Posted on 05/18/2012 2:54:31 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
The Japanese delicacy fugu, or blowfish, is so poisonous that the smallest mistake in its preparation could be fatal. But Tokyo's city government is planning to ease restrictions that allow only highly trained and licensed chefs to serve the dish.
Kunio Miura always uses his special knives to prepare fugu - wooden-handled with blades tempered by a swordsmith to a keen edge. Before he starts work in his kitchen they are brought to him by an assistant, carefully stored in a special box.
Miura-san, as he is respectfully known, has been cutting up blowfish for 60 years but still approaches the task with caution. A single mistake could mean death for a customer.
Fugu is an expensive delicacy in Japan and the restaurants that serve it are among the finest in the country. In Miura-san's establishment a meal starts at $120 (£76) a head, but people are willing to pay for the assurance of the fugu chef licence mounted on his wall, yellowed now with age. He is one of a select guild authorised by Tokyo's city government to serve the dish.
When he begins work the process is swift, and mercifully out of sight of the surviving fugu swimming in their tank by the restaurant door.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Im not a biology major but I think your right. After that was removed, there were no more innards. I guess I was listening to the commentary..
Calamari; Italian... Delicious though!
Please no Helen Thomas pictures to be posted here!!!
“Who figured out how to prepare them in the first place?”
The person who held Bubba’s beer.
I stand corrected. Maybe it was octopus.. who knows?? Just glad its Friday!!!
It also picks up non living poisons (mercury) and the toxins stay in the liver.
Was offered fugu once at a business party.. I kindly refused ;)
Lol.. I’m from the desert area in West Texas.. not too much seafood there ;)
We keep frozen grapes about year round. Fresh-frozen blueberries are great, too.
Poison, poison, tasty fish.
The craziest thing I've heard is that some Japanese consider that the perfect fugu leaves just enough of the neurotoxin to make their lips and tongue go numb.
It didn’t last too long, so I don’t really remember.. BUT, when I was stationed in Miami, I did eat some Thai squid... VERY chewy and so spicy I couldn’t taste it.. survived that one :)
Frozen grapes are awesome. Im shocked when people never heard of this..
“I guess the blowfish we used to catch in the surf at the Jersey shore are different. We sometimes fried them up for breakfast.”
That had to be 40 years ago. When I was a kid I use to catch them all the time. I also caught snapper blues from the rocks at Brighton Beach.
“We keep frozen grapes about year round. Fresh-frozen blueberries are great, too.”
Frozen strawberries her.
Just cook it fast (< 5 mins) or it becomes tuff and rubbery!
Some friends and I had overcooked calamari in Baton Rouge restaurant once. We all laughed so hard at each other, our sides ached...
Great with beer... But then, what isn't??? :)
No thanks. I’ll stay with Halibut, Lingcod and King salmon....
Hold muh saki...
At one of our local restaurants, their fried calamari appetizer -- plus a salad -- made a great meal.
Another (tiny) local place often had calamari with linguini and Italian peppers on their "chalkboard specials" menu. On those evenings, I never bothered to look any other menu item...
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OTOH, the "grilled squid on a stick" often sold on the temple grounds during local Japanese festivals were definitely on the "Try once -- then avoid forever..." list... '-)
Yuck. I can’t understand why someone would want to eat that.
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