Sharks Fin Soup

Shark fin soup (Chinese: é­šç¿… Yú Chì ) is a dish commonly served in Chinese restaurants as part of a Chinese feast, usually at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth and prestige. It was a regional delicacy in the Southern part of China until the late 1980s. The Communist Chinese government denounced shark fin soup as a symbol of elitism but backed off this stance in the late 1980s. Shark fin soup became popular as a way of honoring guests because it was thought that shark’s fin increased potency and appetite. The demand has increased exponentially in the last 15 years, and now shark’s fin soup can be found in most Chinese Restaurants around the world. Hong Kong has roughly 50 percent of the global trade in shark fins but exports from Singapore and Taiwan are increasing.

Genuine shark fin soup or stew is made with shark fins obtained from any of several shark species. Raw shark fins are processed by first removing the skin, trimming them to shape, and thoroughly drying them. Bleaching with hydrogen peroxide may be employed before drying to make the colour of the sharks fin more appealing. Shark fins are the cartilaginous pectoral and dorsal fins of a shark.

Shark fin typically is cooked for a very long time until the shark fin separates into needles of cartilage that look like clear noodles. The fin itself has no taste, but it absorbs the flavor of the soup broth it is cooked in. Shark fin has little nutritional value but it does contain high levels of mercury.

Sharks, being at the top of the marine food chain, bioconcentrate mercury in their bodies. Mercury, in the form of methylmercury, is evenly distributed in body tissues of fish and thus one finds about the same concentrations in muscle, neural tissue and cartilage. Average size sharks demonstrate mercury concentrations (in muscle) from roughly 0.5 to 2 ug/g (ppm) (Food Additives and Contaminants, Vol. 20, No. 9, September, 2003, pp. 813–818). The mercury concentration in large sharks may reach 5 ppm. The threshold for mercury in seafood, above which fish consumption becomes hazardous, is a hotly debated topic and certainly depends on how much is eaten and how often, but most agree that concern begins at or above 0.1 ppm for pregnant mothers and small children.

Fresh shark fin is rarely used in cuisine, and is almost always used in dry form. Dried shark fin is prepared by first reconstituting in clear meat stock made from either Chinese dried ham or chicken. Fins are then cooked through simmering in a rich stock with similarly rich and high priced ingredients. This is done for no more then an hour in order to preserve the shark fin’s texture and shape. It is then served as rich soup or stew, usually as a main course.

Individual shark fin ”needles“ can be described as having a texture somewhere between soft rubber and hard agarose jelly, with the flexibility of the former and the slight brittle “crunch” of the latter. When a whole fin is eaten, the binding tissue combined with the needles softens the needles’ otherwise rubbery impact. Shark fin itself does not have much flavour though it may hold a slight fishy fragrance. It is for these reasons that flavourful stocks and ingredients are used to enhance the flavour of shark fin.

Considered a highly prized delicacy, the best shark fin soup can fetch up to US$100 per bowl. However, there are also cheaper shark fins, usually taken from smaller shark species, used for casual dining. The quantities used for each bowl of soup may vary from a few needles of fin rays (typical in a US $150 Chinese feast), to a whole small fin, or even more. The price depends on the size and quality of shark fin used; shark fin is estimated to cost at least US $4.50 per bowl.

Shark fin is the third most prized ingredient of the four treasures of the sea in Chinese cuisine. The others are abalone(which is always the most expensive), sea cucumber (varies in cost), and finally, dried scallops or fish maw.

There is an imitation version are usually sold as cans that may simply be labeled as shark-fin soup (in most cases preceded by the word “imitation” on the product label), and sells for around US $1.50 per bowl. It does not contain shark-fins, but instead is made of mung bean vermicelli shaped to resemble shark fins, though they are nowhere equivalent to genuine shark fin in either texture or color. It is commonly served in chicken broth, with culinary fungus and pork to enhance the texture and taste.

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