From high-end restaurants that only serve the finest natural Torafugu (Japanese pufferfish) to popular kappo-style restaurants that serve farmed fugu, there are some differences in the content of each restaurant, but fugu course meals are one of the most luxurious treats in Japanese cuisine.

Whether it is an old-established restaurant that stubbornly sticks to its motto and traditions, a restaurant that tries to expand its sales channels by offering low prices, or a restaurant specializes in live fish, every blowfish restaurant is making efforts and finding ways to improve its business.

There are also an increasing number of chain-based blowfish restaurants, such as those found in conveyor belt sushi restaurants. However, the types and quality of the blowfish used, as well as the service and appearance of the restaurant, differ between the several hundred dollar course and the several dozen dollar course, and the price is set according to the contents, so the price alone cannot be used as a general standard for judging.

A fugu course meal usually consists of five to seven dishes. The main dishes are fugu sashimi, fugu nabe, and fugu zousui. Each restaurant adds its own unique dishes to these three core dishes to create a course menu. Another important element that has a big impact on the reputation of a restaurant is ponzu. Ponzu is used to bring out the flavor of the fugu sashimi and in all kinds of dishes, from fugu nabe to zousui. Therefore, how the ponzu is prepared has a big impact on the evaluation of the taste of the fugu restaurant, and is a major factor in determining its popularity. For this reason, each fugu restaurant is particular about its ponzu, and puts a lot of thought into it, creating secret recipes. As fugu has become more accessible, ponzu specially made for fugu has started to be sold commercially and is called fugu shoyu.

 

Now let’s take a look at fugu dishes one by one.

Fugu sashimi

Fugu sashimi, which has a unique style also known as Fugusashi or Tessa, is one of the representative dishes of Japanese food culture that we can be proud of to the world. Of course, it also plays a leading role in fugu courses. The technique of arranging the sashimi, which is made thin so that the pattern on the plate can be seen through it, beautifully across the entire plate shows off the fugu chef’s skills to the fullest. The plating requires the chef to demonstrate the highest level of technical skill, creativity, and expression, and the finished dish exudes a sense of elegance like a work of art.

When eating fugu sashimi, take a few slices of sashimi, place 2-3 spring onions (Wakegi, Asatsuki, Fugu negi) in the middle, and roll them up. Eat them with ponzu soy sauce mixed with grated radish with chili pepper and chopped spring onions as condiments. If you chew the sashimi without using the condiments, you will notice that the sweetness spreads in your mouth.

*Wakegi is a hybrid of leek and onion.

 

Fugu nabe

Fugu nabe is also called chiri or techiri, especially in the Kansai region. Chiri is a general term for hot pot dishes that use ponzu to eat fish fillets, etc. Fugu nabe is a hot pot dish made with the bones and leftover meat from fugu sashimi, kombu dashi, and seasonal vegetables. Ingredients added to the hot pot include tofu, garland chrysanthemum, Chinese cabbage, leeks, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, rice cakes, and, in the most luxurious cases, matsutake mushrooms.

 

Fugu zousui

After eating Fugu nabe, the rice is cooked in dashi that has absorbed the deliciousness of the fugu and vegetables, and then beaten egg is added. Zousui is made by rinsing the already-cooked rice, removing the slime from the surface, and then boiling it together with dashi and other ingredients. This is done in order to preserve the light, deep flavor of the fugu, and the zousui made after eating fugu nabe brings out the flavor of the fugu.

 

Fugu nikogori

Nikogori is a dish that makes good use of the characteristics of blowfish skin, and is often served as a delicacy as an appetizer in a course meal. Blowfish skin contains a large amount of a protein called collagen. This does not dissolve in water under normal conditions, but when heated it breaks down and has the property of dissolving from the body as gelatin. The collagen in blowfish becomes gelatin with a high concentration in a short time, so the real Nikogori is made by cooling this and hardening it into a jelly-like substance.

 

Fugu hirezake

Hirezake is a way of drinking warm sake with grilled fish fins. The savory flavor of Hirezake is one of the great pleasures of fugu cuisine.

The fins are often dried well and then seared before being used to make hirazake, but because the fins also contain amino acids, it is thought that searing them makes it easier for some of the umami ingredients to dissolve into the liquid. Another feature of the fins is that they contain little fat, so even when seared, they do not become greasy or fishy. In other words, the umami and savory flavor of the fins are added to the sake without detracting from the flavor of the sake.

Warm the sake to between 70 and 80 degrees, add 1 or 2 slices of grilled fish, and then cover and wait for about 3 minutes. When grilling the fish, turn it over frequently on both sides and grill it slowly over a low heat until it turns a light brown color. Be careful not to over-grill it, as this will make it bitter, or under-grill it, as this will make it smell fishy.

 

Fugu shirako

If you’re going to eat fugu, you definitely want to try shirako. It’s a big concern whether shirako is included in the course meal or not. Shirako is the testes of the male reproductive gland. In autumn, the testes are still small, but in winter, just before the spawning season, they suddenly grow large. The texture is soft and sticky, and the taste is different from that of cod shirako. The best season is from January to February, just before the spawning season.

Among blowfish dishes, shirakoyaki, shirakoage, shirakotenpura, shirakotoufu, etc. are often served as a single dish.

 

Fugu Karaage

Originally, white fish is a good ingredient for karaage. Fugu karaage is also very popular and has become a staple of course meals. Fugu ara is seasoned with sake, light soy sauce and mirin, and then deep-fried after being coated in flour. As fugu is a very light fish, care is taken with the seasoning and the way it is prepared so as not to kill the natural flavor of the fugu. It is said that fugu lovers especially like the deep-fried version of the part with the bones around the beak.

Karaage is eaten by picking it up with your hands and sucking it into your mouth. Even if it looks a bit vulgar, don’t worry about it at this time.

 

Fugu nigiri sushi

Fugu is distributed after the poisonous organs have been removed, so it is possible to serve fugu sushi even without a fugu preparation license. Also, fugu that has been maturing for about three days is distributed. However, if you want to eat fugu nigiri sushi, we recommend eating it at a fugu specialty restaurant.

 

Fugu kawasashi

The skin of fugu is boiled, cut into small pieces, and served in the center of the sashimi. It contains more marine collagen than the flesh of fugu, and because of its unique crunchy texture, there are many fans of fugu skin. However, there are also types of fugu whose skin is not edible.

Generally, it is served after being briefly dipped in boiling water and then cooled in cold water. This process enhances the texture and flavor, allowing you to enjoy it at its most delicious. We recommend eating it with ponzu sauce, to which you can add garnishes such as green onions and yuzu pepper.

 

For your reference.