Some call the flavor a more delicate version of chicken, or downright uneventful. What does fugu taste like? The reviews are all over the board. But for those looking to avoid any chance of what sounds like an awful way to go (paralyzed muscles while remaining completely conscious), it’s a welcome option. For thrill seekers, it’s a decidedly less sexy version. Modern research has equipped the farmers of today to raise poison-free fugu in parts of Japan. The coastal southwestern part of Japan looks like the Florida Keys of the Far East, with its turquoise waters and island-spanning bridges. It’s easy to see why the fish adores Shimonoseki especially. You can find the fish and its closest siblings in generally warmer seas all over the planet, from Australia to Hawaii. The tiger pufferfish is the most poisonous and, historically, also the most revered. It’s rumored that ancient Egyptians used pufferfish for a recreational sport something like bowling. In Japan and China, locals have been cooking with the fish for more than 2,000 years. The dish fetches several hundred dollars a plate, often prepared as sashimi or chirinabe, a Japanese fish stew of sorts. In Tokyo, fugu is still seen as a wintertime delicacy. And it’s hard not to envision a scene like this one from The Simpsons when it’s ordered. Whatever it tastes like, it’s fair to say that part of fugu’s major draw is the danger element. ![]() But every now and then, you do hear about somebody getting ill or even perishing, typically after preparing at home without the proper training. It’s widely viewed as legend and not fact, but some still believe that the best chefs are able to leave a trace amount of poison in the fish, enough to give the diner numb, slightly tingling lips.īecause it’s not taken lightly, you don’t hear as much anymore about fugu-related fatalities. Chefs in Japan undergo a rigorous three-year program just to be able to work with the potentially lethal fish. ![]() At places like the Karato Market in Shimonoseki, it’s been coveted for ages, sold to bidders and ultimately processed in meticulous ways to remove all toxic parts. Here, there are statues devoted to the spiny sea critter, along with enough mythology to fill up several textbooks. In the Yamaguchi prefecture of Japan, fugu is legend.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |