
In early 2008, I shared my thoughts about Chinese and the foods that we consume in my version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (for Chinese people), in which I categorized the foods that Chinese eat into 4 categories.
I love eating expensive Chinese food, such as abalone, fish maw, geoduck, hairy crab, etc.
Most of the time, I indulge in these Chinese delicacies during very special occasions, for example: my birthday or Chinese New Year, or when I visit my uncle in Hong Kong, during which he would feed me with various delicious and extravagant Chinese dishes.
However, I have never attempted to make these type of foods at home, until very recently as my high-school friend AsianSupermarket365.com sent me a package consisting of South African dried abalone, sea cucumber and Japanese dried scallop.
With such an expensive care package and my eternal craving for braised abalone and sea cucumber, I knew that it was time I learn the master Chinese cookery skills of making these Chinese delicacies.
I reached out to my uncle and asked for the detailed instructions and embarked on a 4-day (yes, four days!) cooking process of making the braised abalone with sea cucumber you see here.
For people who love abalone and sea cucumber (read: me), this is one of the best things to eat in haute Chinese cuisine.
And as with other extreme Chinese delicacies, the preparation is meticulous and the end result has to be pure perfection.
Now if you are not familiar or have never tried these ingredients (they are not the most photogenic creatures), you would be puzzled as to why I would spend so much time making this dish.
But, you see, we are talking about abalone and sea cucumber, which are two of the most prized commodities in Chinese cuisine.
Walk into any lavish and upscale Chinese restaurants in China or Hong Kong and you will see them on the first page of the menu, with very expensive price tags next to these dishes.
For example: in a moderately-priced Chinese restaurant in Irvine, they sell abalone (just abalone) for US$20 per ounce, and the smallest abalone will easily cost you $100, for only one abalone with some sauce.
Braised abalone with sea cucumber is an uber expensive and pricey dish, so what you see on the pictures here will probably cost you $500!
You get the idea.
The preparation includes four steps:
1) soaking the dried abalone and sea cucumber separately
2) cleaning them properly and thoroughly
3) preparing the supreme Chinese stock
4) slow cook the abalone and cucumber until perfection.
And that takes 4 days!
Suffice it to say, this braised abalone and sea cucumber recipe was one of the most testing recipes that I had undertaken, but oh boy, was I glad I did it.
At the first bite of the abalone and sea cucumber and the first taste of the extremely flavorful sauce, I was transported to Chinese food nirvana.
And then I ate another abalone, and then another one, and finished all four of them plus the two sea cucumbers and scallops.
That was what I call supreme culinary satisfaction and gratification.
Now the good news to my readers: to celebrate the launch of the dried seafood section, AsianSupermarket365.com is sponsoring two packages of abalone, sea cucumber, and dried scallop to two lucky winners.
Click here to enter to win and enjoy the $500 supreme Chinese delicacy at the comfort of your home!
SUBSCRIBE AND NEVER MISS A RECIPE
Latest Recipes:
SUBSCRIBE TO RASA MALAYSIA NEWSLETTER AND GET EASY AND DELICIOUS RECIPES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. If you try my recipe, please use hashtag #rasamalaysia on social media so I can see your creations! Follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter for new recipes, giveaways and more.
Leena
Looks very delish. I heard my mum said it takes 7 days to make this dish!
Wayne Allen Holland via Facebook
I consider myself hardcore but, sea cucumber, that’s grandmaster level !
Eliseo Fernández Bolland via Facebook
looks terrific!
Christopher Dutton via Facebook
could there be anything more delicious??
Jo Kan via Facebook
Feel like heaven…
My favorite Chinese delicacies.
Karen Mok via Facebook
You should open a restaurant.
Elaine Yeh Lee via Facebook
Wow, those abalone and sea cucumber look absolutely first class. It’s a high class dish requiring “high class” expense.
Foodjunkie
The sea cucumber will be a bit of a tough sell for western palates but an interesting dish just the same. I would urge your readers to avoid wild abalone for this dish and use the farmed product. Wild abalone is severely over harvested in many areas.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks for letting me know!
Corrie
When living in Fiji for a while my in-laws had a friend the would dive for sea cucumbers. He smoked them till dry over coconut husks. While visiting I tried cooking them in a slow simmer in young coconut water. They didn’t taste like much on their own but are very good at absorbing the flavours of the other ingredients used in the dish. I haven’t cooked abalone yet so that is next on my list. :-)
Yen Yen Lio via Facebook
This would be a perfect dish for Chinese New Year’s Eve. :)
Yen Yen
Abalone + Sea Cucumber = Love. But I’ll never make it because like you’ve said & experienced, it’s way too much work :)Kudos to your tenacity.
christobel
This look so authentic.. I never know that it is so easy to make this !
Rasa Malaysia
It is easy to make but takes a loooong time.
Will
This looks great. I recently went shopping at my local Ranch 99 Market. They sell fresh or not dry Abalone and See cucumber. How would you adjust the cooking time and method with non dry sea food?
Faris
I am a diver in Maldives. And i or we never eat this. I must give it a try. We export sea cucumber to china and other places. If you want i could post some to you even.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Faris. That would be awesome!
Yean
Entasked with this dish coming cny eve. First time for me, newly married so hope this turns out well for the parents-in-law. *Fingers crossed! Thanks for the recipe.
Chris
what is the specific name of a stewing chicken? 1 quart = ? ml (water)
Thank you
Victoria Kargbo
We have dried abalone and sea cucumber for sale. We have built up decades of experience trading both domestically and overseas with our partners in Africa.
We only supply dried products from wild caught abalone and does not use chemical additives or drying machines. We source our products from local fishermen in Cameroon’s Antlantic coastal towns of Kribi and Limbe where the market has just recently started to boom. We operate an Abalone farm in Limbe, South West Region of Cameroon
You can email me if you’re interested: [email protected]