Japan’s Most Extreme Seafood From North to South!!

Japan’s Most Extreme Seafood From North to South!!

In this series, we’re taking on Japanese seafood from north to south. From the bustling crab markets of Saporo all the way to the oyster farms of Hiroshima. We got like a pile of oysters right here. Japan is a country obsessed with seafood. I love seafood. In fact, it’s one of the top consumers of seafood around the world. Tokyo, I would wager to guess, probably has more variety of fish than any other city in the world. Would you agree with that? Half the seafood here is caught by hardworking fishermen holding in Japan’s premium wild catch. Wow. And the other half is farmed. Raised under the watchful eye of researchers who have turned aquaculture into an art form. This place is processing up to 30,000 eels per day. They’re turning these slippery slimy creatures into something absolutely delicious. From ocean waters and farms, this seafood changes hands to chefs around the country. Why do people insist on still eating this? It’s yummy. Chefs who understand that these delicate ingredients can be unforgettable. It’s so good. Or if not prepared properly can lead to absolute disaster. This could be my last oyster. I hope it’s a good one. Cheers. From Tokyo’s most dangerous seafood dishes. Around 10 people in Australia pass away every year because of getting in contact with this fish to shellfish handpicked by 80-year-old Ama divers. That is like the poop sack and the snail all in one bite. A lot going on there. I’m on a mission to reveal how Japan does seafood differently. What must be done before I eat this? You must rinse your mouth with sake to cleanse the pallet. Oh, I don’t know. It’s only 10:08 a.m. Okay. And it all starts with the most coveted crustation in the sea, the crab. Look at this thing. It has like the perfect body armor. They’re spiky as heck. Welcome to Sapuro, the capital of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island and a paradise for seafood lovers. This place is famous for its brutal winters, but also some of the best crabs on the planet. All of Japan’s most prized crab species can be found here. Hakkaido is responsible for nearly half of Japan’s total crab catch. Meaning, if you’re eating crab in Japan, chances are it came from these icy waters. Right now, we’ve just arrived at a local seafood market, and it’s time to find out what’s on the menu. Let’s move. If you want to see all of Japan’s finest crabs, Sapuro’s Outer Market is the place to be. Here, local chefs and home cooks hunt for the freshest catch. Sure, you can find Japan’s infamous Hkaido scallops and plenty of fish, but me, oh, this water is so cold. I’m here to start the day strong with Japan’s premium snow crab. What a beauty. Take a look at this. Oh, hey. Hey, hey. Oh, no. [ __ ] Oh, no. That was not on purpose. Oh, okay. I got it. Jokes on you. I can’t feel my fingers. Anyways, now these snow crabs thrive in the icy waters of the North Pacific and the Sea of Japan, making Hokkaido the perfect place to find and eat these little creatures. Also, these cold, frigid waters are perfect for creating fatty, succulent meat. That’s what these guys are known for. This guy right here, $20. Throughout the day today, we’re going to be eating all sorts of iconic Japanese crabs that are especially caught here in Hokkaido. This is going to be our first one that we’re cooking up. Let’s get into it. Before we crack into this crab, let’s crack into something a little bit deeper. I travel the world and eat some truly unique things. But I don’t go in blind. I ask questions. I get the story. I try to understand what I’m getting into before I take that first bite. And I do that because context matters. And therapy is the same way. When you’re opening up about what’s going on in your head, it’s not enough just to talk to anyone. You need someone who actually fits, who understands where you’re coming from, someone who just gets it. That’s what I like about our paid partner, Better Help. When I signed up, I answered a few questions about my background and the kind of therapist I wanted to connect with. A couple days later, and I was matched. I didn’t have to overexlain myself, I felt comfortable. And once that pressure was off, I could actually focus on the real stuff I came to therapy for. To be honest, like many of you, I put out therapy for a long time. But trust me, it is worth trying, especially when Better Help makes it this easy. And if your first match isn’t the right fit, you can switch your therapist at no extra cost. So, if you’ve been thinking about therapy, consider this your sign to get started. Visit betterhelp.com/bfood or scan the QR code on the screen to get a special discount on your first month because the right