Food · Fermented foods

Awabi (Japanese Abalone)

あわび (Awabi)

Also known as: Awabi, Japanese abalone, Haliotis discus hannai, Haliotis gigantea, Haliotis sieboldii, 鮑, Madaka-awabi, Megai-awabi, Kuro-awabi

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At a glance

Category	Food
Japanese labeling name	あわび生 / 干し / 塩辛
Common Japanese notations	あわび, 鮑, アワビ, 黒鮑, 目貝鮑, 蝦夷鮑
Origin	Japanese abalone — three species: Kuro-awabi (Haliotis discus discus, Pacific south), Megai-awabi (Haliotis gigantea, Pacific), Madaka-awabi (Haliotis madaka, deep-water premium), and Ezo-awabi (Haliotis discus hannai, northern); principal regions Iwate, Miyagi, Chiba, Mie, Tokushima, Nagasaki; wild-harvest declining and aquaculture growing; dried abalone (kanpyo / boshi-awabi) is a top-grade Chinese-cuisine ingredient (干鮑) and historic export 'Tawara-mono' to Qing China (Edo era)
Typical functions	Top-tier premium shellfish — sushi, sashimi, kaiseki signature, Kanpyo-awabi (dried abalone) — premium Chinese-cuisine high-end ingredient, Salt-pickled awabi-no-shiokara (luxury preserve), Awabi-no-jiwarayaki (steam-grilled premium preparation), Iwate Sanriku and Tokushima Naruto premium provenance
Regulatory status in Japan	Standard food labeling. Origin disclosure required. Awabi is JAS-recommended-disclosure allergen. Wild-harvest in marine-protected zones requires fishing-rights compliance; some regions enforce minimum-size and seasonal limits.

Awabi (あわび / 鮑) is Japanese abalone — three species (kuro/megai/madaka) plus ezo-awabi northern. Top-tier premium shellfish for sushi, sashimi, kaiseki. **Dried awabi (kanpyo) is a Chinese-cuisine luxury ingredient** and historic Edo-era 'Tawara-mono' export. Iwate Sanriku, Tokushima Naruto premium.

Classification

Tags below link to other ingredients sharing the same attribute, so you can pivot from one ingredient to its peers.

Product applications

Functions

Flavoring

Regulatory tags

Culinary ingredient

Origin

Animal-derived

Used in (typical product categories)

Finished-product categories that commonly include this ingredient in Japanese-market formulations.

Live/fresh awabi premium retail (sashimi-grade)
Dried awabi (kanpyo) B2B Chinese-cuisine premium
Awabi-no-shiokara luxury retail
Frozen awabi for foodservice premium

What it is

Haliotis discus / gigantea / madaka / discus hannai abalone.

Typical uses in Japanese products

Premium sushi, sashimi, kaiseki.

Kanpyo-awabi dried Chinese-cuisine luxury.

Awabi-no-shiokara salt-pickle.

Steam-grilled premium kaiseki.

For OEM: live premium retail, dried Chinese-cuisine B2B, foodservice frozen.

Regulatory classification in Japan

Standard food labeling. Origin disclosure.

**Awabi JAS-recommended-disclosure allergen.**

Wild-harvest fishing-rights compliance; minimum-size and seasonal limits in some regions.

Regulatory classification in other markets

EU	Mollusks EU-mandatory allergen. Premium Asian-cuisine market.
USA	Mollusk allergen disclosure. CITES — some abalone species protected; verify sourcing.
China	Premium import market (dried awabi command top tier).
Korea	Established as 전복 (jeonbok); strong domestic aquaculture (Wando).

Example products

Example finished products will be added after verification.

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Related ingredients

Tokobushi

Used in similar product applications

Other ingredients commonly used in the same finished-product families.

Sharing similar functions

Ingredients that overlap on functional benefit tags.

From the same origin

Other ingredients that share an origin classification.

References

MEXT Standard Tables of Food Composition — あわび生 / 干し / 塩辛

Last updated: 2026-04-28. Ingredient entries are reviewed at least annually against current regulatory listings.