this is behind the counter at a Japanese
Fugu restaurant
[Music]
good morning everyone I have a fun one
for you today because I'm taking you
behind the counter at a super local
family-run boo restaurant this is
actually the first time I've ever seen
it in prison so I'm excited to take you
along for the ride all we have to do now
is just wait for the fugu to arrive
in Tokyo super local sumioshi Ginza
shopping Street located in just three
minutes from sumioshi station you'll
find a family-owned live Fugu specialty
restaurant koshiji Fugu also called
puffer fish or Blowfish is a luxury food
dish in Japan most famously known for
its poisonous organs that if eaten can
easily lead to death and why only lights
and chefs are able to prepare today I'm
taking you behind the counter to show
you how this deadly fish is served in
Japan
good morning
hey wait are we supposed to get the fugu
delivery right now actually just got
into the car and I thought they were
going to be delivering the figure this
morning but as it turns out the shop
waited to take me along for the fugu
pickup a bit unexpected but I'm always
down for a ride to the toyosu fish
market so this is your Madison the first
generation owner who started the fuku
shop and this is his son so everyone has
family here right so doesn't it
damn that's three Generations
[Music]
and here we are toyozu fish market which
is generally closed to the public so he
first disposes of The doku Poisoned from
the fugu removed from the previous days
apparently you can't just throw out
toxic organs as you would regular food
waste in Japan but rather it must be
brought to a place like this for proper
disposal
now the family head to the live market
to buy their Fugu
so your Madison has been running his
figure restaurant for 45 years now and
at the age of 75 he's slowly handing
over the Reigns to his children and
grandchildren while ever appreciating
their time spent together even at the
market at one of the few Tokyo licensed
Fugu wholesalers
do you guys come here every time
I see
it
45 years coming to the market huh
oh wow it's a special day then the
vendors must be happy to see him
how old they're buying fergusiako and
fillets for the side dishes shiraku also
known as milk or softrow is a highly
prized food item in Japan and often sold
even in department stores
now they're gonna visit another one of
the regular vendors to see if they can
make more purchases
well I guess they're already sold out
for today at least your mother-son got
to reconnect with some of his old
vendors
[Music]
where are you going now
wet whistles it's a massive fish tank
area filled with Fugu all the fish
purchased are gathered here categorized
by the buyers and then loaded into the
truck with sea water
apparently fuku is most popular and
naturally in season during the winter so
the shop visits the market two to three
times a week while out of season there's
less demand so the shop visits the
market about once a week in general
though compared to other types of fish
restaurants everyday visits are not
required since the shop has their own
tanks to keep the food group fresh at
all times the shirakudo is only
available during the winter how many
Fugu did you buy today
oh snap and what's the market price for
one
that'll set you back all right hello
[Music]
now everyone works quickly as a team to
move all of the fugu to the Shop's tanks
where they're kept until just before
they're prepared so yamada-san along
with his wife originally started a
seafood shop but after four years turned
it exclusively into a fukushop and it
eventually turned into a family business
in the truest sense yamadison says that
he never expected his children to join
the business but is truly grateful for
all of their support over the years
[Music]
and that's your Madison's wife aka the
female master in Japanese Okami over
time she's mastered how to skillfully
grill the fins of the fugu which is used
to make their traditional Japanese hot
sake drink called hirezake
she says that each Fugu has four
different sizes of fin so it's critical
to master how each one is grilled under
the intense heat for perfect results
I see
[Music]
oh these are the freshly cut bins before
they're grilled and they need to be
dried now
[Music]
it's about three days to completely dry
in sunny conditions the fins are used in
the hot sake to create a unique and
distinct flavor and demonstrates how
much effort goes into using every
consumable part of the fugu
around 11 30 a.m the family finally have
a lunch break together what are you guys
eating
I love bentos so how did you start
working here
[Music]
you joined Young
and this is your mother son's daughter
so how long have you been working here
did you do something else before this
is
hey
[Music]
I'll let them eat their lunch in peace
but as soon as they're done let me ask
another question so what do you usually
do after lunch
wait YouTube
the entire family lives in the building
[Music]
now a couple hours before the first
dinner reservation the family starts
their prep
[Music]
the Sun starts with cutting the hakusai
Cabbage for the hot pot he himself
originally worked in accounting but at
35 decided to work with a family as a
chef so do you have a hobby
you go watch games
with your kids
[Music]
I seen what about your wife
oh wow what kind of programming okay
[Music]
oh the daughter's making Nico goody a
jellied broth appetizer which uses the
fugu skin
why are you doing that
damn that's a lot of love going into
preparing a small appetizer
now the chef prepares the skin making
sure not to waste any parts the skin
itself has spikes embedded throughout
which have not removed would feel like
biting into tiny little rocks so the
chefs runs quite a bit of time and
effort to skillfully scrape it off
creating a unique and edible texture
