rsundstrom

Yep, I don't think Ken-san makes a lot of money on Fugu and pegs prices according to his landed costs. Still in all, it is spendy, no doubt. Ray

Hey Joe, Depending on what you want, plan on spending $50 - $150. Shiki serves nigiri sushi for $20.00, sashimi for $80.00, nabe for $90.00. They have a multi-course meal (yubiki, sashimi, nabe and zosui) for $148.00. We split this as it will easily serve two people. Their fugu menu is at http://www.shiki-sushi.com/shiki_menu_fugu.htm Ray

In early October, we took a road trip across the beautiful North Cascades highway to enjoy the fall leaves. Our original plan was to stay in the Winthrop area for a few days, but a 14000 acre forest fire inspired us to mosey on after a nice evening at the Sun Mountain lodge. At loose ends, we decided to turn north to the Canadian Okanagan - an area of glacially carved lakes, and - believe it or not - the northern terminus of the Sonoran desert. We crossed the border at Osoyoos, and by happenstance, arrived on the first day of the annual Okanagan Wine Festival, a 10 day event held annually in October. Many years ago, we would drink Okanagan wine while skiing in the eastern British Columbia mountains. It had two outstanding attributes - it was just about the only wine available in BC, and it was awful. It was, however, available for sale from the expat-euro shop owners to us underage drinkers up in the mountains. I had largely forgotten about BC wines in much the same way as I have forgotten the details of my last root canal - an expedient but not especially pleasant experience. Fast forward about 20 years and the game has changed dramatically for the better. There are now over 60 wineries in the valley stretching from Osoyoos in the south to Salmon Arm 250 km to the north. Over a 4 day period we sampled wines from about 20 wineries in a half-dozen distinct regions. We were pleasantly surprised that the notions of terrior and intelligent wine production techniques have become firmly rooted in the Great White North. Nobody will mistake BC wines for those produced in Napa, Bordeaux, or the other great regions (at least until global warming trashes the traditional environments and make the regions above the 55th parallel the world's premier vinicultural area), but there is no small effort being put into producing quality wines from local grape production. Most of the wines we tasted ranged from pleasant if unremarkable to actually quite good. In the south end of the region there were modest cabernets, merlots, and the ubiquitous chardonnays, also fair to middling. Somewhat more interesting were cabernet franc, sauvignon Blanc and Riesling offerings. Throughout the region gewürztraminer was in evidence. The gewürz from this area takes on a distinctive character that shows through irrespective of the style of production. It is likely to appeal to some and not others. The long dry fall and early winter seasons allow for the production of late-harvest and ice style wines. There were offerings in abundance throughout the valley. (We tasted a late-harvest Riesling that was made from fruit harvested in March, 2000!) The tasting got more interesting when we happened upon lesser-known varieties that seem well suited to the region. Varietals like the Swiss white Chasselas grape, the Austrian Zweigelt, and Marchal Foch (a Burgundy type hybrid), made good showings at several wineries in the valley. Another surprise was a small winery in the Upper Bench area that produces a respectable Sarah - the only one in the valley as far as I know. We plan on returning to do a bit more exploring in this region. The area is beautiful, the weather pleasant, the people outgoing and friendly. Most of the winemakers are happy to discuss their efforts, and seem genuinely pleased to have people stop by for a visit. Ray

Oops! Typo in the URL in the last post - it should be http://www.shiki-sushi.com (Guess I should read my own stuff...) Ray

Kristin's post of the FDA field notice on Fugu is very illuminating, and is consistent with what I have come to learn about it's import into the US - Torafugu Repribes, prepared by the Torafugu Growers Association in Shimonoseki, then frozen and air shipped during the winter to a single port-of-entry (New York.) Not suprizingly, most of the restaurants that serve Fugu in the US are located in Manahattan. The first shipment of the year arrived around November 15th and Ken Yamamoto of Shiki Japanese Restaurant in Seattle received a 20 lb allottment via FedEx on the 17th. (The morning he was scheduled to serve Fugu for a video piece King 5's Evening Magazine was shooting on the fish.) Ken-san expects two more shipments before the end of the season which is roughly mid-march. I have never had fresh Fugu, so cannot compare it to frozen. I have eaten Fugu as sashimi and sushi, Fugu-nabe, broiled collar, and Fugu skin salad. The raw flesh is unique. It is very firm and elastic, so can be sliced quite thin - which makes a beautiful presentation as sashimi when served on an appropriate plate - ususally a plate with a striking fishnet design. The very subtle taste and texture is unlike any other fish - but I liken it most to a very clean and sweet Tako (squid) texture and taste. As sushi, Fugi is ususally presented topped with finely chopped scallions and ginger, and accompanied by ponzu-tare for dipping. Cooked, the flesh takes on a firm, somewhat chewy texture with the density of shark meat. Though the fish arrives in the US cleaned, it still requires a good deal of preparation requiring skill and patience. In order to slice the fillets, three layers of skin and membrane must be painstakingly removed in individual excisions. Before the skin is served - primarily as Yubiki or Fugu-skin salad - it must be 'de-spiked' with tweezers and scraped to remove an outer mucus membrane. Fugu has a complex skeletal structure so considerable (relatively speaking) meat remains after filleting. This ends up in fugu soup, and occasionally as broiled collar and cheeks. Like many esoteric dining experiences - much of the pleasure of eating Fugu is in the perception. I look forward to eating it once a year - as much as a celebration of seasonal cuisine as a profound food item. The 'cost/benefit' ratio precludes more frequent indulgence. (For the cost of one serving of fugu-nabe for two, we can sit down to two meals of delicious anko-nabe (monkfish) and have money left for top shelf sake!) Sorry about the long post. If you have read this far and want to keep going, Shiki's web site at http://www.shiki-suski.com has a link to an interesting radio review done by NPR.

There are USDA requirments for fugu, but it is the preparation in Japan that assures that your meal won't kill you. The commercially prepared fugu is a species selected for it's low toxicity during the (non-breeding season) winter months, farm raised, eviscerated by trained and licensed fish processors, inspected by govenment agents, and then frozen for delivery to the US. The freezing process is just to preserve the flesh for shipping to market, and does not have a material affect on the tetrodotoxin that inhabits the liver and reproductive organs. If any of the potentially deadly neurotoxin found it's way into the flesh before freezing you would have a poison-sicle. Ray

Shiki Japanese Restaurant in Seattle has distinguished itself with it's seasonal cuisine. One of the more anticipated (and notorious) of the winter offerings is fugu. Fugu season runs from mid-November to late February or mid-March. Ken-san received his first shipment last Tuesday, and we were fortunate to be the first customers to enjoy a fugu meal. As soon as the bank account recovers from the experience, we plan on going back! Ray