Dried abalone ✦ ◆

Ormeau séché

What it is

Dried abalone is sold by head count — the number of pieces that fill a catty of roughly 600 g — so a two-head abalone from Yoshihama is an enormous animal and priced by the single piece. It is dried and aged for a year or more before anyone cooks it, then braised two or three days until the centre turns to translucent gel, and the sauce left behind is treated as the finer half of the dish.

In the kitchen

Soak four to seven days in cold water in the fridge, changing it daily, then braise below a simmer with pork and chicken for at least eight hours. A single hard boil tightens it permanently.

Goes with

Oyster sauce Shaoxing wine Ginger Spring onion Chicken Pork Dried shiitake (donko)

Same species

Abalone Japanese abalone

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