The infamous fugu (blowfish) is a luxury food in Japan, one with
a long history and an exciting reputation. Also known as fuku,
this delicious fish has been part of the Japanese diet since
ancient times, and is as popular today as it’s ever been; in
fact, the Japanese consume some 10,000 tons of fugu annually.
There are different varieties of fugu, but most notable among
those approved for human consumption by the Japanese government
is the tora, or tiger, fugu. Tora fugu is renowned for its
delicate and distinctive flavor—and for the deadly toxin
tetrodotoxincontained in its liver and ovaries. Before being
sold or served, the law requires that the poison be removed
entirely, a procedure undertaken by specially licensed chefs.
Fugu has long been on the Japanese menu: fugu bones have been
unearthed from shell mounds dating back some 2,500 years. During
the late sixteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries, deaths
by fugu poisoning were commonplace, and various laws were passed
prohibiting its consumption, bu