Dried Abalone (乾鮑) is much prized in Chinese cuisine, but is expensive and not easy to prepare. Read here to learn how to prepare and use it.
As with Dried Shark’s Fin or the famous “Bird’s Nest,” a big part of the appeal of Dried Abalone is not so much the taste as the fact that it is so expensive that it is only served on special occasions. The process of getting Dried Abalone ready for use in the kitchen takes a lot of time, and some people don’t think the taste is worth the trouble or cost. Though that is the case, it is still something that should be tried at least once.
Dried abalone is a delicacy in many Asian cuisines especially Chinese cuisine. It’s prized for its umami flavor and chewy texture. However, like any dried seafood proper storage is essential to keep dried abalone from spoiling. In this article, I’ll explain everything you need to know about how to store dried abalone.
Purchase High-Quality Dried Abalone
The first step is buying high-quality dried abalone. Check the packaging and make sure there are no tears or holes. The dried abalone should look dry, not moist or sticky. Give the package a sniff – it should have a pleasant ocean aroma without any sour, fishy odor. Discoloration, soft spots, or a fermented smell are red flags.
Reputable Asian grocery stores and specialty shops are the best places to find authentic, properly dried abalone. I prefer abalone from Japan, as they regulate drying and processing. Prices range from $50 to over $100 per pound. With proper storage, the investment is worthwhile for this rare delicacy.
Store Dried Abalone in an Airtight Container
Once home, immediately transfer dried abalone into an airtight container. Glass jars or resealable plastic containers work well. Metal tins are also great at blocking air and moisture. Any container will do as long as it has a tight-sealing lid.
Exposure to air causes oxidation and encourages mold growth. An airtight container prevents airflow and locks in the moisture content. This stops the abalone from drying out further. Just make sure not to overfill containers, as the pieces need a bit of room so as not to crush each other.
Keep Dried Abalone in a Cool, Dry Place
In addition to an airtight container, dried abalone must be stored somewhere cool and dry. The ideal temperature range is 50°F to 68°F Avoid warm spots like near appliances or in direct sunlight Cooler is better, as warmth speeds up spoilage. You can even refrigerate dried abalone, as long as the container prevents freezer burn.
Too much moisture causes dried abalone to rehydrate and degrade. Kitchen cupboards or pantries make good storage spots, as they tend to be cooler and drier than other areas. Just don’t hide the abalone too far back where you may forget about it!
I store my dried abalone in a glass jar in the pantry. It stays around 60°F in there. I use the abalone within 6 months before it loses quality.
Check Periodically for Freshness
No matter how careful your storage method, dried abalone can still spoil over time. I recommend checking on it periodically, about once a month. Give the container a sniff to check for off odors. Look for visible mold, which signals spoilage.
If the abalone smells too fishy or shows any fuzz, it has gone bad. Discard it immediately so it doesn’t contaminate the remaining pieces. Wipe the container clean before returning good abalone.
Properly stored, dried abalone lasts 6 to 12 months. Mark packages with the purchase date and use within a year. Consume sooner rather than later for best flavor.
Revive with a Quick Soak before Cooking
After long storage, dried abalone may become very stiff and shriveled. To plump it up before cooking, soak the pieces in lukewarm water for 30 minutes. I don’t recommend soaking much longer, as it dilutes the rich umami taste.
Soaked abalone will be supple enough to slice or dice. Pat dry before stir-frying, adding to soups, etc. The soaking water can be used to enhance sauces and broths too.
Enjoy this Delicate Seafood Right Away
Dried abalone is exquisite but ephemeral. With proper storage and care, you can postpone that fate for up to a year. An airtight container in a cool, dry spot keeps dried abalone from drying out and guards against mold. Check periodically and use within 6 to 12 months.
Why is Dried Abalone (乾鮑) So Expensive?
Dried Abalone ranges in price anywhere from ‘expensive’ to ‘outrageous’. In 2018, the biggest and best ones were on sale in a store in Vancouver’s Chinatown. The jar in the picture is one of those jars, marked down from almost $1500 CDN per pound to just over $1000 CDN per pound.
