Chicken Soup with Shark's Cartilage 鲨鱼软骨鸡汤

I hesitate for a long time before deciding to share this recipe.  Why?  Because it involve Sharks. Yes, sharks.  I realised anyone sharing anything about eating sharks (fins) gets lots of flaming.

I'm not trying to go against environmentalists out there who are against eating Shark's Fin and promote eating it here. Like I mentioned before in some of my posts, I will not encourage eating it but will not reject it if it's served to me. It will be a waste of food, whether or not if it's Shark's Fin. 

Just a thought here.  Maybe if we all start eating Shark's meat like what we used to do, the fishermen will not just harvest the fins and throw the remains back into the sea.  Shark's meat was my father's favourite. I remembered eating it very often when I was a child. My father often cooked it with Black Fermented Bean.  Even the Lor Mee I had when I was a child was loaded with the soft and sweet Shark's meat. I do not know when the wet markets stopped having Shark's meat for sale. Finding shark's meat is even harder than Shark's Fin now. :P

Anyway, if you are still thinking of flaming me or send me hate mails for this post, please do the same for those who are sharing about Foie Gras too.  It is cruel how the geese are raised and fed, all for its liver.  No?  BUT, Foie Gras remains a delicacy and is much loved by many.  Not much petitions to stop eating Foie Gras around leh.  Well, not as much as Shark's Fin.  Everybody is still happily eating it. :P  Not very fair to the geese, you know.  Likewise for any other animals which are raised in harsh environment so that the farmers can get the most of them. :P  They, the farmers, are the ones who needed the 'education'.  ;)

For me, I just want to share a collagen rich recipe here. Not to start a food war or anything. If you don't like what you see, you can just leave.  And don't waste time sending me hate mails or comments. I get lots of those before.  Doesn't affect me much nowadays.  Just go spend your time usefully somewhere else.  Thank you.  ;)

Please note that this soup is for those who are very patient.  You need at least 4 hours of simmering to to turn the cartilage into gelatinous/jelly like and the soup milky.  The cartilage shown in the pictures here had only be simmered for 2 hours (just so you can see how it's going to be like half way into cooking).  You can see part of it turning jelly like.  You won't be seeing much of the cartilage or rather the shape of it after 4 hours.

Ingredients:

• 1 large Shark's Cartilage
• 1 Chicken Carcass
• 10 Chicken Feet
• 2 Chicken Drumstick
• a handful Wolfberries
• a slice of Ginger
• 3 litres Water

How to do it:

1. Blanch shark's cartilage, chicken carcass, feet and drumstick.
2. Add all the above, except drumsticks, and ginger into a pot of water.
3. Bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer.
4. Simmer for 3 hours before adding the chicken drumsticks.
5. Continue to simmer till the shark's cartilage turn gelatinous/jelly.
6. Add in the wolfberries and cook for another minute.
7. Add salt to taste.
8. Serve.

Note:

• I add chicken drumstick at a later time as I'll serving it with the soup. If you just wish to serve the soup without any meat, you can omit it.
• You may use other parts of chicken instead of drums if you wish.
• Please eat whatever gelatinous cartilage that has not all melted into the soup and not just drink the soup only. It's packed with collagen