I’m travelling to Tokyo in March, and, naturally, I’ve thought about trying some fugu there. From various guidebooks and websites, I’ve gotten wildly conflicting responses about just how dangerous eating fugu is. Listings of the number of deaths per year range from 5 to 300, although most sources agree that these deaths are usually caused by untrained people serving fugu at home. One source claims that the variety of fugu served in restaurants contains negligible amounts of toxin and is not dangerous at all. Another source claims that fugu raised on farms are not toxic, but that the “higher quality” fugu found in the sea are. Exactly which parts of the fugu are poisonous is not clear; Web pages mention various combinations of the liver, ovaries, skin, blood, and/or intestines, yet other pages claim that fugu skin is served in a salad as part of the traditional fugu meal. So, what’s the Straight Dope on fugu? Is it culinary Russian roulette, or are your odds better than, say, being struck by lightning?
I’d say that if you get it in a reasonably well-maintained restaurant (i.e., not one of the rolling resatuarants-on-wheels), you’ll be fine. If it were so dangerous that people were dropping like flies from it, you can bet the Japanese gov’t would crack down on it.
Also, as a former resident of Tokyo, I’d say don’t waste your time; get some nice hamachi (yellowtail) or something. Fugu, the one time I tried it, was pretty bland and not at all an experience to be sought out. My guess is that the aura of danger is the reason people prize it so highly. YMMV.
If you eat fugu at a moderately decent establishment in Tokyo you will be fine. Fugu chefs are specially trained.
And if you’re eating ‘non-toxic’ fugu, its not worth it. I really don’t know the distinction, but its the mild toxin that gives it the special flavor and the “tingling” sensation in the mouth when eaten. Which is why most people go to eat it… for that unique sensation.
According to this page (in Japanese, sorry), two people in Tokyo died from fugu poison in the past 5 years. Both are amateurs who caught and prepared their own fugu. So don’t worry.
here are some photos of fugu. There are different kinds, and some have more edible parts than others.
As jackelope says it doesn’t taste very different from other fish. If you want good Japanese seafood try some ise-ebi (spiny lobster), those look more impressive and IMHO are more tasty. It’s generally served as an ikezukuri (sashimi arranged around the head and bones/shells), then the head is used to make miso soup. Or you could just get the soup with the lobster meat in it.
The supposedly neat thing about fugu is that it has a tingling taste, which comes from trace amounts of the bacteria that are the poison of which most is removed. The fugu, which is a kind of puffer fish has a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria that causes paralysis. Only a little bit too much and you go into a conscious coma which looks like death. A little bit more and you die.
I am told that if you try it a the finer restaurants in Japan that you should be fine. Do not try it anywhere else no matter what anyone says.
Yikes, no! Fugu is not supposed to have a “tingling taste.” If you feel any tingling in your tongue it’s time to call 911. (Or 119, if you’re in Japan)
The funny thing about this was that I used to eat fugu all the time as a kid on Long Island, without any big deal (they were called blowfish) or mention of any danger. You could catch them quite easily where I was growing up (one of the best things about fishing was to catch one, watch it puff up, and bounce it on the deck like a basketball). Only the tail muscle was eaten, and we cooked them, but there were good eating.
Old Japanese poem:
*Yesterday
we ate fugu.
Today
I carry his coffin.*
(Nitpick) It isn’t the bacteria that’s poison but a toxin, tetrodotoxin, that is produced by the bacteria.
It’s bacteria poop.
And alcohol is yeast poop. Which is where we get the expression “Sh*t-eating grin.”
[sub]not really[/sub]
Spartacus, it’s neither bacteria nor “bacteria poop”. Tetrodotoxin is produced by the puffer’s own tissues for reasons of it’s own (probably to discourage other critters from eating it). Highest cocentration is usually in the liver.
According to an article quoted here:
So it appears Spartacus is correct in saying that the toxins are produced by bacteria which live inside the fish.