Fugu
Fugu is a globefish or blowfish from the family tetraodontidae. When these fish swell up, they puff their bodies into a nearly square shape. They are cultivated in cages in the sea off the coast of Japan, where they are a delicacy in the Japanese diet, cited in early records of cuisine. Part of the attraction is that the fugu contains a deadly poison. Since the Meiji Period (1868–1912), prohibitions and restrictions limit its sale, and only licensed chefs can prepare this fish as it is necessary to remove the ovaries and liver wherein the poison resides. A lethal dose, one milligram, can fit on a pinhead, and one typical mature fugu contains thirty times that amount. The poison acts by blocking sodium channels in nerve tissues, paralyzing muscles and causing eventual respiratory arrest. No antidote exists, but fisherman lore says that burying the victim up to his or her head with sand will reverse the poison's course.
In spite of this hazard, connoisseurs enjoy fugu prepared as sashimi. It is a white fish, usually sliced in paper-thin translucent wafers and eaten in soups or arranged on a platter in the shape of a flying crane, the symbol of longevity. It is frequently served with ponzu, a mixture of citrus juice and soy sauce. Some daring (or foolhardy) gourmands like to include a tiny dot of the liver as they eat it, savoring the "high" of the numbness just short of dangerous ingestion— though no licensed chef would prepare it this way.
Winter is the best time to eat fugu, when its flavor is most delicate. The price is the highest between October and March. A fugu meal at a good restaurant will cost about $200. In Shimonoseki, known as "fugu city," 80 percent of Japan's fugu catch is sold and a fisherman can make up to $100,000 in an hour's auction. The sales rates of fugu, which decline in times of recession, are said to be an indicator of the economic climate.
Further Reading
Hosking, Richard. (1996) A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients and Culture. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle.
This is the complete article, containing 347 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
