The meat of abalone is delicious and it is a valuable seafood. It is not a fish, but a single-shell mollusk that crawls on rocks below the low tide line in shallow water. Outside the abalone's body, there is a thick calcareous shell, which is a right-handed spiral shell with an ear shape. Its Latin scientific name can be called "sea ear" in literal translation because its shell is shaped like an ear. Abalone's feet are particularly thick and divided into upper and lower parts. There are many tentacles and hills on the upper foot to feel the external situation; When the lower foot is stretched, it is oval with a flat abdomen, which is suitable for attachment and crawling. We eat abalone mainly by eating the muscles of its feet. Abalone lives in rocky reefs with fast-flowing water and lush algae, and the rocky corners protruding from coastal islands or coasts are their favorite habitats. Abalone mostly crawls in crevices or caves of rocks, and their distribution depth varies with species. Like Haliotis discus hannai in northern China, it is distributed in the water depth of more than 10 meters, and it moves to the depths in winter to avoid the cold, and the depth can reach 30 meters. In spring, they move up slowly, and some can live several meters below the tidal line. Abalone likes to eat brown algae or red algae. For example, Abalone likes to eat Undaria pinnatifida, tender kelp and Sargassum. The consumption of abalone varies with the seasons, and it is generally eaten more in the season with higher water temperature. Not very active in winter, eating less. There are many kinds of abalone, and they are widely distributed. Abalone is distributed along the coast of China. In the north, Dalian and Changshan Island produce more abalone, which are large and ovoid. Haliotis diversicolor and Haliotis diversicolor are produced in South China Sea. Haliotis diversicolor and Haliotis diversicolor are similar in shape, but smaller in size. Ear abalone is larger, and the shell is more like an ear. The meat on its foot is the thickest, so the shell can't completely wrap it inside.

Abalone was called "Gun Fish" in ancient times, and it was also known as "Mirror Fish, Nine-hole Snail, Mingmu Fish". Since ancient times, abalone has occupied a "self-centered" position in China cuisine, and it is the royal nobles who are rich without officials who can taste this delicious food. China's taste of abalone has a long history, and Historical Records called abalone "a delicacy". The biography of Wang Mang in Han Dynasty records: "Wang Mang's affairs will be defeated, and he can't learn anything about his meals. He only drinks and spits on the liver of abalone." Su Dongpo praised in "Carp Trip" that "the chef is good at recommending Huatang, and when he sits down, he will carve maggots and shine. "There are not enough meat, cheese and stone ears, but the vinegar pen and fish skin really lean against the wall." The implication is that once you taste the delicious abalone, all the precious dishes are not to mention. Abalone, as a precious and famous dish, was listed as one of the eight treasures in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and it often appeared on the top of the banquet dishes of distant officials and dignitaries. At the end of the Republic of China, there were two famous dishes, Abalone in Braised Sauce and Abalone in Oyster Sauce, which became the model works of abalone. Comrade Deng Xiaoping praised it after tasting its delicious taste. At present, abalone is popular in state banquets and large banquets in the Great Hall of the People. China's food culture has gone through thousands of years, and the cooking and appreciation of abalone is even more perfect. Not only do you know how to eat fresh abalone, but you also use extremely complicated cooking techniques to process dried abalone (dried abalone). The delicacy of dried abalone is incomparable to that of fresh abalone, and the price is directly proportional to its delicacy.

Abalone cooking method

Fresh abalone

Fresh abalone is live abalone. This kind of fresh abalone, after brushing its shell with a brush, digs out the whole abalone meat, cuts off the hard tissue in the middle and around, and cleans the attached mucus with coarse salt. After cleaning, live abalone can generally taste excellent flavor without deliberate cooking, among which "Shasimi" is more common to eat raw, and there are also cooking methods of whole charcoal roasting and blanching.

Dried abalone

Dried abalone is a kind of dried abalone made by air drying fresh abalone. It is a very valuable ingredient in seafood, and the quality of netted abalone in Aomori Prefecture of Japan is the best.

Dried abalone is suitable for whole-grain cooking in a slow casserole to preserve its delicious original flavor, so the cooking process will be more complicated than other kinds and require more technology. The basic treatment methods are:1.Soak in cold water the night before. 2. Take out the abalone the next day, and clean the dried abalone, otherwise it will affect the taste and quality of abalone. 3. aft washing, add that submerge abalone, put it in a steamer and steam it with high fire for 10 hour. 4. Add abalone, old hen, pork chop, pig oil and sugar to the casserole and simmer for 10 hour (steamer or electric cooker can also be used for steaming, but the casserole has heat preservation function, so the effect is the best). 5. After simmering, take it out, add the original juice and oyster sauce, and you can taste the delicious abalone with excellent taste. The size of dried abalone is usually calculated by the number of heads per catty, such as nine heads, which means there are nine abalones per catty. Therefore, the smaller the number of heads, the larger the abalone, and the higher the price.

When buying dried abalone, you can carefully observe the appearance, and choose those with complete appearance, fat meat, normal shape and bright color for better quality. After the dried abalone is bought and brought home, it is sealed in plastic bags, newspapers and plastic bags in turn and stored in the freezer. As long as it is not damp, it can be stored for about six months to one year.

☆ Frozen abalone

Frozen abalone can be bought in the local supermarket, and it needs to be stored in the freezer after being bought back, and it can't be thawed after being frozen. After being taken out of the freezer, it should be eaten at the meal, otherwise the original flavor will be lost and the delicious abalone will not be tasted. How to cook frozen abalone? First of all, thaw it, then scrub it clean, pat it on both sides of abalone meat with a knife surface to make the meat soft naturally. After adding seasonings such as protein and wine, it can be quickly fried or boiled, and the taste is very good. If the cooking skill is good, it can also be treated by simmering.

☆ Canned abalone is the most commonly used abalone species. Apart from its good quality, it is time-saving and convenient. People can put it in their mouths or cook it after opening it. Canned abalone will get older and older, so don't cook it for a long time. It is recommended to put canned food in hot water. Pay attention to its manufacturing date when purchasing and eat it within the shelf life. Don't completely pour out the soup after opening the can, because if you can't eat it all at once, you can soak the abalone in the soup, seal it tightly, and store it in cold storage, so as to avoid the abalone meat from drying and aging and losing its original taste. But it is best not to keep it for more than 5 days.