Blowfish "Fugu" -河豚-

Blowfish (or Pufferfish) is known as poisonous fish. It's liver, skin, eyes (and some other parts) are highly toxic. But, it is also known as one of the winter delicacies in Japan.

Live "Fugu" in a fish tank in front of the restaurant (left),
"Hire sake" -dried blowfish fins in a cup of hot sake- warms you up in winter time (right) 

Because of it's deadly poison, Fugu is also called "Teppo" in Japanese, means a gun -if you are hit, you will be dead-.
It needs to be carefully prepared by licensed chefs. In Japan, almost every year, we see one or two (or even more!) cases on the headlines say "a man who prepared and ate fugu by himself died from fugu poisoning..."

Poached "Fugu" skins with chopped onions in ponzu -citrus- sauce (left),
"Tessa" -thinly sliced fugu sashimi with ponzu sauce(right)

Fugu, specially "Torafugu", is considered to be luxurious food.
It was not common, ordinary people's food till farming technologies and delivery system (fish tank car) got improved in past few decades.




Deep fried fugu meat, Charcoal grilled marinated fugu meat in special soy sauce

"Tecchiri" (or "Fugu-chiri") -fugu hot pot, and "zosui" -rice soup- at the end of the hot pot