A classic dish that you'll often see at Chinese dim sum / banquet restaurants in some form. Often it's scallops, but some of the more bougie places will also have abalone. It's easily one of my favorite dishes at these restaurants. Honestly, even without the seafood (whether it's abalone, scallop, shrimp, etc), it's incredible with just the vermicelli and garlic / soy / oil sauce itself.
Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min
> abalone (ideally with shell)
> thin vermicelli noodles
> garlic (minced)
> soy sauce
> oil
1. Prepare the abalone according to the instructions. (see below for notes)
2. Blanch the vermicelli noodles for just a little bit, until loosened / fully cooked through. If using thin vermicelli noodles, this should be done within 30s at most. Drain and lightly rinse with cold water.
3. Assemble: put the abalone in its shell on the serving plate, and place a small mound of vermicelli on top of each abalone.
4. In a small pan / saucepan, heat up oil until quite hot. Add in the minced garlic and fry just until it starts to turn a bit golden-brown. Immediately add in the soy sauce, whirl it around, and spoon the mixture over the top of the assembled abalone / vermicelli. Serve and enjoy!
> Last time when I made this, I bought frozen abalone from Costco. They recommended first doing a slow defrost in the fridge overnight. Then to cook the abalone, blanch it in 70C / 150F water for several minutes until fully cooked. Finally, remove the innards / organs / etc (these don't taste very good), clean, and you're ready to eat.