Turtle soup

Turtle soup

Chinese turtle soup
Type	Soup or stew
Place of origin	China and Singapore,
Region or state	China, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and United States
Main ingredients	Turtle meat

Turtle soup is soup or stews made from the flesh of the turtle. The dish exists in some cultures and is viewed as a luxury or delicacy. The soft-shelled turtle was commonly used for turtle soup in Singapore while the snapping turtle, found mainly in the United States, was typically used there; and is still found in certain regional cuisines, particularly in Philadelphia cuisine and some Southern United States cuisines. Chinese and other East Asian cuisines use primarily soft-shelled turtles for turtle soup. An alternative form of this dish without actual turtle meat is the Mock turtle soup.

In countries such as Singapore with large Chinese populations, turtle soup is a Chinese delicacy. The meat, skin and innards of the turtle are used in the soup. Soft-shelled turtles (鱉) such as Pelodiscus sinensis are commonly consumed in this manner in Chinese cuisine, while consumption of hard-shelled turtles (龜) is often avoided due to their mythical connotations. However, the hard shells of certain turtles are used in the preparation of so-called "turtle jelly", or Guilinggao.

19th-century American cookbooks advised homemakers that for the best turtle soup one should choose a turtle about 120 pounds (54 kg) in weight, as a smaller one would not have enough fat, and a bigger one would have too strong a flavor.

In many jurisdictions, turtle soup is illegal because many species of turtle are listed as threatened or endangered, and cannot legally be captured, let alone killed. Generally speaking, turtle populations cannot quickly recover from the loss of a breeding adult; thus, killing these turtles to make soup can depress populations below sustainable levels.