WFT?! (what's for tea?!): Chinese-styled Abalone Consomme

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

Every once in awhile we all deserve something a little luxe.  And abalone being a bit of a pricey commodity is definitely in the treat category.  I like my abalone in a delicate broth.  A restauranteur friend of mine told me the abalone consommé in the high end Chinese restaurants would have seasonings such as oyster sauce to give it that extra seafoody umami dimension.  I don't really like to use too much oyster sauce in my cooking.  So I have played around with this recipe in order achieve the umami taste without sacrificing the delicateness of the broth. 

Magical elixir

Ingredients to make 4 - 6 bowlfuls:

• 1 big and juicy chicken thigh fillet (this needs to be Beyoncé sized).  If you have scrawny thigh fillets, use two instead of one.  Skin and bone removed. 
• 1 pork chop.  Fat removed but keep the bone. 
• 1 corn cob. 
• 1 carrot. 
• 5 small abalones.  I buy mine frozen from Costco. 
• 1600ml of tap water. 
• handful of rock salt. 

Method:

• Thaw abalone by sitting them in a dish of water for 30 minutes.  Then use a knife to pry them out to their shells.  Cut off what I refer to as the 'poo bag' which I suspect are it's guts.  Rinse clean. 

• Place all the ingredients except for the rock salt into a pot.  I use a clay slow cooker designed for soups.  But this cooks equally well in an ordinary slow cooker or on the stove top set on the lowest setting.  Slow cook this for 3 hours. 

• Skim any impurities from the top of the broth at the end of the cooking process. 
• Season with rock salt. 
• Take the meat out.  You can shred the chicken and put it back into the broth and discard the pork.  I tend to give the dogs both the chicken and pork as a treat for all!
• Take out the veggies.  Discard.
• Take out the star of the show, the abalone.  Slice thinly and serve with the consommé. 

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as we do. 

Until next time,
Nom Seeker, Glutt