culture corner: Fugu for the Daring

Among the epicurean pleasures of the world, eating fugu is something unique. Fugu, the blowfish or globefish, offers taste, health, and adventure in every bite. To enthusiasts, the paper-thin slices of fugu flesh, eaten raw, have a matchless delicate flavor. They are high in protein and low in calories—a weight-watchers dream. But it is the third aspect, the thrill-seeker’s adventure, that makes fugu truly distinctive, for fugu is among the most toxic of marine creatures.

A single fugu contains enough poison to kill 30 adults and there is no known antidote, although people often survive the milder cases of fugu poisoning. The deadly toxin in fugu is tetradotoxin, a neurotoxin. In Japan, the long and impressive list of fugu martyrs includes several hulking Sumo wrestlers and other notables. Each year, a few dozen fugu eaters in Japan are poisoned, some fatally. However, the death toll has shrunk in recent years. Most deaths involve fishermen who catch fugu, prepare the fish themselves, and never live long enough to regret it.

There is an old Japanese folk song that goes, “I want to eat fugu, but I don’t want to die.” These days, there’s less of a reason to worry. Indeed, eating fugu prepared by a licensed fugu chef is completely safe; the testing and licensing of fugu chefs is handled at local government level.

To qualify, applicants must first serve an apprenticeship of at least two years under a licensed fugu chef. Next, they take a two-hour written examination. Then, within three minutes, they must identify five species of the dozen or so fugu that are marketed. Finally, in 20 minutes, they must prepare the fugu, separating the poisonous organs from those that are edible. About 35 percent of applicants pass.

In the tora fugu, or tiger blowfish, which is the most popular and most expensive type, the meat and skin are safe to eat. All other organs of that species are dangerous, particularly the liver and ovaries.

Even so, if the chef in a restaurant knows a particular customer well, he may ask him quietly if he would like a tiny piece of the toxic organs. Some people like the faint numbing sensation that eating a small quantity of the fugu toxin produces.

Fugu is not unique to Japan; nearly 100 species inhabit the warm waters of the world. Yet it is in Japan that preparing and eating fugu is a common ritual. Why fugu? Anthony Bourdain, the gastronomic Indiana Jones from Discovery Channel, sums it up: “The lure of fugu is the sensation that though you know it won’t happen, it just might be you this time."

—Amar Bhuyan