Pan Fried Abalone with Lemon-Sriracha aioli
Beautiful abalone - perfect tender bites of joy plus nature's art! Enjoy this quick and easy fried preparation, a classic for abalone. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of fried seafood but this was ridiculously good and easy. Was it because they were alive only 5 minutes before I ate them? Or the bit of bacon grease I mixed in with the oil? I don't know, but this is a quick and easy way to prepare them that let's the abalone shine. Just be careful not to overcook! (If you have abalone in the shell check out this VIDEO on how to de-shell them first.)
Ingredients:
Fresh lemon juice, 2 lemons
Mayonnaise
6 Tenderized abalone
Shallow bowlful of breadcrumbs (toss a piece of sliced bread in the food processor if you can)
Shallow bowlful of 1 beaten egg
mix of vegetable oil and bacon grease, enough to make a shallow pool in your pan
Method:
For the dipping sauce - stir together in a small bowl:
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
splurt of sriracha (Vietnamese hot sauce, but you knew that)
half a clove of garlic, thinly chopped (optional!)
a couple turns of the pepper grinder
Line up your bowls, one with a beaten egg, the other with salted breadcrumbs, and heat up your pan with the oil in it
Coat your abalone thoroughly with beaten egg then dredge in the breadcrumbs so that both sides are covered
When your oil is nice and hot (medium-high), lay down your abalone fillets and let them cook until the breadcrumbs are golden, then flip. No more than a minute per side, but nice and golden. Don't overcook - they should be tender!
Quickly remove abalone from hot oil and drain well on several layers of paper towels, add a bit of salt.
Plate, squeeze with lemon, and serve with dipping sauce, and whatever else strikes your fancy.
Jump back, and kiss yourself!