Encounter With The Deadly Japanese Delicacy
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luxuryhaven
Posted on: 09/14/09
Encounter With The Deadly Japanese Delicacy
Fugu is the Japanese word for Pufferfish or Blowfish, the most delicate, dangerous & expensive fish in the world. Because Fugu is lethally poisonous if prepared incorrectly, it has become one of the most celebrated & notorious dishes in Japanese cuisine.
The symptoms from ingesting the lethal dose may include dizziness, nausea or difficulty in breathing. For 50% to 80% of the victims, death follows within 4 to 24 hours. The victim remains fully conscious throughout most of the ordeal, but cannot speak or move due to paralysis & soon cannot breathe & subsequently asphyxiates. If the victim survives the first 24 hours, he or she usually recovers completely.
In Japan, discerning gourmets pay tremendous prices for a dinner of Fugu, ranging from about US$100 – US$200 per person. Fugu is extremely expensive & only prepared by trained, licensed chefs who know that one bad cut means almost certain death for a customer. In fact, many such deaths occur annually. Hence, the fish is sliced very carefully to obtain the largest possible amount of meat without the poison. A special knife called Fugu Hiki, is traditionally used to slice Fugu.
Each year, these incidents led to between 34 & 64 victims being hospitalized & zero to six deaths. One of the most famous victims was the Kabuki actor & "living national treasure" Band Mitsugor VIII who requested 4 servings of Fugu liver (the most toxic part) & died after eating them. Although Fugu is much celebrated by connoisseurs, the ‘forbidden fruit’ is the only delicacy officially prohibited to the Emperor of Japan.
Because of all these notorious facts, plus I ain’t a fish lover, it took quite a while for me to take up the challenge & to accept my Japanese friend’s invitation to this popular Fugu restaurant, Tora Fugu Tei, at Ginza. I’m glad I’d the privilege of surviving the ordeal & live to tell the tale & not writhing on a hospital bed with convulsions.
In Japan, discerning gourmets pay tremendous prices for a dinner of Fugu, ranging from about US$100 – US$200 per person. Fugu is extremely expensive & only prepared by trained, licensed chefs who know that one bad cut means almost certain death for a customer. In fact, many such deaths occur annually. Hence, the fish is sliced very carefully to obtain the largest possible amount of meat without the poison. A special knife called Fugu Hiki, is traditionally used to slice Fugu.
Each year, these incidents led to between 34 & 64 victims being hospitalized & zero to six deaths. One of the most famous victims was the Kabuki actor & "living national treasure" Band Mitsugor VIII who requested 4 servings of Fugu liver (the most toxic part) & died after eating them. Although Fugu is much celebrated by connoisseurs, the ‘forbidden fruit’ is the only delicacy officially prohibited to the Emperor of Japan.
Because of all these notorious facts, plus I ain’t a fish lover, it took quite a while for me to take up the challenge & to accept my Japanese friend’s invitation to this popular Fugu restaurant, Tora Fugu Tei, at Ginza. I’m glad I’d the privilege of surviving the ordeal & live to tell the tale & not writhing on a hospital bed with convulsions.
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