experience begins with the right connection. Now, back to the show. Just across from the snow crab seller, Umiido, a seafood restaurant known for bringing Hokkaido’s best crabs straight from the tank to the table. Ka sitting across from me, the winner of Miss Universe Japan 2024, Kaya. But more on her later. How do you feel about seafood? I love seafood. It’s one of my favorite meals. How are you with food in general? Are you accepting of trying new things? I’ve always been too adventurous to the point my parents get really worried for me. Do you have an example of too adventurous? raw lamb. Oh, and I really liked it and I ordered like 5 lbs of it of raw lamb. Oh my god. Well, we’re not going to be doing anything that extreme. This is the snow crab. A crab that is said to be Hold on. I looked it up. First, the chef breaks down our long-legged friend. He coats the D-shelled crab legs and claws in a dry batter made from baking powder, flour, and salt. Then, it’s dipped into a wet batter using the same ingredients, but with water added in. Finally, it hits the hot oil for a crispy golden finish. The snow crab has naturally sweet and a mildly briny flavor, making it less intense than the king crab, but more refined. Do you want to give it a shot? Cheers. Wow, that’s like dynamite. M. I get what they say by elegant. It’s doing an elegant dance in my mouth. It’s a little bit crunchy, but really the gem is when you get a hit of that juicy crab. It’s sweet, but not harsh. It’s so airy and I think it complements really well with the fact that it’s a tempura. Tempura, it just means fried basically, right? Yeah. Around the world when you think fried, you think deep fried and it’s going to be super coated. You can’t even see the ingredient itself. But with tempura, you’re still able to see it. It’s more watery and transparent, which makes it lighter. We have the temporal claw right here. We have a bowl just of salt. Using salt enhances the natural flavor more. [Music] I think the salt brings out even more sweetness. Yeah, it’s a bigger, thicker, more robust chunk compared to the leg that we just had. It felt more light and this was more meaty, more tender. I like it. I’ve never gone anywhere in Japan and just got a bowl of salt. Usually, I’d at least get soy sauce, but for me, the salt, it’s working. Soon, I’ll be tasting some of the most prized crabs found exclusively in this island’s frigid seas, including Japan’s famous hairy crab. It’s so hairy. But before that, I’m heading back into the cold to learn more about what makes Hkaido’s crabs different from anywhere else. How do you dress in these frigid temperatures to stay warm cuz you are basically outside all day runs a live seafood shop here. You should wear more layers inside. How many pants are you wearing? Some three layers. I’m wearing exactly one pants. It’s not enough pants. I’m excited to be here because this is a new side of Japan for me. I’ve never been in Japan in the winter. And my god, it gets very cold here, especially in the north. Tapo, the snowiest city on earth, isn’t just big on winter activities and downhill skiing. But it’s also the crab capital of Japan, where all the best offerings brought from around Hokkaido meet up in one place. I know it’s cold here. I was born and raised here, so I got used to it. It goes to minus 20, so be careful. Cold, nutrient-rich waters like those surrounding Hokkaido create a perfect ecosystem for crabs, offering abundant food, fewer predators, and ideal temperatures for slow growth, making their meat denser, sweeter, and more flavorful. How long have you had your stall here, woman? 25 years. Oh, wow. Saying goodbye to Haneda, I’m heading back to Umido Restaurant to check off the next crab on our list. Next to you, the hairy crab. Now, I would like to talk about it, but what would be great is if we had like a visual reference. So, I’m thinking maybe you could just grab that crab. Is it okay to grab it? Are you asking me or the crab or him? Suki Yamataki is the representative director of this restaurant. Hi, please. All righty. Here she is. Or he. Oh, that was a little antilimactic. In Japan, they’re known as kagani, and they can cost up to about $59 per crab. These are a good crab for holding cuz they’re kind of lazy. I wonder if it’s weak right here, and that’s why they need to protect it. Perhaps it’s it its mouth is its weakness, like me. Hairy crabs like these can weigh up to 3 lbs, and they thrive nearly a decade beneath the cold waters around Hkaido Sea before they’re harvested. To let the crabs true flavors shine through, the cooking process is as straightforward as it gets. Boil it, plate it, and devour it. This has a strong crab flavor. Compared to all the other crabs that we have here today, the hairy crab has