Awabi, Abalone

During the heat of summer—abalone season—my mother often used this large clam in mizu-gai, a sashimi dish of fresh-shucked, cubed abalone served with cucumber cubes and wedges of small tomatoes in individual bowls with cold water and ice cubes. This special treat cooled our bodies more effectively than our family’s electric fan.

In Japan, two awabi varieties are used in the sushi kitchen. For eating raw, we use kuro awabi, disk abalone, whose strong, dark green muscle meat enables it to move as far as 160 feet in a single night. For cooking, we use megai, Siebold’s abalone, whose meat is lighter in color and more tender than that of kuro awabi. For the best flavor and texture, we simmer megai in sake broth for several hours before slicing it for sushi or eating on its own.