"Fugu-no-ko", A Crazy Delicacy from Japan
Japanese are known for eating anything, even blow fish with that fatal poison.
Since eating the fish could kill you (literally), you need a license to fillet it. (thank God).
Blow fish can be eaten raw, as in sashimi, boiled in broth, or deep fried for tempura.
Trust me, they are heavenly delicious.
Then I found on my recent trip to Japan that there is this crazy delicacy from Ishikawa prefecture, which is located along the coast of Japan sea, several hours train ride from Tokyo.
This food, called Fugu-no-ko, is not known to many Japanese people including myself, and lo and behold, it’s ovary of blow fish pickled-fermented in rice bran.
*Fugu means blow fish, and ko means baby, in Japanese.
Generally speaking, the poison (and also chemicals) tend to be accumulated in fatty tissue inside the body.
And ovary is one of the most fatty organs, so apparently the poison of blow fish is most concentrated here.
Why on earth would someone even think about eating it in the first place, I don’t know.
But since it exists now as a specialty in this region, some people must have done “trial and error” to create this extremely unique (or crazy) delicacy.
Now, this is how it’s made.
First, the ovary is pickled in salt for one year so that the poison comes out due to the osmotic effect.
Then to further detoxify it, it’s pickled in nuka, or rice bran for another 2 years.
Now it’s completely free of poison (supposedly), you can enjoy this ultimate delicacy.
I ordered fugu-no-ko online, had it delivered to my mom's place, and tried it the other day.
First impression was “super salty”.
*Later I found that you are supposed to rinse off the bran before you eat. Duh!
The texture is kind of like cooked quinoa or amaranth.
Well, not quite, but smaller and crunchier version of them.
If you are familiar with fish roe called “kazunoko”, it’s similar to that.
I also found that fugu-no-ko goes very well with sake.
That super saltiness is somehow neutralized when eaten with a cup of cold jummai ginjo.
You can also enjoy this food in cha-zuke, or rice-in-broth.
Some say that you can even make pasta with it, kind of like “mentaiko- spaghetti”.
Ah, that may work, except that I'd feel guilty if I lose this rare delicacy in noodle and garlic sauce.
Something tells me that this has to be tasted as it is, just little by little.
Anyhow, it was quite an experience.
And it’s just so fascinating that the people in those days somehow discovered how to eliminate the toxins in blowfish, even from the most concentrated part of its body.
Another good thing from Japan....
Japanese are known for eating anything, even blow fish with that fatal poison.
Since eating the fish could kill you (literally), you need a license to fillet it. (thank God).
Blow fish can be eaten raw, as in sashimi, boiled in broth, or deep fried for tempura.
Trust me, they are heavenly delicious.
Then I found on my recent trip to Japan that there is this crazy delicacy from Ishikawa prefecture, which is located along the coast of Japan sea, several hours train ride from Tokyo.
This food, called Fugu-no-ko, is not known to many Japanese people including myself, and lo and behold, it’s ovary of blow fish pickled-fermented in rice bran.
*Fugu means blow fish, and ko means baby, in Japanese.
Generally speaking, the poison (and also chemicals) tend to be accumulated in fatty tissue inside the body.
And ovary is one of the most fatty organs, so apparently the poison of blow fish is most concentrated here.
Why on earth would someone even think about eating it in the first place, I don’t know.
But since it exists now as a specialty in this region, some people must have done “trial and error” to create this extremely unique (or crazy) delicacy.
Now, this is how it’s made.
First, the ovary is pickled in salt for one year so that the poison comes out due to the osmotic effect.
Then to further detoxify it, it’s pickled in nuka, or rice bran for another 2 years.
Now it’s completely free of poison (supposedly), you can enjoy this ultimate delicacy.
I ordered fugu-no-ko online, had it delivered to my mom's place, and tried it the other day.
First impression was “super salty”.
*Later I found that you are supposed to rinse off the bran before you eat. Duh!
The texture is kind of like cooked quinoa or amaranth.
Well, not quite, but smaller and crunchier version of them.
If you are familiar with fish roe called “kazunoko”, it’s similar to that.
I also found that fugu-no-ko goes very well with sake.
That super saltiness is somehow neutralized when eaten with a cup of cold jummai ginjo.
You can also enjoy this food in cha-zuke, or rice-in-broth.
Some say that you can even make pasta with it, kind of like “mentaiko- spaghetti”.
Ah, that may work, except that I'd feel guilty if I lose this rare delicacy in noodle and garlic sauce.
Something tells me that this has to be tasted as it is, just little by little.
Anyhow, it was quite an experience.
And it’s just so fascinating that the people in those days somehow discovered how to eliminate the toxins in blowfish, even from the most concentrated part of its body.
Another good thing from Japan....