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What is fugu (blowfish or pufferfish) really and is it really
deadly poisonous? |
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Edible fugu are several varieties belonging to the large pufferfish
family. In Japan fugu is very popular--only becoming so in the last
twenty years--especially in the Kansai region (around Osaka).
The most commonly consumed fugu today is farm raised and generally
benign if not flat-out safe. Fugu caught in the wild, however, must
be treated much more carefully, which is why in Japan a license
is required for anyone who handles fugu in restaurants or fish shops.
There are two levels of certification. One type allows the person
to break down the fish from its live state, handling the disposal
of the poisonous internal organs; the other type, the most commonly
held certification, allows one to handle the flesh of the cleaned
fish sold at certified shops.
You might have read that despite the precautions every year one
or more people die from eating fugu. Such cases usually involve
inexperienced fishermen eating fugu they've just caught.
Despite--or in some cases because of--the perceived risk, fugu is
expensive and in high demand. It is served in various ways and many
fugu restaurants serve multi-course meals in which fugu figures
in every one. The most common way to eat fugu is as very thin sashimi
with delicious ponzu sauce. It's also common to find the meat around
the bones, the tastiest part, served in a big stew pot--chirinabe.
The fins of fugu are dried, roasted and served steeped in hot sake,
producing a fabulous sake tea.
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