The underside is attached to the shell.

Rinse the live abalone and scrub with a stiff brush. Cut away the abalone from the shell. Clean away all the gizzards and remove the beak. Remove the blackened loose flange around the body of the abalone and scrub and or trim off all the black.

Set up side down and strongly score the underneath in a cross hatch pattern. Set aside 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Set upside down in the cleaned shell and top with some ginger. Use spray oil to lightly coat each abalone. Add a sprinkle of salt. Steam for 4 minutes.

Meanwhille combine the sauce ingredients with the white of the shallots and bring to a boil. Stir aggressively to emulsify.

Plate and top with 1 Tbs of sauce.  Garnish with green shallot.
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10 Abalone (small)
1 Tbs Ginger (finely minced)

2 Tbs Peanut Oil
1 Tbs Oyster sauce
2 Tbs stock
2 Shallots (sliced finely)

I really think fresh abalone is a super food. Real brain food. Once a week through my kids early years well into their teens I would feed them an abalone each and every week. Turns out that their academic and other achievements do bear out high intelligence. Believe it or not. Maybe abalone might help ward off brain degeneration as we age. Who knows. There is no dought they are loaded with lots and lots of good stuff.

This recipe is for Baby Abalone and its a nice entree. Ginger and shallot with a mild oyster sauce gravy is my favourite way. But any topping or dipping sauce will easily work. Nevertheless, no need to over power the subtle flavours of the abalone.

Steaming abalone is so easy. Anywhere from 3 minutes to 10 minutes is correct. So I go 4 minutes. It is important to let the abalone rest before cooking. The muscle really goes rock hard tight when first removed from the shell. Cross hatch and rest till it loosens before cooking.