Recipe: Cheong Liew’s Braised Abalone with Goose Web and Sea Cucumber

Ingredients (4 servings):

Pre-cooking the abalone (A):

• 4 pieces Pure Australian Frozen Green lip abalone
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1-tablespoon rice bran oil
• 80ml mineral water

Pre-cooking the goose web (B):

• 1 litter rich chicken stock
• 500gm goose web
• 200gm pork spare rib
• ½ boiler chicken (for stock – you can use chicken bones instead)
• 40gm ham bones
• 30gm fresh ginger, deep-fried until fragrant
• 40gm chopped shallots, deep-fried until fragrant
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 piece dried orange peel
• 1 pods star anise
• 1 teaspoon white peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 10gm rock sugar
• Rice bran oil for deep-frying

Preparing the dish:

• 100gm pre-cooked sea cucumber (from an Asian grocer), cut into 1cm thick pieces
• 1 bunch chrysanthemum greens, washed thoroughly
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil
• 4 pieces of pre-cooked abalone
• 200ml goose web cooking liquid
• 100ml abalone cooking liquid
• 1.5 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 0.5 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 0.5 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
• 125ml water (for tapioca starch solution)

Garnish:

• 2 stalks spring onion whites, cut into curls
• 4 small young celery leaves, crispy fried
• 1/4 medium size carrot, Julianned and crispy fried
• 1 bunch of baby leek, washed

Preparation:

Pre-cook abalone:

• Clean the abalone; place all the ingredients (A) inside a food quality heart proof plastic (Sous-vive) bag and seal. Bring a deep pot of water to a boil and place the bag in (Alternatively, you can use a Sous-vide bath or a slow cooker).
• Cook over medium heat for 4-5 hours at 85-90 degrees, regularly checking the water level to ensure the abalone stays below.

Pre-cook goose web:

• Scald the goose web in boiling water for a couple of seconds, submerge in cold water, and remove the outer skin, scales, and nails. Pat dry thoroughly.
• Deep fry the goose web in the rice bran oil for a couple of minutes on medium heat, and set aside.
• Blanch the spare rib, ham bones, and boiler chicken. Drain and place them in a large pot with a bamboo mat on the bottom.
• Add the rich chicken stock, goose web, the rest of the ingredients (B) into the pot. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 2 hours. Adding extra water when necessaryRemove the pot from heat and set aside for 45 minutes with the lid on.
• Strain the cooking liquid and reserve for the sauce. Remove the goose web from the pot and put back into the strained cooking liquid.

Prepare the dish:

• Lightly heat the rice bran oil in a saucepan. Add the goose web cooking liquid, abalone cooking liquid, oyster sauce, light soy, dark soy, sesame oil, abalone, goose web, and sliced pre-cooked sea cucumber and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the cooking liquid over medium heat for 3 minutes and thicken with the tapioca starch solution. Reduce further until the abalone is glazed. Add salt to taste.
• Boil the leek in mineral water for 2 minutes, and plunge into iced water, and strain. Roll in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge.
• Blanch chrysanthemum greens in boiling water or clear stock for a few seconds, plunge into iced water, and strain.
• Cut the chilled leek into 2cm rounds and arrange on a serving plate along with the chrysanthemum greens. Plate the goose web, sea cucumber, the abalone. Spoon the sauce over the abalone.
• Garnish with the spring onion curls, carrot crisps, and fried celery leaves.

---