the most miso in it, which is the brain. Tell me more about the miso. Cuz miso, as I understand in Japanese, is like a fermented soybean, right? Yes. Because the color and texture is similar to a typical miso. Soy bean paste. Ready? Yes. We have the snow crab. The hairy crab tastes different. And this is what the internet has to say about it. It carries a strong briny ocean flavor, which makes it highly praised among seafood lovers. Some say it is the most crab tasting crab. What the hell does that mean? It might be really strong. Like a pungent taste. I’m I guess so. This body slice looks like a piece of pineapple. It does actually. You can feel the hair underneath. It’s so hairy. Ooh. Smells like crab. Briny. This is going to be our first pure taste of that intense briny crab tasting hairy crab. [Music] M. Okay. I get it. I get it, too. It’s a lot more saltier than the snow crab that we had before. It’s really good. It’s definitely more briny. I love how it falls apart so easily. It makes it easier to eat. Have you ever had this before? No. This is actually my first time. Cuz you live in Japan. I do. What’s going on? Explain. I don’t travel much. That’s the problem. I’m from Coobe, so I don’t really go out for seafood much with my family. From here, I think we should move on to the head. M. Wow. So good. It’s soft. It’s creamy. Um, it’s really satisfying. This is not something you’re going to find in every crab. Actually, not even something you’re going to find in every hairy crab. They had to find the exact perfect size of crab. They said if the crab was too small, no miso. And they said if it was too big, no miso. I think that’s how his accent was. Was that racist yet? It’s okay. It’s okay. Thanks. I give you the pass. Okay, good. Soon I’ll come face to face with a crab that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth except right here in Hokkaido, Japan. One animal from the deep sea wants to mess with this. But first, I need to tell you more about Ka, who will be joining me in this series as we sample seafood from Hokkaido to Hiroshima. You have a very fascinating background. And some people looking at you might be like, is she Japanese? Is she not Japanese? So, why don’t you explain? My mom is from Japan and my dad is Bangladeshi. I was born in Detroit, Michigan, actually. How many years have you been here? One and a half years. The other thing I want to talk to you about is you recently won Miss Universe Japan 2024. Miss Universe Japan. Kaya Chakraorti. I was able to win and go to Mexico and compete at the Miss Universe pageant. Oh, so now I get it. It’s Miss Universe Japan. You qualify here and then later you go on to the actual Miss Universe. Congratulations. I think this is going to be a fun learning experience for both of us as we move through the country. But for today, we have a lot more crabs to see. Let’s go inside of here. We have our next crab contender. Let me show you. The water’s absolutely freezing like its natural habitat. And this here, folks, is the Hanosaki crab. Hanasaki crabs can weigh between 1 to six pounds. The Hanasaki crab is a species of spiny king crab, and they’re found in eastern Hokkaido in the absolutely freezing, frigid waters. This beast, in my hands, cost a cool $267. So, that is the male species, but there’s also a female in here. And there’s something really special about the female. When you look under the carrapase and peel back this section right here, you can see a clutch of eggs. Now, I have so many questions about this. First of all, when I was in Cambodia, we also tried crab with eggs on the outside. These were blue crabs. And when the chef cooked the eggs, prepared them, and gave them to us, they were awful. It was like eating a mesh net. It wasn’t food. Texture terrible. So, I got bamboozled. I got tricked into eating something absolutely disgusting. Also, it’s not good for the environment because these eggs could become babies. I have a lot of questions for the chef here. What’s going to happen next is he’s going to prepare these eggs into something delicious. Apparently, today I’ll try both male and female Hanasaki crabs. All prepared by Chef Kudo Tadaharu. Chef, the head chef of Suki Kino Kani. Pleasure to meet you. I’m excited to be here. Thank you. Thank you. I’ve seen your tank out there. You’ve got all the crabs of Akaido, but I want to know what is special about the Hanosaki crab. First up, the female crab already packed with rich row is boiled to perfection. It’s a super bright color red that’s distinct amongst any other crab. It’s super strong in flavor. He said it’s so strong it’s best used for making broth with it because it has so much flavor that it could expand to other different areas of food. Right here we can see the eggs that he