Cocktail abalone with Asian dressing

The secret to this recipe is slicing the abalone as thinly as possible; chilling them well in the freezer firms them up and makes this easier. The other trick is to leave them in the pan for just a few seconds, any longer and they’ll be tough. Recipe courtesy of Sydney Seafood School, www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/seafood-school/about-sss - photo credit Franz Scheurer

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Cooking difficulty: Medium

Serves: 4

Preparation:

Cooking:

Tips for serving seafood cold

If the seafood is to be served cold, it should be covered to retain moisture and flavour and then placed in a chiller for an hour or even overnight.
Tips for shallow frying

If flour is the only coating used, apply it immediately prior to cooking.

Prevent sticking by ensuring that the oil is hot before adding the seafood. But make sure the oil is not so hot that it smokes (unless preparing a Cajun-style "blackened" fish).
Tips for seasoning

The seafood can be lightly seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper, sprinkled with lemon juice or white wine and dotted with butter or basted with oil. Low-salt soy sauce and coriander can also be used.
Tips for seafood batter

A chilled batter may produce a crisper coating. A light tempura batter and beer batter are particularly suited to seafood.
Tips for Steaming

Seafood can be steamed over plain water, but a concentrated stock flavoured with vegetables, herbs or citrus, for example, will impart a subtle flavour.

Ingredients

8 cocktail abalones, shucked and cleaned

Peanut oil, for frying

Asian Dressing

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons grated palm sugar

1 teaspoon sambal oelek (see notes)

1 teaspoon grated ginger

Method

Under running water, use a small knife to scrape off the thin black coating on the base and sides of the foot. Put abalone in freezer for 30-60 minutes to firm.

Meanwhile, wash abalone shells and set aside.

Make Asian Dressing by combining all ingredients.

Slice abalone horizontally as finely as possible. Coat liberally in peanut oil so that the slices don’t stick together.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan or wok until very hot. Add abalone slices and toss quickly for about 10 seconds, to sear all sides. Scoop them out of the pan and into the dressing.

To serve

Spoon into shells, drizzle a little extra dressing over the top and serve.

Recipe Notes

Large abalone can also be prepared this way, but they should be cleaned thoroughly then placed between two freezer bags and beaten lightly with a meat mallet to tenderise, before being placed in the freezer. Sambal oelek is an Asian paste of salt and chillies, a quick way to get a chilli kick into any dish, not just Asian ones; substitute a pinch of dried chilli flakes or 1 small red chilli finely chopped if you prefer.

Alternative species: bailer shell, squid or calamari tubes sliced into strips.

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Cocktail abalone with Asian dressing

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Cocktail abalone with Asian dressing

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