374 Shark and Company 



a work of art that amateur chefs can no more attempt than amateur 

 painters can attempt the Mona Lisa. 



First, then, Shark Fin Soup. It began, in Old China, with the acqui- 

 sition of the finest fins. They came from Calcutta, and they were costly 

 —so costly that they had no price. An agent for the host procured them, 

 as a jeweler would procure, with painstaking care, a rare gem. The 

 finest fins were those sold as a set from one shark, and only these fins— 

 the tall first dorsal, the sleek pectorals, the lower lobe of the tail— would 

 do. Within these fins is the ambrosia which is the essence of the soup: 

 delicate, translucent cartilage. 



Today, a cook may buy the cartilage alone, packaged in plastic 

 instead of a fin. But in preparing true Shark Fin Soup, one starts with the 

 fins themselves. Even before they reach the rare market that sells them, 

 the fins have undergone days of preparation. The fins are sliced off 

 when the shark is skinned. Every bit of meat is trimmed off to prevent 

 rotting. After the fins are trimmed, they are washed and usually left 

 overnight in sea water. Then they are spread on chicken wire racks 

 set up 2 or 3 feet above ground. During the first few days of the drying 

 period, the fins must be taken in during the night to protect them from 

 the evening dampness. They must also be sheltered from rain, which 

 would spoil them. It takes about 14 days, in good weather with plenty 

 of sunshine, for the fins to dry properly. 



The dried fins are sold by retailers with the gelatin intact, and the 

 price makes shark fins one of the most expensive delicacies on earth. 



Today, in New York City, the cost of preparing four servings of 

 Shark Fin Soup is about $15. In a fine Chinese restaurant, the manage- 

 ment must be notified several days in advance if one is planning to 

 order Shark Fin Soup. The price varies, in a somewhat inscrutable way, 

 depending on the size of the table and, it almost seems, the character of 

 the diners. There is still a ritualistic aura around Shark Fin Soup, even 

 in the New World. A price of $10 a serving is not unusual. 



To be prepared exquisitely. Shark Fin Soup takes at least 4 days. 

 The fin is daintily bathed for 2 days and 2 nights in water of a critical 

 temperature. What that temperature is can better be gauged by the eye 

 and the hand of a chef than by a thermometer. The water must be 

 warm enough to cleanse the fin of sand and bits of flesh, yet it cannot 

 be so warm that it melts the gelatinous cartilage within. 



Even after 2 days and 2 nights of gentle bathing, the fin emits a 

 terrible smell. To remove the smell, the fin is wrapped with raw chicken 

 and pork chops in a cheesecloth bag and steamed for about 4 hours. 

 The chicken and the pork chops are thrown away, and the fin is steamed 

 again with new chicken and pork chops. 



Now it is ready. A broth of chicken stock has been prepared in 