has prepared. Now, I have had this body part before. It tasted kind of grizzly and bony. Is this something that’s going to taste good? Can we give it a shot? I think we just grab a little small amount. Oh, that’s not bad. Tastes good. They pop in your mouth. It’s not hard and bony. It has a nice taste to it. Has just like a slight gentle brininess. I like that. Well, it looks cool. But he’s saying this is what tastes good. This is the eggs that are still inside. And these are the eggs that matured and went out of the body. [Music] It feels like a salted egg yolk in my mouth. It’s rich. It tastes a little bit crabby. Again, gentle flavors. It’s mild in the best way possible. At the same time, I have concerns. Is this something that’s sustainable, you think, to be eating crab eggs? In Cambodia, I saw crabs harvested full of row just days away from spawning, a practice that threatens future generations. So, is it the same story here in Japan? They don’t think about it. Or maybe it’s not something that’s concerning at the moment from his perspective at least. From his perspective, you know, and maybe it’s a different story for the crabbers, but I guess the question is when you go to the market, is it common to see crabs like this that have eggs on them still? It’s still not that common, actually. I guess that’s a good thing. Next, the jumbosized male Hanasaki crab meets the same fate, or should I say destiny. It’s boiled, hacked apart, and neatly arranged for easy eating. Exactly how I like it. Because wrestling seafood at the table, it’s not my idea of fun. Here’s what the internet is saying about the Hanosaki crab. The Hanasaki crab has a more intense and robust crab flavor compared to the snow crab or even the hairy crab. It’s going to be really crabby. We’re going to get to this in a moment, but first dim sum. The leg meat from the female crab is mixed into a shumai paste with shrimp, snow crab, and fish. The blend is wrapped snugly into dumplings and steamed until soft, piping hot, and cravew worthy. Now, in Japan, how often are you seeing shumai? Cuz that is Cantonese food, right? Yeah. And it’s usually seen in like Chinatown and more Chinese koozie. This is dashi, which is fish, vinegar, and soy sauce. Mhm. Oh my gosh, that’s nice. The sauce is perfect. It adds a little salt, a little bit of sourness, and then the texture is so bouncy. It’s so firm. The chef, he said he’s been working with crabs for 40 years, and he said this is the biggest Hanasaki crab he’s ever seen. Let’s start with a leg. He’s used his knife to cut off the shell here. So, he’s exposed the meat to the world. Although, it’s still going to take a little bit of work to get it out. I think that’s why we have Oh, yes, the crab sticks. It has a tiny fork on one side and then like a long spoon on the other side. Oh, I got a nice piece right here. Oh my gosh, that tastes like a crab. There is no question in my mind that I’m eating crab. Yeah, me too. It’s a lot more saltier than all the crabs we’ve had so far, but in a good way. And there’s also appears to be a lot of fat with the meat. You can see it almost looks creamy from the outside. Looks kind of like mayonnaise. Yeah, that’s nuts. But right here, we have something really special. This illustrates the point perfectly. That is melted, broken down, rendered crab fat. Is it okay if we shake hands, please? Not good. Unreal. Mine is coated with fat on the outside. It’s more flakier in the best way possible. It’s super delicious. So, those are the legs and those are the claws right here. It looks appetizing to me. Is that right? Yeah. What would you eat in there? So, you would eat the brain, the insides. This is considered to me the best part of the crab. Woah. It’s like a crab pate. That tastes like somebody created a crab spread that you could put on a cracker. I think that’s my favorite part of the crab. Honestly, this Hanasaki crab, it’s going to be hard to beat, but we’re going to try because from here, we’re going to be trying the biggest crab you can find in Japan. So, ready for it. Let’s move. All right, folks. Right inside this box, we have our final crab of the day. There is one side note. They told me that once I open this box, it has 2 hours until it dies. Hopefully, we can prepare it in time. Let’s take a look at this monster. You know, it’s always like that. Prepare to feast your eyes on the biggest crab in all of Hokkaido. This is a Japanese red king crab. Now, it might look a little bit familiar, and that’s because this is actually the same species as an Alaskan king crab, but there are some differences, and the differences amount to environmental and dietary factors. See, the Alaskan king crabs live in much deeper waters and they have different food sources than these Japanese