This maritime treat makes its home in a pearly shell in the ocean, attaching itself to rocks lining coastal shores.
Even those who haven’t eaten abalone have probably at least seen its shell in jewelry stores! Some would say that the edible delicacy is even more valuable than its precious home. Harved along coastal shores by wading fisherman or by diving teams in depths of up to 20 meters, abalone is valued for its unique blend of hazlenut and seawater flavor. Because the creature generally habitates its shell solo, it can be even harder to get the meat out of the shell than to retrieve it from the depths of the ocean. That’s why many Japanese chiefs simply vertically slice the meat off in fine strips while many European chefs go at it with a steak cleaver. This second technique makes the meat more tender but true conneisseurs prefer the Japanese variation.