so let me ask has anyone ever got sick
here before amazing a lot of people get
scared of the poison though
it's true that poison from food is a
thousand times stronger than cyanide so
it progresses very rapidly and finally
once consumed first numbness in the
mouth then vomiting difficulty breathing
paralysis and finally death all within
four to six hours quite a scary way to
go but due to government licensing
there's only about one death per year in
Japan and usually it's because someone
unlicensed decided to prepare it on
their own at home so yeah no-brainer if
you're gonna eat food in Japan eat it
safely at a chef licensed restaurant
and here's your mother-son overseeing
the team from the counter so why
fugues
okay can I see your license
wow you look super young
so to get a Frugal license you must pass
a written in Hands-On test after going
through electric course held at the
poison removal facility with a two-year
working experience prerequisite and his
grandson is finally scheduled to take
the test this year to help continue on
the family business
hey what are you thinking about while
you're cutting
really
so how do you feel about them continuing
on the family business
that's family so what do you feel
special about the food here
no cap and what's your favorite food
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oh Yamada son is finally in the kitchen
originally from negata prefecture he
moved to Tokyo when he was 22 and
started the restaurant when he was
around 30. he used to do all of the prep
with the help of his wife but these days
though he allows the other Chef to
remove the fugu's toxic organs while he
enjoys focusing on prepping the Fugu
Sashimi a highlight of the course meal
how's business these days
what about summer
oh that's dope what do you do like where
you want to go tomorrow
where do I apply in Japan it's where for
a restaurant to take such a long
vacation every year but due to fluke is
low season the family business can take
advantage of this time
thank you
hey
[Music]
oh 30 minutes to open in the kitchen's
buzzing what happened
I love happy screams and here we go time
to prep the fugu and remove the poison
fair warning if you don't like to see
Fish getting filleted skip to this time
stamp three two one first an accurate
Blow To The Head to immediately render
the fish insensible he then quickly cuts
a mouth for safety
followed by the fin skin and then all
the toxic organs
is wasted as a chef swiftly and
methodically cuts through the fugu
taking careful account which parts can
be eaten and which parts are fatally
toxic
and to ensure the chef has removed all
the poisonous organs they use these tags
for labeling once all the parts are
collected they're frozen until they're
taken to the poison disposal facility
the next time they visit the market so
what happens if you eat this this
ah true dad
now your Madison works on the Sashimi
while the sun works on the shabu-shabu
is there really a difference between the
sashimi and the Shabu Shabu news
got it
so the Sashimi requires an extra step to
remove the skin while the shabu-shabu
doesn't since the skin is edible when
heated
interestingly when he started the shop
was much smaller but became quite a
popular spot for locals at the time it
was only Yamada son and his wife and
they couldn't keep up with the customers
so many helped out by pouring their own
drinks and even writing down their
orders to this day they're still
grateful for all the support they
received from their customers and in
fact after expanding to a new location
three of the regular customers joined
the restaurant are you particular about
the knife you use oh really so it can be
anything
yeah dull knives are no fun and how long
have you been using your thinner Fugu
knives
foreign
[Music]
as expected the reservation customers
are right on time
[Music]
usually the shop will present the live
food to the customers just before
preparation but since these are his
regulars they asked to have their set
course ready and served right when they
arrive
is there anything you want to say to
everyone
yeah you gotta try it at least once the
food itself is a white fish which is
densely textured when raw so it's cut
transparently thin but it's soft and
Airy when cooked it's best eaten as
fresh as possible as it quickly loses
taste as time passes a very unique and
elegant Japanese dining experience when
prepared by a skilled chef
oh he's making the hirazaki now so do
you drink what's your poison
can you drink a lot what do you guys oh
really
oh
and here comes a part-time worker
[Applause]
cool they're showing the fugu to the
customers apparently in Japan the mark
of a skilled Fugu Chef is literally
displayed through the intricately
colored plate designs used for serving
as only a Seasoned Chef can cut through
the fugu thin enough for the designs to
show through the slices of fugu ready
since everyone is so busy let's go talk
to the customers excuse me can I talk to
you guys all right so do you come here a
lot
[Music]
damn that's a long time
nice what's your favorite okay
shabu-shabu and a hot pot I guess no
words required thank you guys
hi can I bother you come on you you come
here often
that's a long time why do you like it
here
so what's your favorite dishes
yes of course thanks have a great time
you guys look super busy
[Music]
and this video is a bit special since my
family is joining for this one to share
the fugu dinner with me obviously I
can't finish all this food delicious
food all by myself so yeah that's
another one in the books if you want to
visit this shop and experience it for
yourself I'll be sure to leave a link in
the description alright so that is
behind the counter at a local Japanese
fuku restaurant if you guys like this
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catch you guys in the next time