What does fugu taste like? How To Try Fugu Puffer Fish - Simply Healthy Family (2023)

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fugu, also known as blowfish or blowfish, has a mild, clean taste. Some say the flavor is so subtle it doesn't resemble seafood at all.

In Japan, this is one of the reasons why fugu is so popular.

The texture is somewhere in betweenWolfsbarschand squid. It is tough when raw, but the flesh is tender when cooked.

Fugu is a very lean fish and requires minimal cooking or it will become unpleasantly chewy.

You'd think an almost tasteless fish wouldn't have a good place in the kitchen, but there are dozens of ways to prepare fugu and chefs jealously guard their recipes.

The chef can sear the fillet to brown the outside, but leave the inside raw. This calls for a garnish of ponzu sauce, grated ginger, or spicy daikon radish.

Fugu meat rolled into balls, covered in flour and fried is called karaage. It is a popular snack with alcohol.

Karaage has a crispy shell while the meat remains soft inside. It is served with a shotlemon juice,Yuzu, of Ponzu.

Fugu aficionados claim that the meat around the fish's mouth is best for frying.

Fugu skinis popular when fried and served in salads, or as slices for dipping in sauce. Pre-cooked and finely chopped fugu skin is known as kawasashi.

Kawasakiis a popular aperitif for drinking sake. It's gelatinous and a little crunchy.The jelly-like quality of fugu skin is also used in other dishes. For example, a broth of skin and vegetables adds richness and flavor to cold soba noodles.

Fabrics from Fugu-Hot Pot, is also popular. It consists of fugu meat, skin and bones cooked in a clay pot with vegetables and mushrooms in a dashi broth.

Dashiis a basic broth made from bonito flakes, dried sardines, dried shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimps, driedSint Jakobschelpen, adzuki beans and roasted soybeans. There are simpler versions, including one based on kombu seaweed only.

Fugu-Reisbreiconsists of rice cooked in the dashi broth that remains in the hot pot after the fish and vegetables are eaten. Lots of flavor without a bit of fugu waste, especially when you use itWild journey.

Fugu milk or roe has a short spring season and is a popular delicacy in Japan. It has been likened to creamy, mild cheese without the dairy flavor.

Fugu-Rogenis often grilled over charcoal and served with a little salt. Roe is also eaten raw or fried in tempura batter.

Fugu-Sushiis prepared in the well-known rolled form or as a cake type where a slice of fish is placed on top of the seasoned rice. Sushi is accompanied by grated daikon radish with chili, scallions, ponzu sauce or other condiments for dipping.

A luxurious sake flavored with sun-dried fugu fins. The fins are boiled and added to the warm sake.

The fugu skin gives the sake an unusual, smoky taste.

One of the most popular ways to serve fugu is with sashimi or tessa. The cook cuts the raw fillet so thin that the pattern of the plate is visible under the transparent panes.

Fugu-Sashimiis for those who want to experience the fish and only the fish with its mild taste and chewy texture. But often a side dish of grated daikon radish, ponzu sauce, or soy sauce is served to add a little flavor.

The way to eat Tessa is to take several slices at a time and dip them in the included sauce.

Fugu sashimi can be presented in a variety of artistic ways. The transparent discs can be arranged to resemble a peony, crane, tortoise or chrysanthemum.

The chrysanthemum is a symbol of death in Japan. Presented as a chrysanthemum, fugu is said to give the guest a pleasant chill, as fugu is deadly poisonous in its natural state.

Contains the eyes, ears of corn, ovaries and liverTetrodotoxine, a poison so deadly that even the slightest trace of it can kill a human being. To make the shell edible, the spines are pulled out.

Tetrodotoxin is 1200 times more toxic than cyanide. Each fugu contains enough to kill 30 people.

The Japanese emperor was forbidden to eat fugu, and it's easy to see why. Fugu is the only food subject to this law.

Fugu is not an amateur dish. The Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health reported 20 to 44 cases of fugu poisoning per year between 1996 and 2006, all of which originated in the kitchens of home cooks.

To legally cook fugu, a chef must complete a two-year apprenticeship, obtain certification, and use knives reserved exclusively for fugu. Chefs who process fugu are regularly monitored and only licensed restaurants serve the fish.

A Fugu chef is always aware that one wrong step can mean the death of a customer. The poisonous parts are so dangerous that they are never just thrown away, but are disposed of and burned in accordance with legal regulations.

Once the cook has removed all the poisonous parts of the fish, he puts it in a metal container that can be closed for this purpose. At the end of his shift, he or his assistant takes the drum to a special facility in Tokyo's fish market for incineration.

To learn how a specialist chef prepares fugu to make it edible, follow these steps:

Also check:What do ostrich eggs taste like?

Remark: Even if you have the unlikely opportunity to do so, you should never try to break open a fugu or make it edible yourself. Ninety percent of fugu poisoning is caused by home cooks who have prepared the fish themselves.

Remember, a chef takes four or even six years of study and practice to become licensed.

First, the cook removes the poisonous spines on the skin.

Next, the cook makes an incision around the mouth of the fish. This allows him to peel off the skin in one piece.

The skin has no scales and so does not need to be cleaned for cooking, other than rinsing well. As a snack with the sake, it is set aside to fry.

The gel is then rubbed into the body with salt and washed off.

The eyes that are toopoisonous, are then deleted.

This is one of the most dangerous steps - gutting the fish. If the ovaries or liver are pierced, the toxic substance they contain will spread in the flesh.

In this case, the whole fish ends up in the special metal garbage can, where it is burned.

Once the chef is sure all poisonous bits have been removed, he fillets the fugu.

The head can be cut into two or three pieces and cooked in a stew or stew.

People who eat fugu seek excitement. It is also said that consuming a small amount of the poison induces a calm, high feeling.

Some people have committed suicide by eating the poisonous parts of fugu. And some who eat fugu, even if it's properly prepared and safe, claim that they feel like their lips have gone numb after eating.

It is said that a trace of the poison was left in the flesh in these cases, although this is unlikely. If that were the case, your throat and stomach would also feel numb.

Fugu poisoning gradually leads to complete paralysis and death. The unfortunate patient remains conscious throughout the process.

The European Union has banned the sale of fugu. Fewer than 20 restaurants in the US serve fugu, most of them in New York.

Fugu has now been bred to contain no tetrodotoxin, making it harmless. The problem is that enthusiastic customers aren't interested in fugu if it's just another harmless fish.

And Japan's National Fugu Association refuses to serve fugu liver, even if the fish is specially farmed pollution-free.

It is important to only order fugu from restaurants that have an updated license to serve. This is one of the reasons why fugu dishes are expensive.

Other reasons include the fact that a licensed chef must have a minimum of two years, and more commonly four to six years, of training in fugu cooking. Fugu chefs are considered the elite of the Japanese culinary world.

A fugu chef may have started learning as a teenager, but may not take the licensing exam until he is 20 years old. One-third of test candidates fail.

Fugu cuisine is not widely available in Japan. To find it, you have to visit Fugu specialty shops and traditional high-end restaurants.

You can order a single fugu dish or opt for a full fugu menu. It depends on how much you are willing to pay for the experience.

Fugu dishes can cost $100 and up.

The rules regarding the availability of fugu have been relaxed. In some supermarkets it is now even possible to buy ready-made, safe fugu.

This has sparked outrage among fugu chefs, who spent years perfecting their craft and personally spending thousands of yen on the fish they trained.

Today, there are about 3,800 fugu restaurants in Japan.