For those who don’t know, abalone is a type of shellfish that lives in cool water along the coasts of many countries. They are eaten fresh in many countries’ cuisines. But they are hard to catch in the wild. Even so, overfishing has caused stocks to drop, and most of the Abalone meat eaten these days comes from farms. Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea are the main places where abalone are farmed right now. Dried abalone is mostly used in Chinese food.
Right now, it’s pretty simple and not too expensive to buy 〾鸑 online, but it’s a bit harder to find them in North American stores, unless you live in a city big enough to have a Chinatown or with a lot of Asian people that there are specialty food shops. Even the cheapest dried abalone isn’t likely to be sold in small grocery stores because they are so expensive.
The best place to find Dried Abalone is in a store that specializes in ingredients used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. They are usually sold in large glass jars, like in an apothecary. Two end jars are shown in the pictures above and below. There are about a dozen of them in total. These little ones were the cheapest we could find, but even they were selling for more than $100 CDN a pound. Three of the ones in the dish in the first picture came from the second or third jar in that range. They cost me just over $80 CDN for a half-pound.
How to Soak, Clean, and Prepare 乾鮑 for Use
Before it can be used in a dish, abalone needs to be soaked for a long time to make it soft again. It then needs to be cooked first by braising or stewing. You can find a lot of different time estimates for the two steps on Google, but the main thing that will determine how long each takes is the size of the abalone and how dry it is. In all cases, the first part will involve several days, and the latter many hours.
You can see one of my abalone that has been soaked for four days next to a specimen that is still dry. In this case, there wasn’t much difference between the third and fourth days, so the first three days of soaking would have probably been enough for this size of dried abalone.
Many recipes call for you to use a lot of water, changing it frequently during this process. This is a bit of a waste, though, because the water can be used to make sauces and takes on the flavor of the meat. Here, I only used enough water to keep all three of the abalone completely submerged, and it turned out fine even though the water didn’t change.
Once Dried Abalone have been reconstituted by soaking, they need to be cleaned. The first step is to brush and rinse off any dirt or debris. The second step is to cut out the dark area in the picture above that is shown by the knife blade’s tip. This is part of the Abalone’s entrails and should be discarded.
Even though the first soak brings Dried Abalone back to life and makes it a little softer, it will still need more work to make it tender. If you don’t, it will still be too chewy and tough to eat. The whole abalone is sometimes simmered in water with other meats and aromatics to make stock, and the abalone adds to the flavor. However, it is also pretty common to just simmer it in a ready-made stock, like a neutral canned product or a simple Basic Chinese Chicken Stock.
The amount of time needed to simmer reconstituted dried abalone will depend on how big the pieces are to begin with and how soft they are already. The three shown above were cooked slowly for almost six hours, until they were soft enough that a tooth could easily go through them. Naturally, larger ones will take even longer.
HOW TO CLEAN DRIED ABALONE | ABALONE #Short #Shorts
FAQ
Do abalone need to be refrigerated?
How do you rehydrate dried abalone?
What to do with dried abalone?
How do you preserve abalone?
How do you store canned abalone?
To store canned abalone, drain and rinse it prior to use. It’s best to use an airtight container when storing it in the refrigerator or freezer. If you’re storing canned abalone in the refrigerator, ensure that it’s covered and kept away from foods with strong odors.
How long do you keep dried abalones in the fridge?
3 hours To reconstitute the dried abalone, soak the abalones in water and keep them into refrigerator for 2 days (depending on the size and quality). Replace the water with fresh water every 12 hours. The abalones are ready to cook when the consistency is like soft rubber.
How do you clean a dried abalone?
Once Dried Abalone have been reconstituted by soaking, they need to be cleaned. The first step involves simply brushing and rinsing away any grit or detritus, while the second requires trimming away the dark area indicated in the above picture by the tip of the knife blade. This is part of the Abalone’s entrails and should be discarded.
Can you freeze canned abalone?
If you’re storing canned abalone in the refrigerator, ensure that it’s covered and kept away from foods with strong odors. Canned abalone can be stored in the freezer for up to two years if stored correctly. It’s important to label the container or bag with the correct date before transferring it to the freezer.