from a Cali retailer. Mex, I believe. They will be the serving dishes for one of the offerings.

...//... The OPs daughters country of birth Korea sisters to the Japanese Ama is the Haenyo (Sea Women) divers located on Jeju island .

Both industries used (use) only female divers and harvested only by breath hold diving and originally with out thermal protection ---It is COLD in Korea and I suppose Japanese waters. …

Thank you for that! And as I am her self-appointed heritage police, much of what you write will be on cards (with acknowledgements) in front of each dish. You increase the fun. I’ll share, just found out that Chuseok is colloquially called “Korean Thanksgiving”. So perfect! We are having a late Chuseok. Might even become a tradition…

...//... ---does the package have a label indicating county of origin? or can you have a chat with the market owner as to the origin of the abalone ? (An inquisitive mind wants to know!) …

No, no country of origin. Ask the owner? Yes, indeed. I owe you that.

...//… Hope this provides you with a wee bit of insight on the abalone and you daughters heritage and the Haenyo divers .

No back to writing for $$$$ and my book..

Good luck!


SDM

You have supplied so much insight and invaluable leverage with respect to reinforcing her heritage. I thank you, again.

I’m interested in an autographed copy of your book. Please PM me when finished so that I can supply her name, address, and payment for your work.

Cheers!
Dennis

 

[Lorenzoid]

Keep up the good posting. You are SB's Maangchi.

 

[lowviz]

Ha! Yeah, I'm having way too much fun with this. BTW, "Maangchi" is Korean for "Hammer". Started out as her online war-gaming name. She is a trip...

I love to cook. Somewhere along the line, I found that it is just as easy to make great food as it is to throw something together.

Due to your interest, I'll post pics and the recipes when I get that far.

 

[lowviz]

So the princess gets to pick one dish. I would have bet my life on Galbi. Nope, Vietnamese Homestyle Pork!

Already bought the Galbi. Guess what was for dinner tonight? Galbi, rice, and greens.
Easiest dish on earth. Buy some Galbi sauce, any Asian store.

Marinate the meat for six hours, grill on a scorching hot grill. Still red on the inside.


Vietnamese Homestyle Pork it will be. Here is the real deal. The only thing missing in the recipe is the crushed red pepper flakes. A handful is about right. The peppers are so assumed that she (waitress) forgot to include them!

No conflict of interests, I only got this when the restaurant closed. One of my most favorite dishes from a favorite waitress.

Over rice.

"color" is caramel coloring. Any Asian store. Or just burn some sugar...

 

[Lorenzoid]

We picked up some bulgogi from H-Mart and ate it over rice--simple and quick. This was on the way home from a drysuit dive in the lake ... just to add something dive-related to my post

 

[lowviz]

Time for a wrap-up. Both Thanksgivings were a complete success. Traditional and Asian.

The appetizers were a hit.

Apple smoked sushi grade octopus, Abalone, and Yellowtail with capelin roe. The roe was a tease. It is crunchy and can be found in almost all sushi where I live. The Yellowtail was exquisite. It was one of the two best-received offerings. Everybody wanted more Yellowtail.


But this is all about abalone. We 've come to appreciate it. No, it isn't some fabulous taste/food that is to "die for". (Although people do)

It has a light very pleasant taste and a texture that is stupidly easily ruined. After much personal research with cooking same ( ) I've come to find that I get the best result by smacking the steak against the counter a couple of times. I'm not even convinced that tenderizing is necessary. Focus on how you cook it. Stop beating up your abalones!

Trimming. Yep, that is a necessity. Here is the offering after being vigorously scrubbed with a vegetable brush and ever so lightly parboiled.

Note to dog lovers, dogs go nuts over the trimmings. No waste, everybody happy.

Now for the surprise hit. I combined a Korean chowder with the good old standby, Maryland crab soup. East meets West. Crab meets abalone.

It needed a bit of work, but nobody noticed. That is canned corn. Too late in the season for young ears of corn that go milky when you cut the kernels off. And no fresh baby lima beans. I missed that...

Balancing the taste was fun. Nailed it. Look closely at the bottom of the spoon for the tiny dried anchovy. Put in a bunch of them, nobody ever noticed. -Too busy enjoying the chowder.

...//... New Zealand has had a very active commercial abalone diving industry for many years. I suspect that the abalone in question may have originated from that area. I have abalone shells from that area but I have never seen a picture of the flesh---does the package have a label indicating county of origin? or can you have a chat with the market owner as to the origin of the abalone ?
(An inquisitive mind wants to know!) ...

@sam miller, still on it. "The elder" is rarely working the store. The counter is usually staffed by friendly Korean national college students. I'll get it, give me time...

Main courses were Vietnamese Homestyle Pork and Korean Fire Chicken. Pork was a go-to dish by request. Can't fail. Fire Chicken was the "stretch". Too spicy, not very interesting.