Braised Abalone with Fish Maw and Shiitake Mushrooms (燴冬菇魚肚鮑魚, Wui6 Dung1 Gu1 Jyu4 Tou5 Baau1 Jyu4)

This recipe is loaded with lots of seafood and is a special occasion type dish. I was able to get sliced abalone at my local Asian market. Usually fresh (or thawed) abalone is very hard to find where I live (it’s usually only available frozen or dried), so I took the opportunity to use it in this dish. Since abalone becomes tough if cooked too long, the abalone is added at the last minute just to warm it in order to keep it tender.

Dried scallops are another luxurious (i.e. expensive) ingredient that is necessary to the flavor to this dish. In general, the larger the dried scallop, the more expensive the scallop. You only need to use one or two large dried scallops to flavor this dish. The dried scallop is first rehydrated and then broken into pieces. You need a large dried scallop to get the large rehydrated pieces.

Fish maw is the bladder of the fish that controls buoyancy. Fish maw is one of those weird and wonderful special banquet ingredients (at least in my experience) that is served at auspicious events such as weddings and at Lunar New Year. Fish maw can be purchased at your local Asian market or herb specialty store. If you’re lucky enough to have an Asian herb store near you, it’s worth going in to see all the dried herbs and creatures that are sold at these stores. The herb stores also have the most variety of fish maw to buy and with the prices to match!

There are two types of fish maw: dried and fried. For this dish, the fried version is used. If you purchase the dried version, like I did, there’s an extra step to deep fry the fish maw yourself. I actually shallow fried the fish maw, ladling hot oil over the fish maw (be careful when using this method). You can save a step and time by buying the fried version, however it is easier to store the dried version since it takes up less space than the fried. The best description of fried fish maw is that it looks like chicharrón, which is fried pork skin. The fried fish maw must soak in cold water for at least an hour to soften it to a spongy texture and then cut into bite sized pieces. After soaking, fish maw has no inherent flavor (so it won’t smell fishy at all) and acquires the flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with. So using good ingredients is important to the flavor of this dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 oz.	60 g.	Fish maw (魚肚, jyu4 tou5), fried and rehydrated
1 oz.	30 g.	Dried scallops (瑤柱, jiu4 cyu5), rehydrated and separated into pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Sliced abalone (鮑魚, baau1 jyu4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Snow peas (荷蘭豆, ho4 laan4 dau6)
12	12	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lee Kum Kee brand Abalone Sauce (鮑魚, baau1 jyu4) or equivalent
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Salt (鹽, jim4)
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions (One Day Before Cooking)

Dried Fish Maw (魚肚, jyu⁴ tou⁵)

Fried Fish Maw (魚肚, jyu⁴ tou⁵)

1. There are two types of fish maw: dried and fried. The type needed for this dish is the fried version. If the dried version was purchased, the fish maw should be first deep fried in a neutral oil at 350⁰ (175⁰C) until the fish maw puffs up. You can also shallow fry the fish maw by frequently ladling the hot oil over the fish maw (be careful when using this method) in a wok. If possible, purchase the fried version and save a step in making this dish. The fried fish maw can be stored in a covered container at room temperature.

   

   Dried Scallops (瑤柱, jiu⁴ cyu⁵)

   

   Rehydrated Scallops (瑤柱, jiu⁴ cyu⁵)

2. Pour boiling water over the dried scallops in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the scallops overnight. Remove the scallops from the rehydration liquid, and break into small pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process. If you need to rehydrate the scallops quickly, use the method to rehydrate Shiitake mushrooms quickly (it also works for dried scallops): Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).

   

   Sliced Abalone (鮑魚, baau¹ jyu⁴)

3. If using frozen abalone slices, thaw the abalone in the refrigerator overnight.

Preparation Instructions (Cooking Day)

1. Pour boiling water over the fried fish maw in heat proof bowl and rehydrate the fish maw for at least one hour. Remove the fish maw from the rehydration liquid and discard the liquid. Cut the rehydrated fish maw into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
2. Pour boiling water over the small dried whole Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid and remove the stems. If small whole Shiitake mushrooms are not available, cut the Shiitake mushrooms into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process. If you need to rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms quickly, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).
3. Wash and remove the string from the snow peas by grasping each snow pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the snow pea with the other.
4. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
5. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces on the diagonal.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lee Kum Kee brand Abalone Sauce or equivalent, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, salt, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the fish maw and dried scallops to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the fish maw and scallop pieces in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the contents of the wok to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer to the bowl with the fish maw.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the snow peas. Stir fry to brown the snow peas. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture to the wok, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Add the contents of the bowl with the fish maw back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add the green onions, abalone, and sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the scallop and/or mushroom rehydration liquid to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish, and serve with Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou¹ Zai² Faan⁶) or steamed rice.