Four sea delicacies
The four sea delicacies or four sea treasures are the four highly prized seafoods of Chinese cuisine: abalone, sea cucumber, shark's fin, and fish maw. As luxury goods, these foods confer prestige in Chinese culture, and command high prices; demand for exotic species has driven global wildlife trade, including ecologically damaging practices like shark finning and overfishing.
History
Abalone became a court food in the mid-18th century, marked by records of an all-abalone feast. The grouping coalesced as a part of the lavish Manchu–Han Imperial Feast tradition.The four sea delicacies have become more accessible to a rising Chinese middle class since the reform and opening-up of the early 20th century, featuring heavily in modern Chinese banquet culture, such as traditional Chinese wedding banquets and on Chinese New Year.
As environmentalist opposition to shark's fin and shark finning increased in the 21st century, the rest of the four sea delicacies have seen growing popularity, perceived as a less-controversial substitute.
Component foods
The four sea delicacies are all often sold dried. They are all defined by unique mouthfeel, with little flavor to the delicacies themselves.Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a premium Chinese banquet soup, features the four sea delicacies stewed together.