Shark Fin Soup

Walking past the shops of one of Hong Kong’s largest fish markets, Steve was on the lookout for an expensive culinary ingredient; shark fin. He thought back to the countless wedding banquets where shark fin soup was a delicacy and a must-have for pleasing wedding guests. It is this huge demand for shark fin that drives the shark hunting industry, where the monstrous fish are caught, amputated of their fins and thrown overboard to die. But as the world economy started being more socially responsible in harvesting sea life, there were calls to stop the shark hunting industry to protect the affected species from extinction. That was when Steve saw a unique opportunity to satisfy the huge demand for shark fin, while decreasing the number of sharks killed by hunters. He decided to make an artificial shark fin substitute that would look, smell and taste just like the regular shark fin, but produced in a much more ecologically responsible way. And so, he was at the fish market, looking for a sample of real shark fin to analyze and begin to develop a suitable substitute.

Searching throughout the cramped stalls, it wasn’t long before Steve found what he was looking for. Calling the attention of the shopkeeper, he asked how much a shark fin would be.

“It’s three thousand dollars per pound and these are the best quality shark fins from great white sharks.”

“I’ll take one fin, boss. Thanks!”

Weighing nearly two pounds, Steve had to pay six thousand Hong Kong dollars, or roughly seven to eight hundred American dollars.

Taking his prized sample back to his laboratory kitchen where he often came up with new inventions, recipes and ingredients. Cutting off a small piece of the dried fin, he boiled it in water for several minutes before removing it and feeling it’s texture as well as smelling the aroma of the shark fin. Tasting the sample, he noticed that it tasted similar to a jelly made out of gelatin which he had made before while experimenting on one of his projects. Then he decided to go with his gut and take a chance; perhaps a gelatin-based shark fin could be just the replacement needed to substitute for the real thing.

After countless trials and errors, Steve was able to make a substance that he hoped would perfectly imitate shark fin, but across his kitchen were traces of failed trials strewn everywhere, screaming to the perfectionist to clean it all up.

Boiling his latest batch in a small pot as he did hundreds of times before, he took out the cooked imitation and chewed it for a while before swallowing it. Then, the realization that he had made something that tasted like shark fin, caused him to jump for joy; his invention was a success! Writing in a journal to document the moment, he was elated and could hardly contain himself with his excitement.

Batch 107 was a success, a product with a similar texture, taste, and smell of a real shark fin. The base ingredient was gelatin and the proportions of ingredients are listed in the recipe for this batch.

Clutching his recipe card close to his chest for safe keeping, he passed out on the couch in his apartment, thanks to the many days and nights striving to develop the perfect substitute. Pretty soon, his snoring betrayed how tired Steve was and that he was getting the much-needed rest he needed. Dreaming of creating his artificial shark fin empire, he knew that tomorrow held the promise of bringing his innovative new ingredient to the culinary world.

After cleaning up the mess of his kitchen, he now had to find a way to mass produce the imitation shark fin while keeping the recipe secret from other competitors. Signing a deal with a co-packer in Kowloon, he also decided to participate in the food exhibition to share his discovery with cooks and food experts around Hong Kong. While the exhibition was still a month away, Steve was preparing to set up the booth and ensured that the co-packer would have the capacity to produce for any orders attained from the exhibition. Steve also had to get approval from the Centre of Food Safety in Hong Kong before rolling out a product for retail. Sending an email to the centre, he set up a time for them to come and inspect the product at the co-packer before they could give him approval to sell the food.

Nervously watching the inspectors tour the machinery for making the imitation shark fin, they also took samples to examine back at their labs then left the site, much to Steve’s relief. A few days later, the good news was that his product was now approved for sale in Hong Kong, and so Steve was given the green light to prepare his product’s debut at the exhibition.

As the event date loomed closer and closer, Steve was busy making last minute preparations to present his product in the assigned booth. Double checking and even triple checking the posters, banners and backgrounds for the booth, Steve wanted to make sure everything would go without a hitch and that the exhibition was a chance of a lifetime.

Soon his preparations were paying off as his invention was generally well-received and was immensely popular with the culinary society at the exhibition. In a single day, Steve received nearly ten orders, which he immediately relayed to the co-packer to start production and to prepare for shipping. As the end of the exhibition came, Steve cleared out his booth and headed back to his small white hatchback car. Storing all the advertising material in the back, he got in and started the engine, which sounded like it was in need of a checkup soon. While driving back to his apartment, he noticed a small sedan tailing him at a distance, following him at every turn and exit. Parking his car at the complex, he was relieved when the sedan drove past the garage, assuring Steve that perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Heading up to his room, he decided to celebrate by making artificial shark fin soup for dinner, as a personal flaunting of victory over the traditional unsustainable industry.

The next morning, Steve headed out to check on the progress of the co-packer and he failed to notice a car taking advantage of the open gate and slipping into the underground garage as he left.

“Everything’s going well Steve, we should be able to meet those orders by midweek and take on new orders by then.”

Giving the foreman a thumbs up, Steve headed back to his apartment for lunch and to plan for the next exhibition event. As he approached his room, he noticed the door was ajar, and that the metal gate had been broken through. Creeping slowly towards the door, he opened it carefully and was astonished by what he saw; books, papers and furniture were tossed here and there, making an absolute mess. On his window was posted a short note, which made him nervous as he read the ultimatum.

Dear Mr. Zhao,

We don’t want to cause more trouble to you, but if you continue selling artificial shark fin you will endanger the livelihoods of countless fisherman as well as contractors such as us which receive and ship shark fin across the world. So, we cannot allow you to disrupt this market, and please take this gesture as a warning to you and your company.

Immediately calling the authorities about the home invasion, he was relieved to have a police car supervising his apartment night and day, in case the vandals come back. Steve was determined not to let the fear of gangsters stop him from replacing the shark fin industry.

Buying a security system for his apartment as well, he could check on his place via his phone anytime and as the orders began rolling in for his company, he began expanding his business and prepared to ship the product worldwide.

Sitting at a guest table at his cousin’s wedding in Australia, he was pleased to see on the menu that the appetizer was imitation shark fin soup, provided by his company in Hong Kong. Feeling an immense pride at educating and satisfying the customers with his product, Steve hoped that one day, illegal shark fishing would be eliminated all together so that the species can thrive again.

As the shark fin soup arrived at their table, Steve watched as a youngster hungrily slurped the soup bowl and licked his lips in satisfaction. Smiling at the youth, he gestured to the rest of the guests at the table to try the soup, which was met with much praise. Having convinced one wedding to switch to imitated shark fin, Steve figured it was another battle won, in a war that seemed more and more likely to favor his eco-friendly product.

The End