298 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS August, 1907 



Curiosities 



of the 



Chinese 

 Table 



Chinese Snow-white, Intensely-sweet, Rice-flour Tea-crackers 



Dried 

 and Curious 

 Edibles 



By L. Lod lan 



I HE shark's tin is a great delicacy to the 

 Chinese epicure. At one time, ages ago, 

 sharks used so to infest the Chinese coasts, 

 on the lookout for "titbits" in the way of 

 bathers, that the coastal folk dared not ven- 

 ture far from shore single-handed. Then 

 one of the mandarin gourmets discovered 

 that the shark's fin is a peculiarly appetizing morsel. It 

 promptly became "the rage" — and has so continued to this 



jet black all through and retail at from $1 to $1.40 per 

 pound. rhey are unsweetened and they taste much like an 

 unsweetened American biscuit. 



Dried oysters are a much prized delicacy. They have con- 

 siderable "substance" in them — more than one would think. 

 A dozen of them, with bread, will make a fairly "square" 

 meal. To dry, the fresh oysters are simply soaked in brine, 

 then sun-dried. They can be eaten raw or cooked. 



The Chinese also put up a so-called "oyster oil" in cans 



Dessicated Giant Cuttlefish or Devilfish (Called by the Chinese " Ocktopus"), 

 a Most Esteemed Food. Note the Shrunken Suckers 



day — the price ever mounting; fishermen pursuing the shark 

 instead of its pursuing them. The result is that the fish has 

 been almost exterminated. Long journeys must now be made 

 through the now sharkless offings in search of it, and 

 the price ranges from $5 to 

 $6 per pound. The specimen il- 

 lustrated, for instance, being a 

 particularly fine piece, weighing 

 Yi pound, cost $3 in United 

 States currency. 



To cook, the fin requires a 

 couple of hours' soaking, then a 

 couple of hours' boiling. The 

 blade of the fin is the juiciest 

 portion. 



Among other delicacies of the 

 Chinese table may be mentioned 



the black tea crackers, which are Sun-dried Chinese Oysters 



The Celebrated " Sam-ce-che," or Sun-dried Shark's-fin, 

 of the Chinese 



It is SO heavily salted, that the receptacle is usually one-third 

 full of the settled salt. There is really no "oil" in the can. 

 T he contents consist simply of the squeezed-out concentrated 

 juice (plus the sodium) of entire semiputrescent oysters; 



Jet-black Chinese Unsweetened Tea-crackers 



