Caution! Poisonous fugu fish ...

Fugu - the name of the dish of Japanese cuisine: it is prepared from some venomous fishes belonging to the family of puffers. Fish fugu are often called many representatives of this family. Most often fugue is cooked from fish of the "white cliff" type, which is also called a fish-dog, a puffer, a globe or a swelling fish.

Fish fugu with a kind of not at all terrible: just the size of the palm, swims the tail forward, very slowly. Instead of scales - a thin elastic skin, capable of swelling in the event of danger to the size, three times more than the original - a sort of goggle-eyed, seemingly harmless, ball. However, liver, skin, guts, caviar, milk and even her eyes contain tetrodotoxin - a powerful nerve agent, 1 mg of which is a lethal dose for a person. An effective antidote for it does not exist yet, although the poison itself, in microscopic doses, is used to prevent age-related diseases, as well as for the treatment of prostate diseases.

In Japan, poisonous fugu fish is considered a delicacy, and although cooking is possible only with the appropriate license, up to 100 people die of poisoning every year. Most of them are curious, who decide to cook fugu at home without knowing all the subtleties of the preparation, tetradoxine addicts (there is an opinion that in small doses tetradoxine has a narcotic effect) or extremals, for some money ordering a cook's liver for some money, where exactly And the greatest amount of poison is concentrated.

The owners of restaurants claiming to have fugu fish on their menu are obliged to provide the Ministry of Health inspectors with detailed reports on the number of fish and the conditions of its storage. Cooks preparing fugu must have a state license that allows them to do this. To obtain a license, they pass two exams: first a written one, which is rejected by about ¾ of the applicants, and then - practical when the applicant must eat the dish prepared by him.

Fish fugu: cooking

The most poisonous, the most expensive and the most delicious fugu fish is the tiger, the "torus fugu", called so because of its color. Fish processing is a complex process involving 30 steps, the purpose of which is to minimize the effect of tetradoxine. It is not at all surprising that the cost of one portion of such a treat varies from $ 100 to $ 500.

Fugu is used in its raw form, as during heat treatment tetrodoksin loses toxic properties. One of the most famous, very special to taste and very beautiful dishes from it is "Fugushashi" -sashimi. With a thin and very sharp knife, the cook cuts the mouthpiece, fins, then opens the belly, carefully removes all the toxic parts of the fish, removes the skin and cuts the fillets with the finest petals. The meat is thoroughly washed with water to wash off the slightest traces of poison and blood. Finished, not thicker than a plate, the cook has a dish, creating at times, literally, amazing works of art: an image of a butterfly, a landscape, a flying crane with an elongated neck and spread wings ...

Eat fugusashi in a strictly defined order. First, the back is the most delicious and the least poisonous part, then the parts located closer to the belly - there is more poison. The duty of the chef is to monitor the condition of the guests eating the dish and not letting them eat it more than a safe dose. The cook is obliged to know not only the subtleties of preparation, but also to have knowledge in the medical field, since the intensity of the action of tetrodotoxin depends on the composition of a person, temperament and, as it is not surprising - skin color.

Fish fugu is revered in Japan for a century and became a true cult in the country. In Tokyo, in one of its parks, there is a monument to a fugu fish. Near Osaka there is a temple, where there is a specially carved headstone in honor of it. Japanese masters make candlesticks from candlesticks, lamps and even kites that depict fugu fish.