Bowl of Shark Fin Soups
(click to enlarge)

Shark Fin Soup


Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.   -   Yúchì gēng
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 7 cups
***
3-3/4 hrs
Most		 Delicous! An authentic Shark Fin Soup, except no actual Sharks were harmed. Using real Shark Fin is a criminal offense in all civilized societies.

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"Shark Fin" (1)
Black Mushrooms (2)  
Black Fungus (3)
Scallops, dried (4)
Chicken Meat (5)
Stock, Chicken
Water
Rice Wine (6)
Soy Sauce
Dark Soy Sauce
Water C'nut Starch (7)  
Water
Salt
Pepper (8)
Egg
-- Finish
Sesame Oil, dark
Black Vinegar (9)
-- Garnish
Cilantro Leaves
Prep   -  (2 hrs - 15 min work)
  1. First catch your Shark - NO! Don't do that! See Comments.
  2. Soak "SHARK FIN" in cool Water until very flexible. Sweet Potato Noodles will take over an hour, Bean Threads, 10 minutes. Real Shark Fin takes 3 hrs plus simmering in several changes of water.
  3. Drain "Shark Fin". Spread out on your cutting board and cut so the pieces are about 1 inches long. Longer and they just will not stay in the spoon when eating.
  4. Soak MUSHROOMS and BLACK FUNGUS in warm water for at least 1-1/2 hours. Stem Mushrooms, cut in half, then slice quite thin. Remove hard attachment points from the Black Fungus and tear into small shreds. Mix Water Chestnut Starch with 3 Tablespoons Water to make a slurry (or 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch and 4 Tablespoons Water).
  5. Beat Egg moderately.
  6. Chop Cilantro coarse for Garnish.
Run   -   (1-3/4 hrs)
  1. In a large sauce pan, combine Stock and Water. Add Scallops and Chicken. Bring to a boil, then simmer for covered for 1 hour.
  2. Fish out Scallops and Chicken. Shred them small and return to the pan, along with the drained Mushrooms. Add Rice Wine and Soy Sauce. Bring to a simmer and simmer covered for about 10 minutes.
  3. Stir in Salt, Pepper, and Dark Soy Sauce. Stir up Water Chestnut slurry and stir in. Bring back to a simmer stirring for a minute to let the starch thicken the soup.
  4. Stir in "Shark Fin" and simmer a minute for Bean Threads, about 3 minutes for Sweet Potato Noodles.
  5. Holding at a bare simmer, slowly pour in the Egg while stirring gently in one direction, as for making Egg Drop Soup.
  6. Serve in individual bowls, scooping up from the bottom as the "Shark Fin" will tend to sink while the mushrooms will tend to float. Finish with a few drops of Sesame Oil and a dash of Black Vinegar per bowl (1/4 t / cup). Garnish with Cilantro Leaves. See also Serving.
NOTES:

  1. "Shark Fin":

      Real Shark Fin is highly illegal in California, Hawaii, New York, and other relatively civilized regions. The given weight is for "Glass Noodles" (Bean Threads, or better, Korean Sweet Potato Noodles). The photo example was made with Sweet Potato Noodles. For options and further information, see our Shark Fin - Real & Artificial page.

  2. Black Mushrooms:

      These are the dried Shiitakes available just about everywhere. For details see our Shiitake Mushrooms page.

  3. Black Fungus:

      [Wood Ear, Cloud Ear, Tree Ear]   These are available in just about any Asian market. For details, see our Black Fungus page.

  4. Scallops, Dry:

      These are an expensive item and can be hard to find, except on the Internet. A pattern recipe called for "10 scallops (dried)", as if Scallops are all the same size. I couldn't tell for sure from her photo, but I'm presuming 2G size, or 20 grams total, as 2G is a popular size. Other flavorings could be used, such as dried fish or dried shrimp. One recipe suggests 1 Tablespoon of Oyster Sauce, or a clear Fish Sauce could be used. For details, see our Shellfish Products page.

  5. Chicken Meat:

      Use Thigh or Leg meat as they have much better flavor and texture than Breast meat.

  6. Rice Wine:

      Use a good drinkable Rice Wine, not that horrid salted "cooking wine". If you don't have it, use a dry Sherry. Sake is made of rice but not considered a good substitute, it's beer, not wine. For details see our Chinese Rice Wine page.

  7. Water Chestnut Starch:

      This starch is preferred because it leaves the soup very clear, very important in fancy restaurants. If you don't have it you can use about twice as much Corn Starch with some reduction in clarity.

  8. Pepper:

      The Chinese are distressed by tiny black dots in their food, so they always specify White Pepper. I usually use the more flavorful Black Pepper anyway (I'm not Chinese).

  9. Vinegar, Black:

      [Chinkiang Vinegar] This is a dark rice vinegar, popular in Southern China. Best is from Chinkiang (Zhejiang). For details see our Vinegars & Souring Agents page.

  10. Serving:

      At Chinese banquets, this soup is usually served in small bowls as an appetizer. The Black Vinegar is sometimes set out on the table to be added as desired.

  11. Comments:

      A lady in Singapore, saying she only cooked shark fin soup once a year due to the expense, described finding a package of recipe ready shark fin with some other soup ingredients included. She wrote up her recipe on her blog. Talk about getting raked over the coals in the comments, yes indeed! The sharks have friends.
  12. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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