Fugu is back in Seattle

[rsundstrom]

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

[BastilaShan]

What does Fugu taste like and how is it served?

Thanks

[tsquare]

Fugu sounds pretty boring to me, other than the fear factor.

see col klink post April 9 2003

However, the sushi dinner at Shiki is pretty fabulous. It is far beyond the ordinary chef's basic sushi platter - and even the familiar items are excellent. Be hungry - there are at least 9 pieces of nigiri plus two rolls! Generous portions of fresh, fresh fish.

[torakris]

What does Fugu taste like and how is it served?

Thanks

for more information on the taste and how it is served, look at this former discussion:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry133180

Personally I find it bland and never order it myself, I only eat it if someone buys it for me!

[Pan]

If it's bland, why is it worth the risk even if someone else is buying?

[torakris]

If it's bland, why is it worth the risk even if someone else is buying?

I don't see it as a risk.....

[Pan]

Why don't you see it as a risk?

[torakris]

Fugu in Japan is treasured because it is a seasonal delicacy, no different than the way they feast on matsutake in the late summer/early fall. I have never heard the Japanese talk about the dangers of fugu or see eating it as a risk. If it is prepared properly there should be no risk. We have just entered fugu season in Japan and fugu can be found in any supermarket, fugu sliced up as sashimi, fugu to be deep fried, fugu for nabe, etc. Not all fugu are poisonous and those that are vary in their toxicity and where it is located. This is a reason it should be prepared by a professional.

Here is a chart of some of the fugu varities and their toxic parts (in both English and Japanese):

http://www.coara.or.jp/~sueyoshi/data03/fugu03.html

Here is a chart of teh # of fugu related deaths in Japan for the years 1993 to 2001:

http://www.kenkou.metro.tokyo.jp/shokuhin/hugu/sirouto.html

(this is only in Japanese)

scroll down just a little and you will see a chart with 4 columns, the first column which contains numbers are the years 5 is 1993 and it ends with 13 (2001), the next list is the # of incidents of fugu poisoning (nationwide for that year), the next is the # of people treated for the poisoning, and the last column is the # of deaths.

scroll down a bit more and they will compare the number fugu poisonings (first line) with the number of poisonings from mushrooms. The result are from the same ten year period.

Most of the fugu poisonings (same as for the mushrooms) are due to people trying to prepare the fugu themselves. As you say in the first chart there are close to 20 varieties and teh toxic levels are very different, eat the wrong part of the wrong fish and you could die. Leave it to the professionals and you will be fine.

I find the fugu itself to be very bland and it is only with the addition of the various condiments(dipping sauces, etc) that is served with that make it a fugu meal a pleasurable experience. What I meant in my other post was I don't find it worth the money.

[Schneier]

Excellent. Thanks for the notice.

Bruce

[prasantrin]

I find the fugu itself to be very bland and it is only with the addition of the various condiments(dipping sauces, etc) that is served with that make it a fugu meal a pleasurable experience. What I meant in my other post was I don't find it worth the money.

I never cared much for it, either, but fugu nabe is not so bad. One New Year's I went to a friend's house and her parents served us fugu sashimi and made nabe with the leftover parts.

Years ago I asked some Japanese friends if they ate nabe for the "thrill" of it, and none of them even considered it. They liked the texture of the sashimi and the delicate flavour. I say, "What flavour?" to that, but that's just me.

[Pan]

I guess if I found something bland and tasteless, it wouldn't consider it worth any risk to eat it.

[Coop]

Is there any risk involved with eating Fugu in the US? Doesn't the FDA rquire the fish to be flash frozen, thus killing the pathenogen?

[torakris]

The toxin in fugu CAN NOT be destroyed by freezing! (or cooking for that matter)

Please avoid any previously frozen fugu as improper freeezing and thawing can cause the toxin to transfer from the poisonous areas to the normally safe areas.

Unless it was frozen after the the dangerous parts were removed.....

[rsundstrom]

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

[torakris]

The toxin in fugu CAN NOT be destroyed by freezing! (or cooking for that matter)

Please avoid any previously frozen fugu as improper freeezing and thawing can cause the toxin to transfer from the poisonous areas to the normally safe areas.

Unless it was frozen after the the dangerous parts were removed.....

more info here:

http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia1620.html

[Coop]

Thank you for the info. on Fugu. I was misinformed by an article that I read a few years ago when Fugu appeared in New York. The writer complained how the texture of the fish had been ruined by freezing. This freezing was required by the FDA. I geuss I may have assumed this was to kill the pathenogen.

It is truly inspiring the amount of knowledge that is poised and ready to be unleashed in these forums.

[rsundstrom]

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.

[rsundstrom]

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

[col klink]

Ah yes, the NPR piece. My wife and I happened to be there that Wednesday (for an early Valentine's Day meal) the day the NPR piece ran and had the fugu. The place was packed that night and Ken was flabergasted that so many were there on a Wednesday night. Of course we were cooler than everyone else (well except for the Japanese four top who ordered some of the most beautiful sashimi I've ever seen) because we had planned to be there and were sitting at the bar right in front of Ken.

When I called ahead and asked if fugu was still on the menu I could barely understand him but as soon as I said nigiri he told me "come in anytime!" With the sashimi platter or the soup you do need to call ahead at least a day.

Ha! I was just checking out Ken's webpage and there's a link to my review here!

[CRUZMISL]

How much does it cost for a fugu meal? Just curious.

Joe

[rsundstrom]

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

[torakris]

fugu collars.....

that is a new one for me, I have never seen them before.

I need to pay more attention

I also want to try it now.

I have to admit that some time during the New Year's holidays I always pick up a tray of fugu sashimi (at the supermarket), just because it is the thing to do.....

[torakris]

here is a picture of mirinzuke fugu (semi dried, mirin flavored fugu) that I cooked up this summer

I doubt this is available out side of Japan though....

[col klink]

Shiki serves nigiri sushi for $20.00

$20!

Talk about inflation, I'm pretty sure I only spent $10 for two pieces last spring.

(wait, I'm checking)

Actually it was $12 last spring. Still, that's a large increase in price.

Nice work torakris! That looks very tempting.

[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