Published on January 14th, 2013 | by Duncan Riley
0Four Extremely Bizarre Seafood Dishes
Ikizukuri
Ikizukuri, also known as ikezukuri, is the preparation of sashimi made from live seafood.
Not limited to fish, Ikizukuri is also made from octopus, prawns, and lobster.
Not surprisingly the practice is banned in some countries due to the animal cruelty concerns.
Odori Ebi
Odori Ebi (literally “dancing prawn”) is a Sashimi delicacy that consists of baby prawns that are still alive and able to move its legs and antenna while being eaten.
The prawns are dunked into sake in order to intoxicate the prawn, then into a special dipping sauce. It is then quickly chewed to kill the animal.
If eating live prawns isn’t enough: the head and shell are sometimes quickly deep-fried and served as a side dish.
Sannakji
Sannakji is a Koren raw dish that consists of live octopus usually lightly seasoned with sesame and sesame oil.
Served if in small pieces of whole, the octopus (or its pieces) are usually squirming on the plate.
The dish though isn’t for everyone though, as special care must be taken when eating Sannakji as the active suction cups can cause swallowed pieces of arm to stick to the mouth or throat…presenting a choking hazard.
Fugu
The best know of the 4 bizarre dishes is Fugu, or Japanese puffer fish and the dish prepared from it
Fugu is lethally poisonous, however when prepared properly the toxic parts are removed and the fish is safe to eat.
While highly regulated in Japan accidents do occur, with 20 to 44 incidents of fugu poisoning on average per year between 1996 and 2006 in Japan leading to 34 and 64 victims being hospitalized and zero to six deaths (per year.)