Sharkfin and prawn dumpling in superior soup

History

Dumpling in Superior Soup originated from Ming dynasty in Yangzhou. In that time, people would like to use pigskin as an ingredient of brewis. As pigskin is composed of collagen which is a main component of connective tissue, brewis would be solidified after it was dissolved, forming a gel-like structure. It would then be integrated into bread for consumption. According to the Qing dynasty cookbook Suiyuan shidan this is the ancestral form of dumpling in superior soup.

The use of sharkfin as an ingredient of dumplings appeared until the 1980s, when the economy of Hong Kong was growing rapidly. Part of the Chinese restaurants would like to produce something luxury so as to emphasize the class difference or attract consumers. As time went on, actual shark fin was sometimes replaced by thin bean noodle.

Ingredients and preparation

The standard ingredients include sharkfin, meirou, shrimp, crab sticks, shiitake and straw mushrooms. The dish is prepared with red agar for texture, and seasoned with salt, MSG, sugar, meal-cake, and ground white pepper.

With mass production commonly seen today, there can be a great variance from the traditional cooking method, quality, and ingredient composition. Reduction in filling quantity, cheaper raw materials, and substitution of ingredients is not uncommon. Chicken shreds can be replaced by ham shreds, prawn replaced by dried shrimp, mushroom varieties swapped, and the amount of shark’s fin reduced.

Evolution

Over time, Hong Kong chefs have updated the classic recipe to appeal to customers. Some of these developments include:

Restaurants

In the past, shark's fin and prawn dumpling has traditionally been a luxury dim sum, with only a select number of dim sum establishments offering the dish. These restaurants used expensive materials to make the filling like plenty of shark’s fin, chicken shreds, Shiitake mushrooms, prawn, pork, etc. The cooking method, time-consuming in nature, requires the soup to be filled into the dumpling then steamed in a bamboo steamer. As there is only one formal cooking method, fewer chiefs know how to make the dish in accordance with the traditional approach.

According to an online dining guide, there are more than 30 restaurants selling shark's fin & prawn dumpling today. Some are dim sum restaurants, some are full-service Chinese restaurants, and some are take-away stores or supermarkets that sell the item as frozen food.

Today, societetal changes have affected the nature and availability of the dish. A growing number of people are wealthy enough to afford luxury cuisine, and growing competition in the catering industry has led to a proliferation in the types of dim sum available in Hong Kong. There are currently several variations of shark's fin & prawn dumpling, such as vegetarian options, to meet differences in customer preferences. Availability and popularity has also increased. Some stores sell take-out dim sum, and supermarkets commonly stock frozen versions of shark's fin and prawn dumpling.