Try poke made with raw or cooked abalone, clams | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Try poke made with raw or cooked abalone, clams | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Wednesday, February 25, 2009

TASTE
Try poke made with raw or cooked abalone, clams

•	Ingredients of success

By Wanda Adams

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Abalone clam poke combines seafood with tomatoes, onions and a spicy Asian marinade — yielding crisp and silky textures, some heat and a background of fragrant ocean saltiness and sweetness.

WANDA ADAMS | The Honolulu Advertiser

RAW OR COOKED?

Both abalone and clams can be eaten raw if you are sure of your sources and the seafood has been properly handled throughout its journey to you (kept below 45 degrees in a clean environment). If you have any doubts, use canned abalone or clams, which are already cooked. Or cook them yourself.

Cleaning fresh abalone: Rinse in cold water and scrub with salt, then rinse again. Using a heavy knife, pop open the shell by starting at the shallow side and working carefully around the shell. Switch to a very sharp, short-bladed knife and use a circular motion to free the internal organs, which are connected to the meat. Trim off the "lips" and the tough "foot." For large abalone, pound with a meat mallet until tender. Cut into 1/4-inch slices across the muscle. (See cleaning process pictured at www.bigislandabalone.com)

Cleaning fresh, live clams: Pick over clams and discard any that are broken or open. Place clams in a large bucket of fresh, cold water for 30 minutes; this filters out grit and salt. Pull out clams, scrub shells well.

Cooking abalone and clams for poke: Clean abalone and clams as directed. Cut abalone as directed but leave clams in shell. Water-saute abalone in frying pan; put about 1/2 inch water in pan (with a splash of shoyu and chili pepper water, if desired), bring to a boil, add abalone and cook 1 minute, stirring and turning. Drain, cool and use in poke as below. Cook clams in shell in the same way; clams should open when sauteed; cut meat from clams, cut into strips.

We know all about 'ahi poke, tofu poke, crab poke, squid poke. Is there nothing else? How about clam and abalone?

Especially if you use fresh, raw clams and abalone, the mild-flavored, slightly chewy meat lends itself to the assertive flavors of an Asian-style poke.

Canned clams are readily available, but canned real abalone is another matter. The product called "top shell" and often labeled abalone (it's legal to do so) is actually from the marine snail gastropod family Trochidae; true abalone is a larger marine snail and hails from the family Haliotidae. Because abalone has been overharvested, top-shell snails have taken its place in cans.

Most Island recipes call for canned abalone. But for the past few years, a Hawai'i operation, Big Island Abalone Corp., has been growing Japanese Ezo abalone in an aquaculture operation on the Kona coast and selling it by mail order, live or cooked by the pound (www.bigislandabalone.com), making it possible to enjoy the succulent, chewy sea-sweet taste of fresh abalone again.

But at a price: $23 to $29 a pound raw, plus shipping, depending on the size of the abalone (they range from 3 to 6 pieces per pound). Canned topshell, found in Asian grocery stores, is about $6 per 15-ounce can, from which you get about 8 ounces actual meat.

You may use fresh or canned abalone in the following poke, delicious with beer, white wine such as Johannesburg riesling or chilled, high-grade sake.

CLAM AND ABALONE POKE

6 ounces raw or cooked abalone (fresh or canned; see note at right)

5 to 6 ounces raw or cooked clam meat (fresh or canned; see note at right)

1/2 sweet Maui onion, cut into very thin slivers

1 (12-ounce) basket cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 small, hot red chili pepper, seeded and minced

1/2 bunch green onions, green part only, diced

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Prepare clams and abalone as described on this page.

In a large bowl, lightly toss together abalone and clams, onion and tomatoes. In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, citrus juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Cool. Pour sauce and sesame oil over abalone mixture. Add chili pepper and green onion. Toss well and marinate 30 minutes to 1 hour. Taste and correct seasonings. Place in serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Makes 6-8 appetizer servings.

• Per serving: 100 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 3 mg cholesterol, 500 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 10 g protein

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