# Shark fin soup, what is the fuss about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135 "2015-04-08T16:21:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/21 "2015-04-08T23:57:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My brother lived in China for a couple years. The food he misses most is chicken feet, which according to him are delicious. I had a Chinese roommate once who liked those – he said they’re a delicacy in China and he couldn’t believe how cheap they are in the U.S. Well, I guess they will be expensive anywhere they’re popular – consider how many chickens you have to kill to get a pound of feet. I’ve tried some at a local Chinese buffet; I don’t see the appeal. They’re just fatty skin on the bones. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/22 "2015-04-09T01:30:00Z")
The shark fins you get in shark fin soup are broken strands from dishes made with whole fins, or small or broken fins that otherwise couldn’t be sold whole. It’s basically bits and pieces of fin to put a premium on regular soup. What you want is whole fin that’s been braised in the chef’s special broth/sauce. The bigger and more intact the fin is, the higher premium you will pay. It’s true that the fin itself is pretty bland but it takes on the flavour of the broth while it’s being braised. And as others have mentioned, you eat it for the texture experience, not because it’s comfort food. As one of the top four delicacies in China, and with shark fins going for about $1,000/kilo on average, if you’re paying anything less than $50 for a bowl of soup, (not whole fin), you’re probably getting some imitation stuff made of gelatin. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/23 "2015-04-09T01:35:58Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > As one of the top four delicacies in China. What are the other three? Enquiring minds like mine want to know! ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/24 "2015-04-09T01:57:14Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > What are the other three? Enquiring minds like mine want to know! In no particular order: [ul] [li]Swallow’s (bird) nest[/li][li]Abalone[/li][li]Sea cucumber[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/25 "2015-04-09T01:59:59Z")
thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/26 "2015-04-09T02:08:23Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > In no particular order: > [ul] > [li]Swallow’s (bird) nest[/li][li]Abalone[/li][li]Sea cucumber[/li][/ul] I lived for a little under three years in East Africa, quite close to the ocean. They had a big sea cucumber fishery going, partially because some of the more popular fishes had been fished out and become rarer. None of the local fishermen ever ate the sea cucumbers, or could fathom why anyone would eat one, they considered them revolting. But they made (comparatively) good income drying them and selling them to dealers who would export them to China. Australia actually was ‘discovered’ by Indonesian fishermen before it was known to Europeans, they used it as a fishery for sea cucumbers that they would export to China. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/27 "2015-04-09T10:09:29Z")
Abalone poaching is a [huge deal](http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/press-releases-latest/organized-crime-drugs-and-poverty-are-behind-south-africas-abalone-poaching-crisis.html)in South Africa. Man, between that and our rhinos, fuck the Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/28 "2015-04-09T16:32:10Z")
I somehow had the hope that viagra would swiftly put an end to the ludicrous traditional chinese aphrodisiac market for endangered animal parts. Hey, we got something that really works, so forget about the tiger penis soup. Except naw, they’ll take the viagra AND the tiger penis. Assholes. We now have a small export industry in Alaska for reindeer/caribou antlers. They saw off the antlers without killing the caribou, so it’s renewable, plus caribou aren’t endangered. This sort of placebo would be fine. But of course it doesn’t help, because apparently the whole point of the aphrodisiac is how expensive and rare and illegal and how many exotic animals had to die for it. If genuine powdered sustainably harvested rhino horn was $2 a pound from Trader Joe’s they wouldn’t want it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/29 "2015-04-09T19:40:35Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > We now have a small export industry in Alaska for reindeer/caribou antlers. They saw off the antlers without killing the caribou Don’t they drop their antlers at the end of the season anyway? Why saw them off? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/30 "2015-04-09T20:08:13Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Don’t they drop their antlers at the end of the season anyway? Why saw them off? They do. I don’t know what antlers are used for, but I have heard that the velvet is used in Chinese medicine, and that drops off before the antler is shed. Both male and female reindeer generally have antlers unlike many other deer species. Nobody said this, but rhinoceros horn is used in Chinese medicine, but **not** for impotence or anything involving your junk. