Soak shiitake mushrooms in 200 ml warm water for 30 minutes or until they are soft and plump. Squeeze excess water from the mushrooms. Keep the soaking liquid and trim off the stems from the mushrooms
Blanch bok choy:
Separate the bok choy stalks and wash clean with water. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add bok choy and boil for 1 minute and refresh with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside
Clean the abalones (if frozen):
Thaw the abalones if frozen. If you are using canned abalone, you can skip this part. The frozen abalones we got were shelled and already have their guts removed. However, they are still dirty. Use a little brush to brush off all the black stuff off the abalones. Rinse clean with water
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Boil the abalone for 5 minutes and then discard the water and rinse clean. The abalones are ready to be used at this point
Pressure cook the abalones:
Press "saute" on instant pot. Add cooking oil to inner pot. Saute garlic for 30 seconds. Add ginger slices and cook for another minute. Deglaze with a wine and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the liquid from soaking mushrooms, chicken broth, liquid from canned abalone, and seasonings. Arrange the abalone and mushroom pieces inside. Close the lid. Turn the steam release valve to seal. Press "pressure cooker" and then "high pressure". Pressure cook on high for 50 minutes
After 50 minutes, wait for 5 minutes and then release pressure completely. Remove mushrooms and abalones from the pressure cooker
Press "saute" on instant pot and bring the braising liquid from cooking the abalones earlier to a boil. Have a taste and add more salt and/or sugar as needed. It should be savory. Give the cornstarch solution a stir and pour in and keep stirring until the sauce thickens and proceed to assembling
If cooking on the stove:
Preheat a large pot. Add cooking oil and saute garlic for about 30 seconds. Add ginger slices and saute for another 1 minute. Deglaze with wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the liquid from soaking mushrooms, chicken broth, liquid from canned abalone, and seasonings. Bring to a boil then add mushrooms, and abalone pieces. Lower the heat and cover with a lid and let it simmer for the next 2-2 1/2 hours or until the abalone pieces are tender
If using canned abalone (which is usually already cooked):
You can skip the pressure cooking part and just prepare the sauce. Preheat a large pot. Add cooking oil and saute garlic for about 30 seconds. Add ginger slices and saute for another 1 minute. Deglaze with wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the liquid from soaking mushrooms, chicken broth, liquid from canned abalone, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, add mushrooms and let it simmer for about 30 minutes
Put the canned abalone pieces in the there and let them simmer over medium heat for about 2 minutes or so. Don't over cook them as they will turn rubbery. Give the cornstarch solution a stir and pour as you stir until the sauce is thickened. Proceed to assemble the dish
Assembling:
When abalones and mushrooms are cool enough to handle, slice them into about 1/4-inch thickness. Arrange the bok choy on the platter decoratively (if you like). Arrange the slices of abalone next and then the mushrooms
Drizzle the sauce generously over the dish, garnish with chopped green onion and serve. In the video, I use goji berries for the pop of red color