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Shark fin soup Wikipedia

Shark fin soup is a recipe commonly served in Chinese cuisine|Chinese restaurants as part of a Chinese feast, usually at the more upscale version.

The name of this soup is not a figure of speech; it is actually made with real sharks' fins. The fins are first trimmed, dried, then bleached before the membrane is broiled with chicken stock and other ingredients prior to being served. Considered a highly pricey delicacy, the best shark fin soup can fetch up to US$100 per bowl. In places where they are highly demanded like in Hong Kong, genuine, good quality sharks' fins can sell for US$400 per kilogram. However, there's been also a period that the cheaper (though real) shark fins been used for conventional entrees.

Still, real shark fins can be found in bowls of Shark-fin soup, though depend on the price of the item, and the size and quality of shark fin used (which is at least US $4.50), it may be only some sparse needle-like flesh (typical in a US $150 chinese feast), one small end of the fin base, or a lot.

There also exist the imitation version that may also simply be called as shark-fin soup (though in most case "imitation" will be added in front of the english tag), and sell for around US $1.50. Obviously they do not contain shark-fins, but instead used bean vermicelli that provided similar, but nowhere equivalent, texture and color (clear). It was commonly served in a chicken broth soupbase, mingled with numerous fungus and strips of lean pork to enhance the texture and taste.

It is second prized item of the four "sea-item" of the Chinese cuisine. The others are abalone (which is always the most expensive), sea cucumber(may or may not worth more depend on quality), and fish bladder.

According to wildlife conservationists, much of the sharks' fins are commonly cut from living sharks in a process called finning, which are then thrown back into the sea to die. This activity is vigorously opposed by animal welfare groups. However, some Chinese insist on this practice, keeping with the traditional belief that human are above animals.

Last Modified:   2005-02-26