guys over here who are eating a lot of natto. Frankly, I don’t know how they get their claws on natto. Coming in at 11, it is an absolute unit. The price an outrageous $400. It is extremely expensive. Let’s head into the kitchen now and see how it’s made. Today, Chef Hano Mitori, sir, of Kitagawa restaurant is cooking an intriguing lineup of king crab dishes. She told me that I should ask your age cuz I would be surprised by your age. So, I’m assuming that you’re 21. No, not 70. Here. Can I ask you something? Do you still drink sake? A a medium amount. Do you think sake is maybe the secret to a long healthy life? Now, my wife is watching this. Could you say yes? You should drink a little bit. Actually, the little bit is what I struggle with. You should drink. Then I’m like, say no more. We’re saving that heavyweight crab for the finale. But first, a slightly smaller king crab takes center stage. What is special about this crab? It has a richer taste. And also, the color is so beautiful, especially when it’s boiled because similar to the hanosaki crab, it turns a nice red right here. Not boiled. Yes. To prepare this dish, the legs of the red king crab are detached. Then the chef expertly hacks away its shell, revealing the vivid red meat inside. The best way to prepare this is you have to parch boil it for 3 seconds and then put it quickly into an ice bath to completely stop the cooking. But what’s really important is to get the red parts off because it could cause food poisoning. Oh, what is the red part then? Oil. The fat of the crab. Have you heard of somebody getting food poisoning? Have you gotten food poisoning from eating that part of the crab? I’ve never had food poisoning myself. However, people who are feeling unwell should stray away from it. What’s the next move? So, he puts the sashimi in his dish. He grabs some wasabi. He puts it into the soy sauce. And then he dabs that onto the meat. That is a lot of Okay, that was a little bit too much. Maybe that’s a bit too much. A little too aggressive. Yeah. Trying to burn the back of my cerebellum. Cheers. [Music] I think I stopped God for a second. I lost a couple IQ points. It’s cold. It’s fresh. It’s sweet. But the texture I’m having trouble putting my finger on what that taste is. Ah, you can taste some of the iron from the crab’s blood. Oh, that’s how in Japanese you plally say you’re foolish. I don’t agree at all. He went, “Regardless of how you think it tastes, we all agree it’s delicious.” Next, he’s going to be working with that 11lb crab, making something that I believe he invented. A dish using tomato sauce. Let’s get into it. But before we set eyes on that, how about an entire crab head fried whole? It starts by packing the empty crab head with a hearty filling. crab meat blended with fish paste, eggs, asparagus, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and oil. Next comes a sprinkle of flour, egg yolk, and finally a generous coating of crunchy breadcrumbs. Then the whole crab head hits the deep fryer. When I found out we were doing a crab tour in Saporo, I did not expect something like this. Oh, it really is like a cake. It is certainly super crusty on top. You know, casserole is the perfect description for how it looks. Mhm. It looks fascinating. [Music] M you know what? I think folks in Minnesota would love that. I was going to say just exactly the same thing. This I would bring to a potluck for sure. It’s like a fishy crab loaf/ kiche. It’s a little eggy. It’s solid, but it still has some seafood flavor to it. This is the best thing I’ve tasted so far in our journey. Really? Mhm. I like fried stuff. It’s interesting you say that because at the end of this video, we’re going to talk about which of the four crabs we tried today was our absolute favorite. I think we’re probably going to have different answers, but let’s see. Okay, moving on to the final boss. Right here, we have the red king crab. To create this unique dish, first the crab legs are shallow fried gently in olive oil. Then comes a splash of ku dashi, a Japanese stock or broth made from boiling a special kelp found exclusively in eastern Hokkaido. This is one giant piece of seaweed that’s been dried. So to make dashi, essentially, he’s boiling this. Yes. Next up, cherry tomatoes and clams. Everything simmers together until the flavors unite. I want to talk about the differences between the Japanese king crab and the Alaskan king crab. Temperature and depth differences. Colder water equals slower growth and firmer texture. But the Alaskan ones, slightly warmer water, faster growth, more tender meat. Oh, so the meat texture is going to be different between the two. That’s what they say. Before we get into the crab, we should try this broth or sauce. Oh, I thought it was