Blowfish Food Fugu japanese food Trips around Nagoya

Death May Be Your Choice: Poisonous Blow Fish or Fugu, Winter Delicacy

Have you ever tried "blowfish," or "pufferfish" (Japanese; Fugu)?  Or at least heard of it?  Winter is the season when we can enjoy this delicious fish in various ways, starting from raw to fried ones, in Japan.  

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images Used Under CC

The reason for its naming is that when they get threatened, the blowfish puffs up, like a balloon.  This Fugu is poisonous, but very delicious when properly prepared by trained chefs.  Chefs know what part is poisonous and what is safe to eat.  Usually poisonous liver is carefully removed before the fish is served raw.

One day trip from Nagoya makes a great one to enjoy a variety of Fugu dishes.  A small island called Himaka-jima Island is very famous for Fugu (and Octopus).  A special tour from Nagoya station includes the fares of Meitetsu Line (a major train line covering Aichi Prefecture) and Ferry rides, which costs around $40 to $50. 

Eating Fugu is pretty expensive and, as you read, because Fugu should be properly prepared.  The tour above sounds pretty expensive ($100), but it is actually very reasonable, given the train and ferry rides included.  Also, eating Fugu is considered to bring a good luck because Fugu sounds very similar to Fuku in Japanese (Enlgish: Happiness):  Fugu brings you Fuku!!

Dishes served in a hotel or inn on the Island are shown in the pictures below.  

Fugu Tessa, Fugu Sashimi (English: Raw Fugu)

The above is Fugu Sashimi called Fugu Tessa.  Look at the thin-sliced raw Fugu.  You can see the design of the plate because it is really thin-sliced and looks almost transparent.  Fugu Tessa has a natural sweet flavor with some delicate texture.  Rreally yummy!!

Fried Fugu

The above is deep-fried Fugu, which tastes much lighter than chicken.  Good Fugu is fatty, but it is not oily at all even being deep-fried.   Lime juice goes really well.

Ingredients for Hot Pot of Fugu

Fugu is in the upper-left corner of the plate above.  Other ingredients, such as a few types of mushrooms, leafy vegetables called Hakusai, green onions, Tofu (white thing in the lower-left corner) and others, are cut and put into the hot pot (the next picture).  

Broth is made from seaweed (the yellow-looking stuff in the pot).  Fugu and other ingredients are put in this hot pot.  

After all the essence of Fugu and ingredients is soaked into the broth, add rice and eggs to make rice porridge, which has more substance than rice soup.  The green stuff in the pot is dried seaweed, which gives a special flavour to the porridge.  

Additional Pictures taken on the Himaka-jima Island.  

Can you see those HANGING "air-dried" octopus?  The Island is famous for octopus as well. 

This picture shows a welcoming octopus statue at the ferry port of the Island.    

Some Japanese say that it is a GREAT experience to feel numbness in tongue or lips when eating Fugu, specifically Fugu liver.  As long as you eat properly-prepared raw Fugu and others, you do not, fortunately or unfortunately, experience that numbness.  Without risking your life, you can enjoy Fugu!!  We really hope that you could try this Japanese winter delicacy!! 

If you are interested in tasty but dangerous food, please check out Japanese New Year's Traditions as well.