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/31 "2015-04-09T20:13:38Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > They do. I don’t know what antlers are used for, but I have heard that the velvet is used in Chinese medicine, and that drops off before the antler is shed. > > Both male and female reindeer generally have antlers unlike many other deer species. > > Nobody said this, but rhinoceros horn is used in Chinese medicine, but **not** for impotence or anything involving your junk. Well, yes: > **[Rhinoceros ~ Rhino Horn Use: Fact vs. Fiction | Nature | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/rhinoceros-rhino-horn-use-fact-vs-fiction/1178/)** > > Rhinoceros have been brought to the edge of extinction. _Far more pervasive, however, is their use in the traditional medicine systems of many Asian countries, from Malaysia and South Korea to India and China, to cure a variety of ailments. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the horn, which is shaved or ground into a powder and dissolved in boiling water, is used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders. According to the 16th century Chinese pharmacist Li Shi Chen, the horn could also cure snakebites, hallucinations, typhoid, headaches, carbuncles, vomiting, food poisoning, and “devil possession.” (However, it is not, as commonly believed, prescribed as an aphrodisiac)._ However, it still is worthless (as used\*) for any of these things. - very large doses of keratin, a common protein found in your toenails, can maybe lower fever. Aspirin can do it better, safer and cheaper,and for sure. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/32 "2015-04-09T23:42:27Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve heard that the feet of the chicken make the best soup, and that’s generally what they’re used for. > > Would the OP be willing to tell us how much that bowl of not-so-good soup cost? Around 5 USD, which is pat of the reason I posted this OP I suspected due to price it could be substandard. But it was actually fake? ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/33 "2015-04-10T01:08:11Z")
Show me a place that can sell real shark fin soup for $5 and I’ll show you a place that makes McDonald’s look like their food is based on organic recipes. You can’t even get decent chicken soup for $5. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/34 "2015-04-10T02:00:30Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > Show me a place that can sell real shark fin soup for $5 and I’ll show you a place that makes McDonald’s look like their food is based on organic recipes. You can’t even get decent chicken soup for $5. Well I guess my OP should be amended to a negative review of fake gelatin shark fin soup then. :o ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/35 "2015-04-10T02:14:10Z")
You know what, sharks are one thing I’m pretty much okay with going extinct. But if they’re cutting off the fin from a live shark, then throwing the shark back, then how is the shark going to go extinct? Fucker just needs to learn how to swim without the fin. [sub][sup]_I may or may not be serious about certain things in this post._[/sup][/sub] ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/36 "2015-04-10T11:17:34Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > You know what, sharks are one thing I’m pretty much okay with going extinct. […] > I may or may not be serious about certain things in this post. Is the first sentence one of the things you are, or aren’t, serious about? Because personally, I’d rather have sharks over, say, pandas, any day. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/37 "2015-04-10T11:31:40Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Because personally, I’d rather have sharks over, say, pandas, any day. Never tried panda, but I’ve heard it’s gamey. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/38 "2015-04-10T11:47:42Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Is there a reason they don’t just harvest the whole shark like other fish? Shark is a popular fish at local fresh fish markets, even a famous food called shark&bake. Economics. Shark fin sells for a higher price than shark meat. So fishing boats would rather kill a thousand sharks and fill up their hold with fins than kill twenty sharks and fill up their hold with meat. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/39 "2015-04-10T11:54:25Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > Show me a place that can sell real shark fin soup for $5 and I’ll show you a place that makes McDonald’s look like their food is based on organic recipes. You can’t even get decent chicken soup for $5. So you’re saying this can of Campbell’s Chunky Shark Fin Chowder I got at the dollar store is fake? I thought something was wrong when they spelled Campbell’s with a K but the cashier assured me it was just a typo. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135/40 "2015-04-10T12:25:20Z")
I wish they’d eat mosquitoes, can’t they come up with some super-boner-potion made from mosquitoes and rats’ noses? I had shark’s (or sharks’) fin/s soup in China once. I remained bonerless and it tasted pretty vapid. The tiny bits of gristle in the broth had less taste than the ‘meat’-on-a-stick that was 1/100th of the price in the street outside. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shark-fin-soup-what-is-the-fuss-about/717135.md?page=3)