just like a fig oil. It’s so flavorful. It’s sweet. Sweet. Rich. A delicious umami savory flavor. Here we have the actual leg. The most unique crab recipe I’ve ever seen. Wow. Look at this monster piece right here. It looks so good. Let’s try it out. Mhm. Mhm. This is our fourth crab. I’m not sick of it. No. This is completely different from everything that we’ve had so far. And I think that also makes it fun to eat. It is more firm, more buttery, more umami. And it’s weird. The sauce that he’s made here, it’s working together with the flavor of the meat itself. I just want to bathe it in there. It pairs perfectly with it. Unbelievable. That king crab is unforgettable. But next up, we’re leaving the snowy streets of Hokkaido and heading south to this country’s capital. Welcome to Tokyo. Here, I’m planning to track down some of Japan’s most dangerous. There is poison in the blood of the eel and deadliest seafoods. It has 13 long spikes that can paralyze you and even cause death. Right now, we’ve arrived at our first location where we have our first specimen. These are known as stargazers. Now, these stargazers look like this. Like most NHL fans, these fish have been labeled the meanest fish in creation. If you are a fish that they want to destroy, they can either electrocute you or they hit you with their venom. The stargazer’s venom can cause intense pain, swelling, and in severe cases, muscle paralysis. This venom is delivered through these two spines on their back, which underwater could be impossible to avoid. They’re hanging out in the sand. You’re surfing, you step on it, it’s over. Even now, a careless touch could result in a painful sting. So, the chef must handle the stargazers with extreme caution, avoiding contact with these dangerous barbs. After scraping off its rough scales, the chef carefully removes the inards, thoroughly rinsing the stargazers to eliminate impurities. Then the delicate process of filleting begins. Each precise cut separates the tender meat from the skeleton, avoiding waste while preserving texture. Every remaining bone is meticulously picked out, ensuring a smooth bite. The skin is peeled away. Then each piece is sliced thin, ready for the next step. To complement the unique flavor of the Stargazer, fresh wasabi, grated from the wasabi aoponica plant. Using rice that’s been flavored with red vinegar, mirin, and sugar, the chef rolls rice balls, adds a touch of wasabi, and a slice of raw stargazer, a light brush of soy sauce, adds the final umami note before serving. It’s a very rare fish to actually get in Japan. Usually, it’s accidentally caught. This is what I kind of love about Japan. People seem to make use of whatever they pull up, including this right here. Wait, Ka, what are you doing back there? It’s my first day on the job, actually. Returning to risk her life with me, Miss Universe Japan, Kaio. I have never seen a female sushi chef ever. Typically, women are not sushi chefs because they say that we have warmer hands, so it can ruin the taste of the sushi. Unfortunately, actually, I didn’t know that until right now. This is the stargazer. Have you ever been stuck by one? And what happened? The whole day I couldn’t do my job. Basically death. Please try with us. Always make the chef try with you so you know it’s not poisoned. [Music] I mean the rice is already delicious. Sour vinegary sushi rice. A little bit of wasabi on there. The fish itself it’s a nice thick cut. It kind of tastes like lobster to me and also super firm. Maybe you got the elbow. This part. My part was gummy. It is a unique texture that I’ve not had before. I wish it’s like a very nice meaty texture to it, which I like about it. Eating this fish right now poses no danger to us. But the next fish, this fish right here. This is called a skillfish, and it has a deep dark secret. Are you excited for this? No. The skillfish belongs to a family of fish that’s heavy with wax esters, a type of fat that’s indigestible for humans and that could cause Armageddon level diarrhea. Ka Sunny, we are going to be putting our bodies on the line today. One member of this family, the oil fish, made hundreds of patrons sick in Hong Kong after it was intentionally mislabeled as cod in 2007. The oil fish is now banned here in Japan. The skillfish, while not banned, is still highly potent. Just three pieces could wreak havoc on your digestive system. Your body isn’t able to process it, and instead what happens is it shoots right through you. But he says it’s like the highest class of tuna that you can get. So, it’s super nice and fatty. But in this area, it’s a good experience. Elsewhere, not so much. Are you excited for this? No. From here, I guess we just see how it works. I can’t wait to see the meat and to see well really