Braised Abalone and Broccoli in Oyster Sauce is an excellent dish for special occasions, featuring an Asian culinary delicacy. The abalone is braised until tender and then coated with a flavorful savory sauce. Abalone is a marine mollusk and is considered a premium ingredient in many Asian cuisines. It has a mild flavor and a chewy texture which can become tender and buttery when cooked right. So how can abalone be cooked? I have opportunities to enjoy this delicacy in different ways: You can come across braised abalone with oyster sauce in some fine restaurants in Vietnam. It is also my favorite way to cook abalone at home. The dish is called “bào ngư sốt dầu hào”. The mild flavor of abalone goes pretty well with the nutty taste of broccoli. Besides, the crispness of blanched broccoli adds more textures to the dish. This braised abalone with broccoli is an excellent dish for special occasions and holidays, such as Lunar New Year. Here are what you need for the dish: 🦪 Abalone: there are many abalone species in the world and some can be pretty large. I prefer those that aren’t too big, smaller than the size of the palm, such as Vietnamese or
Korean abalones. It is often sold live or frozen in the shell or canned. 🥦 Vegetables: broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. I recommend using fresh shiitake mushrooms for the dish, but the dried ones may also work as substitutions. 🧄 Aromatics and seasonings: you will also need typical Asian aromatics and seasonings, including garlic, ginger, scallion and
oyster sauce. How to Prepare AbaloneBefore cooking, you will need to clean abalones unless you use the canned ones. Mine are frozen in the shell so I need to use a paring knife to release the meat from the shell. Then I use half a lime to scrub around the abalones, as well as scrape off any sliminess with the paring knife. I also use a brush to scrub off all the black stuff, remove the mouth and intestines, as in the image above. How to Make Braised AbaloneThis braised abalone with broccoli in oyster sauce may sound fancy, but the cooking steps are actually straightforward. 1️⃣ Braise the abalones with aromatics until tender: this step can be done on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker. I have tried both, and the stovetop route will produce much more flavorful abalones and cooking liquid. 2️⃣ Thicken the sauce: once the abalones are tender, discard the aromatics. Remove the abalones and slice them thinly. You may need to boil the braising liquid for a few minutes to reduce it. Then season with oyster sauce and thicken with some cornstarch slurry. 3️⃣ Assemble the dish: blanch the broccoli in a large pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain well, then arrange the vegetables on a serving plate. Slice the abalones thinly and arrange on top of the broccoli. Pour the sauce over everything and serve right away. If you need a gourmet dish for special occasions, I hope you will give this braised abalone recipe a try. Of course, you can also make it for weeknight dinner since it is quite simple to cook. Related RecipesHere are more delicious recipes for special occasions:
You may also want to take a look at my list of Lunar New Year recipes. ⭐️ I’d love to hear what you think about the dish, so please feel free to leave a comment and a rating if you have tried it. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates. You can find my collection of Vietnamese recipes here.
I use fresh shiitake mushrooms for this recipe. If you can’t find them, you can use the dried ones as substitutions. Personally, I’m not a fan of very large abalones. I prefer abalones with average size (a bit smaller than the palm) such as Vietnamese, Korean or Japanese abalones. The abalones can also be cooked in a pressure cooker for 50-60 minutes. However, the flavor will not be as tasty as the stovetop method. You can add a drop of sesame oil to the sauce in Step 5. I also like to sprinkle the dish with some black pepper right before serving. I just find some black speckles over the abalones create a nice contrasting visual. Comment & Rate below or Tag @delightfulplate on Instagram Disclosure: Delightful Plate is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we use and trust. Copyright: All content and photos on Delightful Plate are copyright protected. Please do not use them without our written permission. Thank you. Reader InteractionsHow long does it take to boil abalone?Rinse clean with water. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Boil the abalone for 5 minutes and then discard the water and rinse clean. The abalones are ready to be used at this point.
How should abalone be cooked?The easiest method way to cook abalone is to fry them with a little butter for two minutes on each side, or the traditional California method of shucking and breading them then pounding, slicing, sautéeing and finishing with a final squeeze of lemon.
How do you make abalone soft?Pound Each Abalone Slice Until Tender
Some people use a meat tenderizer but you may have success gently tapping all over the abalone slice with the back of a large spoon—this method tenderizes the flesh without tearing it. Pound the slice until tender, checking the abalone's texture every once in a while.
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