I'm Still Standing

Last night, for New Year's Eve, my family and I stayed in and had a traditional fugu feast. Yes, a meal of poisonous blowfish, forever immortalized by Homer Simpson's near-death experience. It's true a few people do die each year from improperly prepared fugu, but the place we always get ours from is still in business, and that's usually a good sign.

Hard to believe this little guy can kill you in seconds...


I prefer to eat it raw, as "tesa".


And once the poison is removed, you can also eat the livers, but not too much, as some of the poison is still contained in them. They will still give your tongue a tingly feeling though.


The main dish is a fugu stew, or "nabe" in Japanese, but I was too busy eating to snap pics of that.

We also had live raw shrimp. My mother-in-law would cut off their heads while they were still alive, split them open, then we would dip them in soy sauce and wasabi and eat them. Sometimes they'll still squrim a bit in your mouth. Fun, fun, fun...