A 10-year-old from Japan is the youngest person to obtain a fugu cooking license and is now allowed to prepare the dangerous dish.
Kumamoto – At just 10 years old, Japanese schoolgirl Karin Tabira has achieved a remarkable feat. She passed the exam to prepare fugu, the highly poisonous puffer fish that is considered a delicacy in Japan. This makes her the youngest person in Japan to ever receive this demanding certification, according to Japanese news portal Maine reported. Fugu is not only popular for culinary purposes, but can be deadly if not prepared correctly.
Fugu: What is it actually?
The fugu puffer fish is a poisonous delicacy in Japan that is not allowed to be prepared in Germany due to the dangerous poison. In Japan it is considered a cultural asset and a luxury food. The fish is mainly caught in regions such as Shimonoseki, where the water temperature on the seabed is 13 degrees.
To prepare it, the poisonous parts of the fish must be carefully removed and cooks need a special license. Only licensed cooks who have completed two years of training and passed an exam are allowed to prepare fugu. Fugu, the puffer fish, is dangerous because it contains the deadly neurotoxin tetrodotoxin, especially in the liver, ovaries and skin.
Source: Japan.de
10-year-old receives Fugu license: Strict test with dangerous background
The puffer fish, or fugu, is one of the most dangerous foods in the world. The poison contained in certain organs of the fish is stronger than the highly toxic potassium cyanide (hydrogen cyanide). Even the smallest amounts can be fatal. The poisonous remains must be disposed of as hazardous waste. If prepared incorrectly, the poison leads to deafness, paralysis and, in the worst case, cardiac arrest. Fugu is often served in Japan as wafer-thin sashimi. Therefore, only specially trained and certified chefs are allowed to prepare this dish in Japan. The path to such a license is long and demanding, which is why it is all the more remarkable that Karin passed this test at the age of 10.
By 1969, according to Japanese Consulate General Hamburgaround 200 people died every year, which has been reduced by more rigorous training for fugu chefs. Today, the risk is almost eliminated in licensed restaurants. Nevertheless, there are occasional cases of poisoning, for example when fugu is prepared without the appropriate license or improperly.
The examination process for the fugu license consists of two parts: a theoretical test that covers food hygiene and poison science, and a practical part in which the fish must be properly filleted and its poisonous parts correctly removed. Karin passed both parts and can now call herself a fugu chef.
Poisonous delicacy: How a 10-year-old Japanese girl completed her training as a fugu cook
To prepare for the exam, Karin completed an intensive six-month training course at Fukunari, a company that, according to reports from According to Mainichi, specializing in the breeding and trading of fugu. Yuki Hirao, the managing director of Fukunari, was impressed by Karin’s achievements, such as CBSNews reported: “Even adult employees can fail this test. The fact that a 10-year-old passed it on the first try is simply unbelievable,” explained Hirao.
Cutting up the fish was particularly challenging for Karin. The fugu has extremely hard bones that can only be cut through with a lot of strength and skill. During the preparation, Karin had to climb onto a platform so that she could process the fish at the kitchen table. During the practical test, she also had to show that she could identify and remove the poisonous parts of the fish without making a mistake – a critical step in which the lives of consumers are at stake.
Karin Tabira: Japan’s youngest fugu chef
Until Karin’s success, the youngest candidate to obtain a fugu license was 11 years old. Although she is not yet officially allowed to prepare fugu in her home region of Kumamoto – the minimum age there is 18 – she was able to take the exam in neighboring Yamaguchi, where there is no age limit.
Karin explained that she would like to take the exam in Kumamoto when she is 18, so that she can officially work as a fugu chef there too. Her motivation came from the inspiration she received from another young candidate: a sixth-grade student had passed the fugu exam in another region, which awakened Karin’s ambition to try it too, like Mainichi reportsThe Fugu license opens many doors for Karin Tabira in the world of Japanese cuisine.
Fugu is a sought-after dish in the country’s upscale restaurants, and only a few chefs are allowed to prepare it. After her exam success, Karin visited the governor of Kumamoto, Takashi Kimura. She even served him a specially prepared fugu sashimi that she had filleted the day before. Kimura, who tried the puffer fish, praised it, according to voh.com the girl for her skills: “It is thinly sliced, clear and very tasty. I am impressed by your courage to face this challenge at the age of 10,” he said. (ls)
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