what happens after the meal. I don’t know what to say to that. That’s awful. The chef works his knife skills to break down the hefty skillfish into deceptively harmless looking slices. From here, the fish fillet will both be grilled and made into soup. Let’s start with the soup. First, a foundational broth is prepared by combining sake mirin and sugar with water. In goes the skillfish. And 5 minutes is all it takes for the heat to gently firm up the flesh. While absorbing the essence of the broth it’s bathing in. After removing the fish, the broth is reduced to concentrate its flavors and it’s made thick with a slurry of flour paste. Then the skillfish returns to the pot. Keep in mind, while heat does kill bacteria, it does nothing to the wax esters. There’s a thick layer of fat and that’s from the skillfish. Can our body handle it? I’m not sure. But the skillfish nav stew smells good. Slightly fishy, rich and sweet. There’s like a punch of the ginger, which I really like. In a moment, we’re going to put this in our mouths. But I want to tell you what I found in my research. What makes this one of the most dangerous fish in Tokyo? It contains high levels of indigestible wax esters which can cause not diarrhea. There’s a different word actually. Is it car kriaria? Yes. Which means a type of uncontrollable oily diarrhea. There’s a type of It’s worse. Part of me wants to cheat and just take a little nibble. I’m going to go for a full bite. Respect. Cheers. Me too. [Music] Sorry. [Music] M. It’s so soft. Wait, what? That bite was even better than some of the most fatty tuna I’ve ever had. It’s really delicious. I can’t believe it. I get why people eat it. This could have dire consequences, but right now in this moment, that tastes really good. It’s amazing. It is a buttery soft fish. You’ve got the skin on there, so that’s even more fat. You’ve got some of the sake in there, the ginger. That’s really impressive. Do you want to know another dangerous fact about this fish after we ate a bite? Yes. It has been linked to having a high amount of magnesium sometimes. That’s good, right? Sorry, mercury. Oh. So, next we’re going to be trying this one here. What can you tell me about this preparation? So, they have just grilled it over fire and added a lot of salt to it. And I think that this way it just prepared simply and we can actually taste the fish itself. No masking agents. And what I like about it is we have a lot of volume here. So, we could really fill up on this. Am I going to regret this later? It’s so good. Oh, no. Oh, I see why people eat it. Wow. It’s really from being grilled over charcoal. That charcoal has imbued the perfect almost sweet smokiness onto that meat. I feel like the oil even has a light flavor to it. It doesn’t feel like eating Wagyu where the oil from the beef can start to make you feel sick. It’s like I want to keep going. Oh, that was my stomach. Soft, buttery, so smoky, so delicious. I’ve never had a fish like it. And it’s so dangerous that I like it now. For sure. We probably stop eating. I’m gonna have one more. It’s so good. I can’t believe it. So, from here, we have two more locations lined up with two more dangerous fish. Our last fish might send us to the toilet, but our next fish could send us into a coma. Tokyo, I would wager to guess, probably has more variety of fish than any other city in the world. Would you agree with that? Everyone wants to eat in Tokyo because it’s like an accumulation of all the seafood possible. What do you think is the most dangerous fish you’ve ever served or seen someone eat? I said you can be honest. He’s like, “Wow.” Introducing our second source of poison, the serpentine morel. You have a nice specimen right here. Do you know what would be helpful for the camera? Could you pick up the whole thing? Yeah. Me? Yeah. Okay. Uh-huh. How does it feel in your hands? It’s It’s u fleshy um wet and it doesn’t smell great. What makes the moa eel so dangerous? There is poison in the blood of the eel. The moray eel’s blood carries toxins throughout its body. If you ingest its blood, the best case scenario is stomach issues, numbness, and muscle pain. The worst case ending up in a coma or the afterlife. It will also cause neurological problems such as temperature reversals. If you get bitten, the mucus it secretes is an anti-coagulant, so you won’t stop bleeding. What’s the third most dangerous thing that could happen? It’s our favorite one. Mercury poisoning. This is why the CDC advises against eating the moray eel. But here in Japan, danger is just another flavor. Why do people insist on still eating this? Cuz it’s yummy. If we eat the blood, that could be dangerous for us. But then how do you get rid of the blood? After he cuts it, he thoroughly cleanses it with