Fugu japanese2/18/2023 ![]() ![]() So it’s better to nibble away at the karaage as you would with a drumstick. One thing I didn’t know when biting hungrily into the chunky pieces was that, the meat is fried still attached to the bones. Next they brought us each the above-mentioned deep-fried fugu, called fugu karaage. Fugu shirako or soft roe, a delicacy in Japan My Japanese friends were happy to oblige – apparently it is one of the most prized parts of the fugu. I ate one out of politeness, and I had to admit it did taste good although I passed on the second one. The sperm inside is also known as soft roe and is called shirako in Japanese. In Japan, it’s customary to use as much as possible of the fish, and I was starting to feel that we had pretty much reached the limit of what was edible and non-lethal, when I was served a pair of fugu testicles. The table spread with thin slices of fugu sashimi in the center Later, we were served hire-zake, baked fugu fin served in a cup of slightly sweet hot sake, as well as fugu skin with a miso-based sauce. Cooking it for a few seconds made it softer and easier to chew. I had a slight preference for the second, since the texture of raw fugu is somewhat rubbery, not unlike raw squid or ika. The second was to slightly broil them in the boiling water of the nabe pot, the same as shabu shabu, before dipping them in the ponzu sauce. The first was dipping them directly into ponzu sauce made spicy with chili radish and green onion. There were two ways of eating the thin translucent slices of fugu sashimi. We sat down on the floor cushions and prepared ourselves for a fugu feast. There was also some sashimi from other local fish and a host of small seasonal side dishes. Next to it was a nabe pot that would be used later to cook big chunks of fugu meat and vegetables. There was a big round plate of fugu sashimi in the center. When we arrived in the gorgeous tatami room with beautifully painted sliding doors, the table was already covered with food. Entrance sign curtain of an inn specializing in fugu cuisine Fugu Dining Experience at a Traditional InnĪfter checking into our rooms, and enjoying a nice hot bath, we gathered in the dining area on the ground floor for our fugu dining course. So it was not without a certain amount of trepidation that I set out to stay one night at Yoshiko Ryokan ( ryori ryokan yoshiko 料理旅館由幸), located in Hibiki village about twenty minutes from Wakasa-Takahama station by car, to try their main attraction: fugu cuisine. According to his experience, although sashimi fugu was somewhat tasteless, the deep fried version was amazing and definitely worth a try. I guess what really changed my mind, was reading the book by the British food and travel writer Michael Booth called Sushi and Beyond. Even if there is only the tiniest of risks, why take it, when according to most accounts, it tastes like chicken? When I shared my concerns with my Japanese friends, they calmly reassured me, saying that nowadays nobody dies of eating fugu. However, up till now, I had never eaten any part of the fugu fish, simply because I was afraid I could die from the experience. ![]() I’ve eaten many kinds of interesting dishes since I came to live in Japan, from the gross-looking monjayaki, to the not-so-appealing organs of horumonyaki. ![]() As a result, the number of fugu-related incidents has dropped dramatically, and nowadays it’s said that enjoying fugu at a licensed restaurant is a risk-free experience. In more recent years, fugu preparation has become very strictly controlled by law in Japan, and chefs need to train for several years before they can get a license to prepare fugu for serving to diners. In the past, people have been sickened, and have even died after consuming fugu that was improperly prepared. The Poisonous Pufferfishįugu, also known as blowfish or pufferfish in English, has quite a bad reputation, very simply because some of its inner organs are poisonous. If you stay the night, you may even be able to check out a fugu farm from close up, feed, and even feel the fugu’s puffed up underbelly. Numerous traditional inns and restaurants in the area serve this sought after delicacy, for a much cheaper price than in most other parts of Japan. Unless you have fugu fisheries in a nearby bay, which is precisely the case for Takahama town, located on the Western coast of Japan, a couple of hours by train North of Kyoto. Usually, that would involve a trip to an expensive, high-end restaurant. For any foodie visiting Japan, eating fugu should be on their list of must-eat foods, since it’s next-to-impossible to have in other countries. ![]()
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