Abalone

Woori Market, a wonderful Korean store in downtown Los Angeles, was the source of some abalone, complete with wasabi and soy sauce. 

I'd eaten abalone at least once previously, at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. I was not particularly fond of it, but abalone seems relatively exotic, so here was a chance to try some more relatively cheaply, at least compared with the charge at a sushi bar. 

Abalones are another type of sea snail and there are many different varieties. I made no attempt to identify the type I purchased. Their shells have several open respiratory pores near the outer edge of the shell 

and the inside of the shell is mother-of-pearl, which varies from species to species, but makes the shells attractive. 

The meat of this abalone was raw, but it had been cut into slices to make it convenient for eating. 

I found the texture kind of like sliced marinated mushroom, but much more stiff in a cartilaginous way. It verged on soft crunchiness and had no significant taste. I tried it plain and with wasabi and soy sauce 

and preferred it plain. I preferred the whelk we were eating at the same time, but Andrew preferred the abalone, he says because of texture. Texture is part of the reason I preferred the whelk, although I thought the whelk also had a better taste.