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Preparation
25 minutes
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Cooking
1 hour 15 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Boost your family’s health right away to prevent colds during rainy days with the incredibly simple and delicious herbal abalone stew. Today, let’s follow the In the Kitchen section of TasteVN to make this highly nutritious soup.
Ingredients for Herbal Abalone Stew Serves 2
Fresh abalone 1.5 kg Chicken bones 400 gr Shiitake mushrooms 200 gr Carrot 1 piece Shallot 1 clove Garlic 2 cloves Green onion/cilantro a little Herbal seasoning a little (Codonopsis/ Rehmannia/ Goji berries/ Chinese yam/ Job’s tears/ Lotus seeds/ Black dates/ Red dates/ Angelica/ White fungus) Lemon 1 fruit (for preparing abalone) Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common seasoning a little (sugar/ salt/ MSG)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh abalone
- You should choose abalones that are of moderate size, with round and balanced meat.
- At the same time, you can also check by pressing with your hand; if the meat has good elasticity, you should buy it.
- Avoid choosing abalones that feel soft or mushy when touched, and have an unpleasant smell.
How to choose fresh and delicious shiitake mushrooms
- You should choose mushrooms that are intact, with short stems and tightly fitted caps.
- Prefer mushrooms that have a natural, fragrant smell when sniffed.
- Avoid choosing mushrooms that are bruised or have a very dark color.
How to choose fresh and delicious carrots
- Choose carrots that are medium-sized, not too large, elongated, and feel firm when held.
- Fresh carrots should have a bright orange color, smooth skin, not rough, with fresh green tops still attached to the body.
- Avoid choosing carrots with wilted tops, slimy bodies when touched, soft flesh, and many bruises on the surface, as these indicate old carrots that can affect health.
- Generally, larger carrots are not as tasty as smaller ones because they are older, have more fibers, and contain very few nutrients.
Where to buy Chinese medicinal herbs?
- To prepare this soup, you can find various Chinese medicinal herbs such as ginseng, cooked rehmannia, goji berries, Chinese yam, Job’s tears, lotus seeds, black dates, red dates, angelica, and white fungus.
- You can visit supermarkets or traditional herbal medicine shops to purchase the Chinese medicinal herbs for your soup.
Tools needed
How to cook Abalone Soup with Chinese medicinal herbs
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Prepare the abalone
To clean the abalone, first, wash them thoroughly with water, using a brush to scrub off any algae stuck on the shell’s surface.
Next, use the end of a spoon to separate the abalone from the shell, remove the innards, and brush it clean once more.
To eliminate the fishy odor of the abalone, rub salt and lemon on the meat, then rinse thoroughly with water and place it on a plate.
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Prepare other ingredients
To eliminate the smell of chicken bones, soak them in diluted salt water for about 5 minutes, then remove and rinse with cold water and let drain.
Wash the mushrooms, to remove their odor, soak them in water for about 10 minutes, then take them out, squeeze out the water, and place them in a basket.
Peel the carrots, wash them clean, then use a knife to carve flower shapes and cut them into pieces about 1/2 finger thick.
Peel the shallots and garlic, wash them clean, and finely chop. Trim the yellowed leaves and roots off the green onions and cilantro, wash them clean, and chop them finely.
Wash the medicinal herbs and let them drain in a basket.
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Simmering broth with Chinese herbs
Place a clay pot on the stove, add 400g of chicken bones and about 1 liter of water, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken bones, add the chopped carrots and shiitake mushrooms, and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.
Next, add all the Chinese herb seasonings and cook together for another 10 minutes.
Once the broth is fragrant, season with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir well to completely dissolve the seasonings.
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Stir-frying and simmering abalone
Place a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, wait for the oil to heat up, then add chopped shallots and garlic, stirring until fragrant before adding the abalone and stir-frying for about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, the abalone will be slightly cooked and firm, then add them to the pot of broth.
Taste and adjust the seasoning to your family’s preference, then simmer for another 10 minutes before turning off the heat.
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Final Product
The abalone stewed with herbal medicine has a very distinct aroma of various herbal ingredients when completed. When enjoyed, it has a rich flavor, sweet and mild from the broth, the abalone is crunchy and delightful, and the carrots and shiitake mushrooms are soft and fresh.
All the ingredients should be very well-balanced, not greasy at all, but also packed with nutrients that are good for health!
See more:
With simple steps, you have completed the incredibly delicious and nutritious dish of braised abalone with traditional Chinese medicine for your family members. The soup is very easy to enjoy, fragrant with the aroma of Chinese medicine blended with the soft and fatty abalone. Quickly save the recipe and share it so that more friends can know about it.
*Refer to the recipe and images from the YouTube channel Tấn Lâm Vlog.
