Puffer fish - The dish "death" more toxic than cyanide is loved by the rich

Puffer fish is an extremely dangerous fish. According to experts, Tetrodotoxin (the main poison of puffer fish) is 1000 times more powerful than cyanide.

The poison in the puffer fish is so strong that even a dose smaller than the tip of a needle is enough to cause death. One puffer fish has more than enough strength to knock 30 healthy adult men down in excruciating pain, without ever going to the gym.

In particular, the toxin Tetrodotoxin present in puffer fish is not broken down during cooking. And especially, there is absolutely no antidote to this terrible poison when it has been absorbed into the blood. But one thing is, puffer fish meat is not poisonous and extremely delicious. In the land of the rising sun, puffer fish sushi or sashimi is one of the most expensive dishes on every table. Not only do they have to risk their lives every time they enjoy this luxurious dish, Japanese people are also willing to spend a large amount of money to eat them.

There are more than 120 species of puffer fish in the world. Among them, 20 species have been allowed by the Japanese government to be used by restaurants to prepare dishes. Takifugu rubripes (common name Tiger puffer fish) is the most expensive, unique name and is also the raw material used to make the most famous live puffer dish of the land of the rising sun.

You can find tiger puffer fish sushi in Japanese restaurants that rank among the highest class. Here, chefs often use this premium ingredient to make a deep-fried dish, Hirezake (a hot sake served with puffer fish fins) but the most famous and popular is Sashimi.

Like many other high-end fish, such as Bluefin tuna, Tiger puffer fish is often auctioned at fish markets instead of being sold in bulk. The way tiger puffer fish auction is also very interesting and special. For example, at Haedomari fish market, the seller will join each customer in a small bag, then the buyer will signal with his hand the price he wants to pay. Thanks to the bag, the bid is kept completely secret and after going all the way, the owner of the fishbowl will decide to whom the fish will belong!

In the high season, the price of tiger puffer fish is usually up to 265 USD/kg (more than 6 million VND). Even this number is increasing day by day because overfishing leads to scarcity. Currently, the Japanese government has introduced many laws to limit the number and time of fishing of this fish in a year.

Processing puffer fish is not easy, because with just one wrong knife, the price to pay is human life. Due to the great need to enjoy puffer meat, many chefs in the land of cherry blossoms are still passionate about conquering the skills of puffer processing. However, because the training as well as the learning process are very difficult and rigorous, currently there are only 12 chefs in Japan who are licensed to process this type of fish.

And in order to become one of the few chefs famous for puffer fish, chefs are required to attend a training course and practice fish pecking skills from 2 to 3 years. Then these skilled people have to practice on hundreds of fish, accept to spend hundreds of thousands of yen, pass a difficult exam with only a 60% chance of success, to get a processing license. Safe puffer fish.

A special thing in the processing of puffer fish that every chef must keep in mind is that after dissecting and cleaning the puffer fish, all the poisonous parts of the fish will have to be put in a metal tray with the words "No". edible" and locked. After that, people will bring this tray to the fish market and destroy them in the oven with wood chips. In the process of dissecting fish, although the meat of the fish is not poisonous, just touching their internal organs is enough for both people and fish to walk hand in hand to meet Pluto immediately.

According to chef Yutaka Hatori - an expert in the preparation of puffer fish - the toxic part of this fish will be on certain parts such as: gills, heart, gallbladder, kidneys, liver, ovaries, eyes. Things are even more difficult when the poisonous parts are different in each type of puffer fish, even now in the world there is an unknown hybrid puffer fish.

However, according to Mr. Hatori, the biggest challenge for any puffer chef is to distinguish the female's ovaries (which are extremely poisonous) and the male's testes (the most delicious part). Sharing about how to make a puffer fish into a 5-star dish, chef Yutaka Hatori said: "After being taken out of the water tank, the puffer fish is still alive and you have to make it brain dead in a split second with a sharp knife through the head This method keeps the fish meat fresh longer and ensures excellent flavor until it is on the table. Next, the fins and mouth of the fish are removed, followed by the peeling step. skin and internal organs. The non-poisonous fish meat is separated and after a few cuts, they become famous sashimi."

Different from many popular sashimi made from salmon, tuna... standard puffer fish sashimi must be extremely thin slices of meat! According to those who have enjoyed Tiger puffer fish sashimi, the slice of fish meat is very chewy, accompanied by a delicate, fresh taste that is completely different from other sashimi dishes.

Currently, in Japan, the most famous chef is Kunio Miura - a master of puffer fish. He learned how to butcher this fish at the age of 15. Through rigorous training and hands-on sessions on hundreds of fish, Kunio Miura became a licensed pufferfish waiter when he was just 20 years old. To this day, despite 60 years of experience with puffer fish, this passionate chef is extremely cautious when handling a fish. Because even a small mistake can lead to danger to the customer's life.

However, it is impossible not to mention the many cases of puffer poisoning that lead to tragic endings, making us pay more attention to the safety of ourselves and society. In October 2014, 11 members of the same family in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were hospitalized in critical condition. Within seconds of taking the first bite, members of the family started vomiting, then lost sensation in their faces, arms and legs. Most of the victims were paralyzed.

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