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Shark's Fin Soup
(Yu - Ch'ih - T'ang)
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| What You Need: |
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4 ounces precooked and cleaned shark's fin
4 dried Chinese mushrooms, 1 to 1½ inches in diameter
1 whole chicken breast, about ¾ pound
4 cups chicken stock, fresh or canned, or cold water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1½ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold chicken stock, fresh or canned, or cold water
1 slice Smithfield ham, 1/8 inch thick, cut into fine shreds 1½ to 2 inches long and 1/8 inch wide
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| How To Cook: |
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PREPARE AHEAD:
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1. In a small saucepan, cover the shark's fin with 4 cups of cold water and soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain off the soaking water, add 4 cups of fresh cold water to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat.
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2. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour. Drain off the water, rinse the shark's fin well under cold running water and drain again.
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3. In a small bowl, cover the mushrooms with ½ cup warm water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and discard the water.
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4. With a cleaver or sharp knife, cut away and discard the tough stems of the mushrooms and shred the caps by placing them, one at a time, flat on a chopping board, then cutting each of the caps into paper thin slices horizontally. Cut the slices into the thinnest possible strips.
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5. Bone, skin and shred the chicken breast in the following fashion: Lay the whole chicken breast on its side on a chopping board.
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6. Holding the breast firmly in place with your hand, cut it lengthwise through the skin, along the curved breastbone, with a cleaver or sharp knife.
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7. Carefully cut all the meat from the bones on one side of the breastbone. Then grasp the meat in one hand and pull it off the bones and away from the skin-using the cleaver to free the meat if necessary.
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8. Turn the breast over and repeat on the other side. Remove each tube-shaped fillet from the boned breast meat, and pull out and discard the white threadlike membranes.
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9. Lay the breast meat and fillets flat and cut them horizontally into paper-thin slices. Then cut the slices into shreds about 1½ to 2 inches long and 1/8 inch wide.
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TO COOK:
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1. In a 3- to 4-quart saucepan, bring the chicken stock, shark's fin, soy sauce, salt and pepper to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
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2. Add the chicken and mushrooms, and stir thoroughly. Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir to recombine it and add it to the soup. Cook, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens slightly.
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3. To serve, pour the soup into a tureen or individual soup bowls and garnish it with the ham. Serve at once.
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