Creamed Paua

Creamed paua is one of those dishes that never made it into cookbooks because it never needed to. If you dive, someone showed you. If you don’t, someone brought you a bag and told you what to do with it.

It’s also the dish most often ruined. Paua turns to rubber the moment you overcook it, and most people, being cautious with shellfish, cook it far too long. The whole recipe hinges on getting it out of the pan sooner than feels right.

This is the classic version – minced paua, onion, plenty of butter and cream, spooned onto hot toast. Serves four as a starter, or two people who aren’t sharing.

Before you gather any

Paua is one of the most poached species in New Zealand, and the rules are enforced. Worth knowing before you go:

• Daily limit: 10 per person per day in most of the country, but only 5 in the central and lower North Island.
• Minimum size (blackfoot paua): 125mm across most of New Zealand. It is 130mm around Kaikoura, and 85mm inside the Taranaki paua fishery area. Yellowfoot paua is 80mm.
• Measure each one on the rock as you take it, and put undersized ones straight back. Once it is off the rock it will usually die, so measuring later is not a kindness.
• No breathing apparatus. You cannot use or even carry it while gathering paua.
• You cannot buy wild paua, which is why it is a gift economy. Farmed paua is sold legally and works fine in this recipe.

Rules change and vary by area – check MPI’s paua rules or the NZ Fishing Rules app before you go.

Preparing the paua

This is most of the work, and it’s why the prep time is 20 minutes rather than 5.

1. Get it out of the shell. Slide a flat, blunt knife or a dessert spoon between the meat and the shell, keeping flat against the shell, and lever the muscle free.
2. Cut away the gut. The dark sac at the pointed end comes off with one cut. Discard it.
3. Trim the frill. The dark ruffled skirt around the edge can stay or go. It’s tougher, so if you’re keeping it, mince it finely.
4. Clean the foot. Scrub the black film off the sole with a scourer or a handful of coarse salt until you’re down to the pale meat. Rinse.
5. Tenderise. Either pound each one with a meat mallet or rolling pin until it goes limp and roughly doubles in width, or skip straight to mincing. For creamed paua, mincing does the job on its own.
6. Mince. A mincer is traditional. A food processor works if you pulse it – six or seven short bursts, not a continuous run, or you’ll get paste.

Tips

On the rubber problem. Paua has two states: cooked for under three minutes, or cooked for over an hour. Anything in between is a rubber band. If you’ve overdone it, don’t try to rescue it quickly – add a splash of stock, put a lid on and simmer for a full hour. It will come back tender. It won’t be quite the same dish, but it will be edible, which is more than can be said for the alternative.

Don’t salt the paua before cooking. It draws out moisture and firms the meat before it ever hits the pan.

Cold butter, hot toast. The toast wants buttering while it’s hot enough to melt it, then topping straight away. Creamed paua sitting in a bowl going lukewarm is a waste of a good dive.

Variations

• With egg. Some families stir a beaten egg through at the end, off the heat, which thickens it and stretches it further.
• Paua fritters. Same mince, but bound with 2 eggs and 2 tbsp flour instead of the cream sauce, then fried in spoonfuls until golden.
• A bit of heat. A pinch of cayenne or a dash of Worcestershire sauce is common and doesn’t fight the paua.
• Farmed paua. Smaller and more tender than wild. Cut the cooking time to 90 seconds.

Creamed paua FAQs

What does paua taste like?

Rich and mineral, somewhere between scallop and mussel but firmer and more savoury. Stronger than most white fish, much milder than oyster.

Can I use frozen paua?

Yes, and freezing actually helps tenderise it. Thaw it slowly in the fridge overnight, drain well, and pat dry before mincing – excess water will thin the sauce.

How do I know when it’s cooked?

It turns from translucent grey to opaque and firms up slightly. That’s it. Two to three minutes in a simmering sauce.

Why did mine go rubbery?

It was cooked for longer than about four minutes and less than about an hour. There’s no middle ground with paua.

Can I make it ahead?

Not really. The sauce can be made ahead and reheated, but the paua should go in at the last minute. Reheating creamed paua overcooks it a second time.

Can I buy paua?

Not wild-caught – it’s illegal to sell it in New Zealand. Farmed paua is available legally from some fishmongers and online suppliers.