Poison, poison everywhere, but not a drop to eat

By John Aglionby

JAKARTA (JP): Fugu, a prickly blowfish, are 1,000 times more poisonous than cyanide. To most people that would be a very good reason to avoid them. But the Japanese, famous for their penchant for raw fish, think otherwise.

Four thousand years ago they began to eat, and die from, this extremely expensive winter delicacy, if fossil analysis is anything to go by. The Chinese and Koreans developed a liking for it a millennium or so later and it is now served in many countries around the world.

"It began as a male image thing," Fumiharu Fujii, a fugu chef from Simonoseki -- the only town where the Japanese government allows the fish to be sold -- said. "Ancient warriors, such as the samurai, used to eat it to demonstrate their courage and as a way to show off to women."

Such displays of manliness became so common that the traditional Tora (tiger) fugu was at risk of becoming extinct. "So what the government did was to extend the number of puffers that could be classed as fugu," Orita said.

There are now 16 varieties of the fish whose name is Japanese for sea pig. Chefs learned from experience that one is completely poisonous and various parts of the others should also be avoided.

"Fugu are divided into meat, skin and semen," Fujii said. "With some you can eat only the meat, others the meat and skin, and with a few the semen is also served."

This explains why it is a winter delicacy, according to Hikaru Orita, coordinator for the Grand Hyatt's dozen Japanese restaurants. "During the winter fugu are preparing to propagate. So they are eating lots of vitamins and nutrients and are also secreting semen.

"Catching them at this time of year means that the meat is more tasty and there is also the milky semen," he said.

Being a winter delicacy also explains why the fish is so expensive. Fujii said: "The best fugu are found in the straits between southern Japan and the Korean Peninsula. During the winter the seas are very rough there so it is dangerous for the fishermen."

"And fugu have to be caught one at a time with a thick wire as their teeth are so sharp," he added.

Catching fugu is only half the battle. Extracting the poison is highly skilled work that involves soaking the fish in running water and then treating it with, among other things, Japanese parsley.

Cooking it at home is not an experience you are likely to survive, according to Fujii. "It took me several years to become qualified to prepare and serve fugu. As far as I know I have not killed anyone yet."

It is served in a variety of ways. Fujii, chef at the Grand Hyatt in Cheju, Japan, is offering four dishes at Sumire, the Jakarta hotel's Japanese restaurant for lunch and dinner until next Sunday.

The piece de resistance is very thinly sliced Sashimi Fugu. Served with a type of chive and several other condiments, one eats the almost transparent raw fish by wrapping the herbs in it and dipping it in the sauce.

The smooth texture needs to be savored in the mouth rather than gulped to be fully appreciated, but the different flavors fuse extremely well to make a delicious meal.

One of the extras was strips of raw fugu skin. These tasted more like aging chewing gum than most delicacies I have eaten but according to Orita, that is exactly what it is meant to resemble.

People used to eating nasi putih three times a day will not find fugu that filling. And the other drawback of the Hyatt's promotion is the price.

One portion of Sashimi Fugu costs Rp 300,000 -- the equivalent of 20 square meters of floor tiles, two front doors or 35 percent of a leather belt in Alfred Dunhill in Plaza Indonesia. And that is a bargain by Japanese standards.

The other dishes are not nearly as expensive. Fugu Chiri, a spicier offering, is Rp 90,000, toasted fugu fin will put you back only Rp 40,000, and with the change from this you could have the deep-fried fugu for a paltry Rp 30,000.

I suppose you get what you pay for because this final dish was not as enjoyable as the other three. There was nothing wrong with the meat but there were so many bones it almost became a chore stripping the meat from them with nothing but chopsticks.

A variety of Japanese drinks, including sake and shocu cocktails, are available to wash down the fish with and the ambience of the restaurant is appropriately low-key and relaxing.

So if you feel in need of spending a great deal of money and have an iron-clad digestive system that can stomach a large plateful of raw fish, indulge yourself to what will be a memorable meal at the Hyatt. Otherwise go and buy a front door or two.

Fugu is being served at the Grand Hyatt's Japanese restaurant, Sumire, for both lunch and dinner until Sunday Nov. 17.