Abalone in Clear Soup 清汤鲍鱼
Abalone in Clear Soup is featured among the local specialties of Henan.
Abalone in Clear Soup (清汤鲍鱼) is clear-soup abalone, one of the ten traditional classic dishes that Henan put its name to when the Chinese Cuisine Association published the national 中国菜 list in 2018.
What the name says, and what it does not
The name is precise about one thing: 清汤 is a clear broth, and 鲍鱼 is abalone. A dish built on a clear soup is a test of the stock rather than the sauce, because there is nowhere to hide — the broth has to be skimmed and strained until it is transparent, and the abalone has to be tender enough to need no heavy seasoning.
Nothing about the technique is asserted here — the sources read publish no recipe, cooking time or seasoning list. What is documented is the dish's standing: one of Henan's ten traditional classic dishes in the 2018 national release.
Why it reads as a banquet dish
A clear soup with abalone belongs to the restrained end of Chinese banquet cooking. Where a braised dish announces itself with colour and sauce, this one is judged by clarity, the depth of the stock and the texture of the abalone — soft and gelatinous at the centre, never rubbery at the edge.
It also sits inside a recognisable Henan group. The same 2018 list places it next to 扒广肚, 大葱烧海参 and 葱扒羊肉: dishes that put an expensive ingredient on a Henan table without turning it into a Sichuan-style chilli dish or a Cantonese seafood platter.
How a coastal ingredient became a Henan classic
Henan is an inland province, so abalone was never a local catch. It reached the region's kitchens as a luxury ingredient in banquet cooking, and the 2018 release — organised by the Chinese Cuisine Association together with the provincial commerce department in Zhengzhou — is the moment the province formally attached its name to the dish.
That release published 34 regional cuisine groups, 340 regional classic dishes and 273 theme banquets, with Henan contributing ten dishes and ten banquets. For a traveller, the practical meaning is that 清汤鲍鱼 is a menu item you are most likely to meet in the banquet or formal end of a Henan restaurant rather than at a street stall.
Ingredients and dietary questions
The two named components are abalone and a clear soup, and the soup is where the questions lie: clear broths in Chinese kitchens are commonly built on chicken, pork or ham, and the sources consulted do not state what this one uses. If you avoid pork or chicken, ask before ordering.
Abalone is a shellfish, so it is not suitable for anyone with a shellfish allergy, and a shared-pot preparation can carry traces across dishes. Ask whether the broth has been finished with a wine or a ham reduction if you are avoiding alcohol.
Ordering it
Ask for 清汤鲍鱼, and expect it near the banquet or chef's-special section of a Henan menu rather than among the everyday dishes. Because it is a premium item, availability and portion size vary by restaurant far more than for an ordinary dish.
Useful questions are 汤是什么熬的 — what is the stock made from — and 鲍鱼是鲜的还是干的, since dried and fresh abalone are cooked differently and both appear in Chinese kitchens.
How it is served
This is a course, not a meal: a bowl or small tureen brought to the table as one element of a formal Henan sequence, usually early, and eaten slowly with a spoon so that the soup is finished with the abalone.
Ordered alongside 扒广肚, 牡丹燕菜 or 葱扒羊肉 it reads as part of a deliberate provincial menu; ordered alone it is simply an expensive bowl of soup.
More dishes to compare
Explore related local specialties and compare their names, preparation notes and ordering guidance.
Slow-braised fish maw 扒广肚 →
Slow-braised fish maw (扒广肚) is braised fish maw, another of Henan's ten 2018 classic dishes and the closest relative 清汤鲍鱼 has on that list. The two take opposite approaches to a costly ingredient: 扒广肚 is a 扒 dish, cooked and finished with a sauce so that the maw takes on savoury body, while 清汤鲍鱼 strips the seasoning back to a clear broth and lets the abalone carry the dish. Reading them together is the fastest way to see the range of Henan banquet cooking rather than a single house style.
Questions before you order
Is 清汤鲍鱼 a Henan dish?
It is on the list of ten traditional classic dishes that Henan contributed to the 中国菜 release of 2018, published with the Chinese Cuisine Association and the provincial commerce department; abalone is not a Henan catch but became an ingredient of the province's banquet cooking.
What does the name mean?
清汤 means clear soup and 鲍鱼 means abalone, so the name describes a clear-broth abalone dish rather than a sauce-based preparation; the sources read do not publish the stock recipe.
Sources & reading
The supplied food list supports this name and regional association. The culinary terms below are explained as menu vocabulary; a local recipe, origin story and venue availability have not been independently verified.