|
| |
| Latin: |
Haliotis rufescens |
| |
| Origin: |
Abalone refers to Haliotis diversicolor Reeve (variegated abalone), Haliotis gigantea discus Reeve./Haliotis discus hannai Ino (disk abalone), Haliotis ovina Gmelin (goat abalone), Haliotis australis Gmelin (Australian abalone), Haliotis asinina Linnaeus (donkey's ear shell) or Haliotis sorenseni Bartsch (white abalone), of the subclass Prosobranchia (class Gastropoda) constituting the genus Haliotis and family Haliotidae, in which the shell has a row of holes on its outer surface.
Abalone is a large marine snail with a single shell and a muscular foot, found in warm seas worldwide. It clings to rocks and grazes on seaweed. Fossils show abalone existed 100 million years ago. The dishlike shell is perforated near one edge by a single row of small holes that become progressively filled during the animal's growth; the last five to nine holes remain open to serve as outlets for the snail's waste products.
Depending on the species, abalones range from 10 to 25 cm across and up to 7.5 cm in depth. The shell's lustrous, iridescent interior is used in the manufacture of ornaments and, in China, as a common herb.
The large muscular foot of the abalone is eaten as a delicacy in several countries. Commercial fisheries for abalones exist in California, Mexico, Japan, and South Africa. The largest abalone is the 30-centimetre red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) of the western coast of the United States.
See also Herbs, Herbs for Calming the Liver and Checking Wind, Abalone Shell. |
| |
| Properties: |
| Sweet and salty in flavor, mild in nature, it is related to the channels of the liver and kidney. |
| |
| Functions: |
| Nourishes yin (body fluids), clears heat, benefits the liver and semen, sharpens vision, eliminates dampness, clears up the channels. |
| |
| Applications: |
1. To enhance fertility.
2. Abalone nourishes liver yin, thus good to those who suffer from inner heat and deficiency of yin in febrile diseases such as dizziness, headache, blurred vision, dry mouth, dry throat, dry lips, dry coughs, excess vaginal discharge, high blood pressure, neurasthenia and tuberculosis.
3. For jaundice, smelly and yellowish vaginal discharge, furuncle and boils with pus, etc., due to damp heat.
4. For insufficient milk secretion or early stoppage of menstruation. |
| |
| Dosage and Administration: |
Abalone is sold dried, live, or frozen in the shell, as ready-to eat fresh or frozen pounded steaks, or canned.
To shuck fresh abalone from the shell, cut the connector muscle, then pry out the flesh. Trim and discard the viscera, remove dark skin from the foot, and scrub the meat to remove the black coating. Cut steaks against the grain of the meat, and pound each slice.
The freshest abalone is stored on ice, still in the shell. It can be served as sashimi or fried.
To freeze fresh abalone, clean the muscle and cut it into steaks. Wrap steaks individually in freezer wrap and over-wrap with a heavy plastic bag. Freeze no longer than two months.
To quick-thaw, run cold water over abalone that is enclosed in a watertight wrapper, allowing 30 minutes for every 500 grams. For faster thawing, use the defrost cycle of your microwave, allowing 2 to 5 minutes for every 500 g, with equal standing time in between zaps (as one minute defrost to one minute resting).
Put dry abalone in an airtight box and store it in cool, dry place.
Fresh abalone should be stored on ice, still in the shell. Keep fresh abalone cool on the trip from the market to your house. Store in the coldest part of your refrigerator in a bowl covered with a wet towel, and use within 24 hours.
Store purchased frozen abalone in its original wrapping in the freezer, and use it within two months. Before use, defrost abalone overnight in the refrigerator. Never defrost at room temperature.
To cook dried abalone, soak it first in 60 degree C. water for four hours or in cool water overnight; then put in fresh water and boil it in slow heat for two hours until the abalone is soft. Only then should we add seasoning to start cooking it, usually with chicken, ham, pork trotter, Chinese yam, wolfberry fruit, longan aril, etc. Cook first in high heat, followed by about eight hours of low heat until the soup becomes thick juice.
To fry fresh abalone, dip the pounded slices in seasoned flour, then shake off excess flour. Quick cooking is essential to keeping abalone tender. Heat a frying pan until very hot; add vegetable oil; and cook the abalone about 30 seconds on each side. |
| |
| Cautions on Use: |
Abalone should not smell fishy. Keep fresh abalone cool on the trip from the market to your house. Store in the coldest part of your refrigerator in a bowl covered with a wet towel, and use within 24 hours.
Abalone is not easy to digest. Those who suffer from dyspepsia should avoid excessive consumption. |
| |
| Reference Materials: |
|
| |
| Toxic or Side Effects: |
|
| |
| Modern Researches: |
Abalone is a nutritious food. For a raw 85 g abalone, there are 89 calories, 14.5 g protein, 5.1 g carbohydrate, 0.65 g fat, 38 mcg selenium, 40 mg magnesium, 0.6 mcg vitamin B12, 3.4 IU vitamin E, and over twenty amino acids.
When cooked (fried), abalone provides 0.149 grams of omega-3 fatty acids derived from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (0.054 g) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA) (0.095 g), per each 100 grams of abalone. |
| |
| |
|
