Seared abalone with noodles and XO sauce

This dish is something I throw together a lot at home for friends and family. It’s exceptionally easy, and the feedback you get seems to drastically outweigh the actual time spent in the kitchen.

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  55 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

It was inspired by the noodle dishes my mum used to make for us growing up, but I’ve added things I normally have in my fridge and that she would never have put in. 

Stream free On Demand

Episode 4

episode • A Girl's Guide to Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking • 

cooking • 

24m

PG

episode • A Girl's Guide to Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking • 

cooking • 

24m

PG

Ingredients

• 300–400 g live abalone (see Note)
• 400 g fresh egg noodles
• 120 g butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 baby bok choy
• 80 g XO sauce (see Note)
• 60 g spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• crispy fried shallots, to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat a steamer, either stovetop or electric. Place the abalone shell-side down and steam for 50 minutes, or until it can be pierced easily with a skewer. Remove the abalone, take it out of the shell and clean off the guts. Thinly slice it with a sharp knife.
2. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch the noodles for 30 seconds, then drain, reserving some of the water if you like a slightly wetter sauce.
3. In a large sauté pan, melt half the butter. Add the garlic and fry it out gently on a low heat, making sure it doesn’t colour, for about 3 minutes. Add the sliced abalone, fry it in the butter for 1–2 minutes, then add the bok choy, XO sauce and the rest of the butter. Stir as the bok choy wilts and the sauce emulsifies, 1–2 minutes. Add the spring onions and still-warm noodles and toss everything together.
4. Season with lemon juice and test to see if it requires salt. Add a little of the noodle-blanching water to thin out the sauce, if desired. Top with crispy fried shallots for texture.

Note

•You can reserve and dehydrate the abalone liver and stomach, then grind them to a powder to make an ‘abalone salt’ for seasoning fish and vegetables. You can also use pre-purchased XO sauce or make your own with Analiese's recipe.

Analiese Gregory explores life at the bottom of the world in A Girl's Guide to Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

It was inspired by the noodle dishes my mum used to make for us growing up, but I’ve added things I normally have in my fridge and that she would never have put in. 

Stream free On Demand

Episode 4

episode • A Girl's Guide to Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking • 

cooking • 

24m

PG

episode • A Girl's Guide to Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking • 

cooking • 

24m

PG