A few posts ago I asked the question of “Why Shark’s Fin?” When it comes to shark fin soup, the consumer is looking for a few main things:
- Status – the soup is expensive and usually only eaten by those who are wealthy or on special occasions
- Look – the broth should be a translucent yellow or brown and the fin should appear white in shredded “noodles”
- Smell – since the shark fin has no taste, the soup smells only of the broth that the fin is in
- Taste – the fin has no taste but does absorb the flavor of the broth; usually of chicken, pork, or mushroom
- Texture – the cartalige of the fin breaks into noodle like strands which have a texture that is specific to shark fin
So what if you could recreate these five characteristics of shark fin soup without having to slaughter another shark – EVER. Well it CAN be done and it IS being done.
Check out the pictures below and see if you can figure out which one is real and which one is “imitation shark fin soup”. I’ll bet you can’t tell.
As for the smell, taste and texture, you would have no idea if it was your first time trying it. Even people who have had it before, like CNN reporter Kristie Lu Stout, have a hard time telling the difference!
So really it comes down to the status. People just aren’t satisfied with something that looks, tastes, and feels exactly the same as the real thing. For them, it has to involve the death of a beautiful shark.
