Whale Meat

This week's topic is not for the Eco-sensitive or the squeamish. Please DO NOT read any further if either one of these adjectives describes you.

OK, I thought you would still be reading. I haven't written about unusual (unusual for us gaijin anyway) foods in a while but just this week I got the chance to try くじら　(kujira) which is whale. I don't know what kind of whale it was, but it was good. Whale can be legally eaten in 3 places I understand - Japan, Alaska, and Scandinavia. All 3 cultures have indigenous people with a history of eating whale.

At one time whale was widely eaten in Japan and several of the Japanese men I was with said that when they were children it was more widely eaten than beef where they grew up. This was at least partially because it was cheap. In fact I understand it was given to school children quite a bit. This くじら was described as "whale bacon" because it was at the edge of the blubber and had a white strip and a red strip. I thought it was quite tasty, but I noticed that not everyone down at the other end of the table was eating it. That left more for the rest of us. Don't call the "Save the Whale" people on me but STOP NOW if you are squeamish.

A while back, I had another delicacy in the same restaurant that was unusual. The chef pinned a live fish at the tail and the head on a bed of ice so it sat up with the sides fileted off, sliced thinly over on the ice, and served. The mouth was still gulping and the tail was twitching. This is just sashimi of course, but seeing the fish makes it difficult for some folks to eat. Meshiageru, ne. I ate it.

Why do the Japanese eat raw fish? I think it is because they like it very fresh and and it tastes good that way. Cooked fish is also eaten, it is just preferred raw.

Still with me? Thought so. I have had this next one a time or two. It is called しらこ (shirako) and wasn't very well translated for me the first time I ate it.　Since this is a family blog, I will avoid base language and describe it as the reproductive organ of a male cod taken during the spawning season. I have eaten it served as nigiri zushi and also in a bowl. Actually this tastes OK too. Bon appetite, or more properly in this case itadakimasu. Remind me to take you to one of these places next time you are in town. Or, if you prefer, I'll take you to one of the best French restaurants you will have ever been to...

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