Braised Abalones and Fish Maw

Ingredients:

ABALONE:

吉品鲍鱼 - 20头 

Ingredients A:

old chicken - 4 catty

pork spare ribs x 2 catty

chinese ham x 1 catty

chicken feet x 1 catty

pork skin

Soup Base:

Roast Goose x 1/2

Chinese Barbecue Ribs x 1 catty

Seasonings:

rock sugar 

light soy sauce: dark soy sauce - proportion of 1:4 

water 

chinese wine

chicken powder

Ginger 

Spring onion

FISH MAW:

Fish maw (1 catty 7 pc type)

Ginger, Spring Onion, Orange Skin, White Vinegar

How to Prepare Abalones:

Day 1:

rinse all abalones under tap water, then soak in water for 1 day. Remember to change new water in between.

 

Day 2:

Drain all water from abalones. Place abalones to a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes at medium fire. Then turn off fire. Cover pot and soak abalones in this pot covered for 1 day. Once the pot has cooled down in the middle of the day, change water and keep it covered.

Day 3:

Drain water for pot. Add fresh water, ginger x 4 slices, spring onion x 3 stalks and bring to boil, then add abalones and cook for 15 minutes at medium heat. Then turn off fire. Cover pot and soak abalones in this pot covered for 1 day. Once the pot has cooled down in the middle of the day, change water and keep it covered.

Day 4:

(1) Blanch Ingredients A above and drain water. By now, the abalones should have been softened and enlarged a lot. 

(2) Remove abalones from water, remove guts from abalones and gently clean abalones under running tap water. Beware of your fingers and thumbs when removing guts so that no marks are left on the abalones!

(3) Prepare soup base by boiling the roast goose and barbecue ribs in a pot of water for cook in medium fire for an hour. Filter and remove oil and save for later use. 

(4) Prepare a deep pot with bamboo sheet with bamboo chopsticks.

(5) First place all pork bones or spare ribs, then chicken feet, then abalones, then pork skin, then chinese ham, then chicken and pork meat on top.

 

 

(6) Add the filtered soup base so that all ingredients are submerged under the soup base. If not enough soup, add water. Add Seasonings above.

(7) Bring to boil then turn down to low heat and braised for 8-10 hours. Check from time to time to ensure ingredients are underneath water. If at anytime water level is lower than the ingredients, then add either water or chicken stock.

(8)After 10 hours, just turn off heat. Keep the pot covered and leave it for 12 hours for soaking.

Day 5:

(1) Bring the pot to boil again, then turn down to low heat and cook for 4-6 hours.

(2) Remove abalones from pot.

(3) Heat up the pot again with the rest of the ingredients for 30-60 min using medium heat until the sauce becomes dense. Check tasting. IF NECESSARY, adjust seasoning using oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, salt and even cognac to your liking. Use cornflour solution to thicken sauce. Then use a sieve to separate all ingredients from the sauce. 

Before serving, just bring to boil the abalones with the condensed sauce and serve!

How to prepare FISH MAW:

Day 1:

Rinse fish maw under tap water, then place them in a bowl cover with tap water and soak for 1 day. Change water during half day.

Day 2:

Put fish maw to a pot, cover with water and bring to boil and cook for 10 minutes, then turn off heat, Cover pot and soak fish maw for 1 day. Change water once the water in pot already cooled down.

Day 3:

Place orange skin, and a few dash of white vinegar to a pot, bring to boil, add fish maw and cook for 10 minutes, Then turn off heat. Cover pot and soak fish maw until the water in pot has cooled down. Then remove fish maw and place in a air tight box with cold water and store at fridge. By now, the fish maw should be softened and enlarged.

 

Day 4:

Once the abalone sauce from above is ready, cook the fish maw in the abalone in medium low heat for 20-30 minutes. Then take out, cut into desired sizes and soak with abalone sauce on the side.

Once ready to serve at dinner, place the cut fish maws with the abalones back to the sauce pot, bring to boil and serve.

Notes:

** once fish maw has been softened, no need to cook too long.

It's a lovely feeling to be able to make this traditional dish. Nothing difficult here except that you need to plan the logistics in advance and use patience. Try it!