3 Classic Abalone Recipes To Elevate Your CNY Reunion with Cold Storage

Abalone is widely recognized as the cream of the crop among seafood, and often associated with luxury indulgence. Most abalone species can only thrive in cold waters along the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, America and Japan, and they are limited in quantity.

Unlike conventional seafood such as fishes and prawns, abalone cannot be obtained from the cast of a net. They are harvested by divers individually by hand. It is also one of those ingredients that doesn’t have much flavour but is renowned for its texture. When cooked in sauces, it will take on the essence of the sauce with an extra hint of saltiness.

Preparing an auspicious feast for Chinese New Year can be stressful. With help from Cold Storage’s range of premium abalone, it’s time to get creative! Here are our 3 recipes which are super simple but irresistibly delicious. Try them out!

NEW ZEALAND ABALONE

New Zealand Abalone is renowned for its distinctive and delectable taste. Living close to the shore, it feeds on an abundance of fine kelp and seaweed. These food sources impart special flavour to the abalones, and attributes that abound through its textured meat. Hand-harvested sustainably, this abalone is great for steamboat and soup dishes!

Pen Cai

Pen cai symbolizes unity, harmony, and prosperity, and is meant to be shared by a family. This bowl of decadent feast is layered with delicious and premium ingredients.
Preparing pen cai is a laborious process because you need to cook the ingredients individually. But trust me, you get a high sense of achievement when the ingredients come together. Here’s how we prepare it:

Ingredients:
1 can of Abalone, thinly sliced
4 cooked prawns
50g fried yam
50g fried lotus root
100g pork belly
80g scallops, soaked in water till soft
500ml chicken broth
50ml abalone brine
4 shitake mushroom, soaked in water till soft
4 dried oysters, soaked in water till soft
½ head cabbage, cut to big pieces and, cooked till soft
Some fatt choy
5 slices ginger
3 cloves garlic

Seasoning:
1 tbsp premium oyster sauce
1 tsp light sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornflour

Method:
1. Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant.
2. Cook chicken stock, abalone brine and seasoning in a small pot. Thicken with cornstarch.
3. Assemble the ingredients in a pot, starting with cabbage at the bottom.
4. Pour the sauce over the ingredients and bring to a boil. Serve.

Braised Trotter with Abalone and Mushrooms

Cooked long and slow in a rich oyster sauce, Braised Trotter with Abalone and Mushrooms is a great way to celebrate any special occasion with your family.

Patience is all you need. The longer the abalone is braised, the better it tastes! It goes really well with a simple bowl of rice and all other Chinese New Year dishes. The ingredients are beautifully bronzed, you can also add other ingredients like cauliflower and sea cucumber.

Ingredients:
1kg pork trotter
1 can of premium abalone
100 g shiitake mushrooms
8 chestnuts
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 g ginger, finely sliced
7 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
4 tbsp cooking oil
1.2L chicken stock
1 bsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch

Method:

1. Blanch pork trotter in boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Saute garlic and ginger till fragrant.
3. Add in mushrooms and stir fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add the abalone in and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
5. Pour in the oyster sauce, salt, sugar and chicken bouillon powder.
6. Mix well and stir in the Shaoxing rice wine.
7. Pour chicken stock in and bring to a boil.
8. When boiling, turn the heat down to low-medium and simmer for 4 hours. You can also use a pressure cooker and cook for 1.5 hours.
9. Thicken the gravy by mixing cornstarch with 100ml of water. Enjoy!

AUSTRALIA ABALONE

Native only to Australian waters, which has one of the world’s shortest recreational fishing seasons, Australia abalone is wild-caught sustainably from shallow waters to depths as deep as 50 meters.Experienced abalone divers have to brave the cold and shark infested waters to hand select the finest quality abalones for delivery to the processing premises.

Steamed Abalone with XO Sauce

New Moon Australia Abalone is widely prized for its pearly white appearance, lusciously tender texture and exquisite flavour. The abalone is canned in brine, after which they are steamed, “pressure-cooker” style. Hence, it is ready to eat.

This time round, we decided to steam it for 10 minutes and pair it with XO sauce (we use Lee Kum Kee). The sweet and chewy meat goes exceptionally well with the savoury and mildly spicy XO sauce. Alternatively, you can serve the abalone with braised dishes or stew.

Ingredients:
1 can of New Moon Australia Abalone
1 bottle of XO sauce
Spring onion (optional)

Method:
1. Trim the viscera from abalone. Rinse with water.
2. Bring the water to a boil, steam the abalone for 5-6 minutes.
3. Slice the abalone and serve with XO sauce (which you can purchase from Cold Storage). Sprinkle some spring onions and serve

GET ALL YOUR CNY ESSENTIALS FROM COLD STORAGE

Start stocking up on Chinese New Year snacks, steamboat essentials and mandarin oranges. Let Cold Storage be your one-stop destination for all things Chinese New Year! Look forward to these offerings:

• Mandarin oranges: variety includes Lukan, Ponkan, Swatow, Kinno. Available in cartons, gift boxes and gift packs for gifting or visiting.
• Steamboat must-haves: Wagyu Beef shabu shabu meats, Sukiyaki, Yakiniku, Prosperous fortune ringroll, cabbage, Sunshine Hokkaido Scallops
• Festive drinks: Beer, Wines, Sweet drinks
• Hearty goodies: pineapple tarts, love letters, kueh bangkit

Award-winning Meadows has also brought in an extensive CNY range to share quality goodies with everyone. It ranges from fresh produce to household essentials such as Thai Hommali Rice, Chicken Broth, Meadows Honey Green Tea, Meadows Party Mix Potato Chips, Wafer Peanut, Cebu Dried Mango, frozen French Fries and more.

Grab all your CNY essentials at Cold Storage and CS Fresh stores. Their CNY offerings are also available online with free delivery above $59 spend. It’s fuss-free and just a click of a button away!

In addition, you can now purchase from CART App – a one-stop shopping app for groceries, toiletries and of course, CNY goodies. Get to enjoy same day delivery* and what’s more, new CART users can redeem $20 worth of coupons!*

*T&Cs apply.