Abalone in Season

[Anchor Lead]

Abalone is in season in the south sea these days. The popular seafood has a number of other names here in Korea: they are also known as ear shells, the king of all seafood and the ginseng of the sea. We take you to the harvest in today’s close up.

[Pkg]

Here in the southern sea still very early morning, fishermen hurriedly head out to the seas. Their destination is an abalone farm.

[Soundbite] Kim Cheol-hee (Abalone Farm Employee) : "Harvesting during the day negatively affects the freshness because of the heat. Abalone shells die when temperatures are above 30 degrees."

A crane lifts up a huge net filled with the shells. This is the moment of unveiling 100 abalone that were put in here 3 years ago. They seem to have grown superbly.

[Soundbite] Kim Cheol-hee (Abalone Farm Employee) : "Quality abalone has a lustrous shell and flesh and are also well attached to walls. Good shells also don't have the ammonia smell."

Abalone is rich in the substance called taurine which helps ease fatigue. The shells have the highest taurine content among all seafood which make them a frequent component in health dishes.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Yeong-seong (Shinhan University) : "Abalone is rich in vitamins, taurine and amino acids. It's exceptional in detoxifying the liver and easing fatigue, a perfect energizer in the muggy summer."

At one corner of the sea farm, workers now clean up the abalone for the first taste of the freshly harvested crop. They are the first to enjoy this honor.

[Soundbite] Shin Sun-deok (Jeollanam-do Prov. Resident) : "Eating abalone right out of the sea, not a tank makes it all the more amazing, especially the texture."

Many folks would long to feast on the chewy flesh as much as they want but abalone is quite pricy. But these don't present that problem. It looks pretty ordinary but taken out of the shell, the fleshy part is rather small. These are mini abalone that failed to grow to their full size. Previously they were thrown away seen as having no commodity value but these days, they are a proud product of their own. They are just a bit smaller but the taste and nutritional value are the same as regular abalone while their price is much affordable.

[Soundbite] Kim Chang-hyeon (Incheon Resident) : "The small size makes preparation easier because there's no need to slice it up. Most of all, I buy the mini ones frequently for the affordable price."

Then how can we go about eating this delicacy? Preparation is crucial. Use a toothbrush to thoroughly clean even the shell to wash out all impurities. After its cleaned, poke your finger inside the shell which will easily separate the flesh. Now then, what shall we make? Abalone should be eaten raw when it's still alive to stave off the fishy smell and also prevent any stomach ache. Let's try whipping up a cold raw fish soup with a generous portion of abalone. First chop up various veggies. Then make the spicy marinade which includes chili pepper paste, chili powder, sugar, vinegar and sweet plum extract. Then garlic, ginger, onion, pepper and some squeezed pear juice are added to the seasoning. And of course the hero of the dish is abalone. Slice the flesh in bite size bits and place them over the vegetables. Then slather on some of the delicious marinade as well as some meat stock, and cold raw fish soup is completed. This dish is a special Korean treat. Abalone is in season from August to October. Enjoy this treat when you can and when they are at their best this time of the year.