Welcome to Fugu Japan (+^_^+)v

I cannot see her tonight
I have to give her up
So I will eat Fugu.
- Yosa Buson, haiku poet


Hello minna~! I am excited about this website because I love Japanese culture and it is my dream to go to Japan again someday. As part of my Japan preparations, I have decided to post things I find interesting about the country. I am currently a graduate student and am going to work full-time again soon (sigh) so I may not be able to post everyday. But, this is one of my passions so I will do my best! *gambare to self*

Ok, since this is my first post, I decided to write about FUGU...yay. Yes my blog title. I haven't tasted Fugu yet and am not really sure if I want to. Fugu is the Japanese term for pufferfish, blowfish, swellfish, globefish or blowie. It is a scaleless salt-water poisonous fish. To scare off its predators, it gulps in water to inflate and turn itself into a spiky ball. The deadly poison of the puffer fish does not turn off its human connoisseurs of taste. Fugu is considered a delicacy in Japan and is very expensive.


Don't let its kawaii-ness fool you!

Deadly river pig

Fugu is spelled with the Chinese characters of river pig (河豚) despite its being a salt-water fish . It's name comes from the Japanese, fuku ("to swell", "to blow", and ironically also "good fortune" haha).

The fish's poison is called Tetrodotoxin which is 1250 times deadlier than cyanide and 160,000 times more potent than cocaine. Therefore, the preparations in cooking Fugu are very intricate as the chef has to make sure that all eleven poisonous parts are removed completely, including the skeleton, skin, ovaries, intestines and liver.

VIDEO-A chef prepares fugu

If you do get poisoned, your muscles will get paralysed while you remain fully conscious. Eventually, you'll die from respiratory problems. There is no known antidote and the victim can undergo supportive therapy until the poison wears off.


Takifugu Rubripes or Tiger Blowfish, the most prestigious edible takifugu

The fish are deadly even to themselves but not because of their poison. When fishermen catch them, the fish's lips have to be stitched up to keep them from killing each other! And I thought they were cute!

Not all varieties of puffer fish can be eaten though. The Takifugu is a genus of pufferfish and there are 25 species found worldwide . So before you decide to go about pufferfish fishing, make sure you know which puffer fish are edible. Since eating poorly prepared fugu can cause instantaneous deaths, make sure that a licensed chef will also cook it for you!!

Fugu is good for you and how to eat fugu

So why eat Fugu? It is low in calories, high in protein and high in collagen. This is a deadly price to pay to be pretty ne?

Fugu is usually eaten during winter where there are decreased levels of toxicity. There are many ways to cook it. Here are Fugu dishes. The descriptions are from Tokyo Cube:

Fugu-sashi (Tessa) - Thinly sliced raw flesh and skin


Photo from koichi.typepad.com

The raw flesh and skin of the fish is thinly sliced, almost translucent, and has an elastic texture and is slightly chewy to eat. This is regarded as one of the most beautiful types of sashimi, and is served with a sour citrus sauce, chives and grated white radish.

Fugu-chiri Hot-pot style with vegetables


VIDEO-How to eat fugu chiri

Ehh..oishi!!!!! Don't you just want to eat some now? T__T



Photo from kyushu.com

The fish is cut into pieces and cooked at the table in boiling water with tofu, vegetables (mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, carrot and chrysanthemum leaves), and seaweed. It is cooked for a few minutes then served with a sour citrus sauce, chives and red pepper.

Fugu-zousui - Mixed with rice and eggs
After finishing the Fugi-chiri, salt, rice and egg is added to the rich hot-pot to make a porridge style rice, which is a warm and satisfying way to end the Fugu meal.

Other types of Fugu dishes

Fugu Karaage - deep fried and floured Fugu

A great contrast after eating the uncooked fugu. It is also an alternative if you don't like your puffer fish raw.

Furu Hire-zake - Grilled fin in hot sake.

The Best Fugu Ryotei

A Fugu Ryotei is a fugu restaurant which can usually be recognized for the fugu lantern outside the restaurant doors.. The best fugu restaurants are said to be in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan. In the best fugu restaurants, puffer fish swim in a tank, oblivious to their fate until a customer orders one of them. An average 3-course fugu meal is 10,000+ yen.


Paulstravelpics.blogspot.com
The original Zuboraya Honten in Osaka

Anyone hungry for Fugu?

Well, after reading all of those fugu articles, I can't wait to try fugu! If you have any interesting fugu experiences, pictures, links, I would love to read or see them. Wee...so that's all for my first post. Hope you enjoyed the culinary experience as much as I did. Oh, and check out the links below for more of Fugu!!!

Fugu Restaurants around the World

US

US Restaurants that Serve Fugu

Sushi Den - Denver, Colorado

Japan

Reviews of Fugu Restaurants in Tokyo

Torafugu Tei　とらふぐ亭 - Shibuya, Yokohama,

Sushi Den - Fukuoka Japan

Singapore

Kuriya Japanese Restaurant - Singapore

Aoki Restaurant

Tatsuya Japanese Restaurants

Holland

Fugu

Kuala Lumpur

Kampachi

Yuzu Japanese Restaurant

Hajime Japanese Restaurant

Fugu Blogs

Pauls's Travelpics

May's Fukuoka City Guide


Interesting Fugu Article

The politics of puffer fish: Battle in Japan over poison-free fugu by Norimitsu Onishi, 4 May 2008


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~fin~