water. What about soap? Let’s go see. Okay. Our neurotoxic mo eel is served over two courses. One is raw sashimi, and while I build up the courage for that, I opt to start with the cooked version. The mo eel fillets get 15 minutes of steaming. Then they’re cold shocked in an ice bath to preserve the eel’s texture. Our chef torches the skin to refine its texture and add some smoky flavor. Then he slices the fililelets into bite-sized pieces. To serve, a base of julianne cucumber and ginger, creating the final resting place for our eel friend. Ka Sunny, the chef is standing right behind you. Yes. So, please be polite when you eat this food. I have never had a mo eel. Most people in Japan haven’t had anything like this. What if we tried just the naked cooked eel first and then we flavor it afterwards? That sounds great with me. M. The skin is very distinct, a little gelatinous and almost gummy. It’s very soft in my mouth, but I do taste a little bit of eel. The freshwater eel that you’re used to, I would agree a little bit, even though this is an ocean animal. So, now we’re going to hit it with a little bit of punu sauce. Konzu is kind of like a lighter, more fragrant soy sauce. M I’ve never had anything like this. It’s a new flavor with the ponzu sauce. Actually, much brighter. But there’s two distinct parts to the eel. When you get the actual meat, it’s very flaky and kind of falling apart. But then the skin stands out. It makes it very unique. It’s very thick. It’s heavy. It’s fat, rubbery. There’s nothing like it. It looks like pig ears. What would he compare the skin to? Right here we have the mor eel sashimi. Sashimi, as the name suggests, involves no cooking at all. Just pieces of fish nearly as toxic as your eggs, thinly sliced and served to thrillseeking stunt eaters. As a fun accompaniment, the chef boils the eel skin, shocks it in ice, then slices it up. Consider it a final treat before you settle into a soothing coma. [Music] H I would almost compare that to the raw cone of the squid in the way that it’s kind of a soft gummy chewy texture almost almost has a crunch to it too. Now that’s the texture as far as the flavor. Nothing. It just a very very light flavor profile. Just incredibly clean taste. But then there’s the skin. Oh boy. Oh and it sticks together. It looks gelatinous. That’s nice. [Music] Certainly more flavor. Yeah. Briny. It tastes like what an aquarium smells like. A little bit of fish food and cool aquarium water. It’s fishy, but in a smell way, but not a strong funk. From what we’ve experienced here, it feels fairly innocuous. At least that’s how it presents itself for now. We’ll find out for sure in half a day. Chef, we’ll email you if there’s any issues. Our scariest challenge of the day has arrived. The most terrifying, the deadliest, the most venomous fish, not only in Japan, but in the world. Oh god. Oh wow. This is the stonefish. As soon as he picks it up, you could see its back fin pop pop up. And you can see those are the spines. And if you pull it down, that is the barb that delivers the venom. Those barbs need just a split second to deliver a venom potent enough to cause anything from excruciating pain to paralysis, respiratory failure, or even death. Around 10 people in Australia pass away every year because of accidentally getting in contact with this fish. You can see why it would blend perfectly into the coral, the rocks. The stone fish can live up to 24 hours out of water in the sand. Oh, that’s insane. You’re not safe anywhere near the beach, basically in the kitchen. Even with the concentration and precision of a Japanese chef. Just the tiniest of mistakes and this fish could be your last. Ladies and gentlemen, what you’re about to see next is the most dangerous part of preparing the stonefish. One thing that you can’t do is put your hand on top of the fish like that. The chef is going to have to carefully maneuver around this fish, turning it from a live creature into something delicious. Chef, take it away. Oh, well, that’s pretty easy. He lays a towel on top of the spikes. Diabolical. Then he goes back kind of on the shoulder blade of the fish. He’s turned the fish around. Half the fillet has been pulled off of the fish and it’s not putting up much of a fight. Ooh. He puts down one fat looking fillet. Now he works on the other side. So, these two fat fillets have been removed. And from here, he’s going to be making two dishes. Stonefish sashimi and stonefish hot pot. Let’s get to it. To prepare the most venomous raw sashimi, Kaya and I have ever eaten. The chef slices the fillets into thin bite-sized pieces and plates them beside the stonefish’s skeleton for an added layer of psychological terror. But the horror doesn’t stop there. He then beats the stonefish liver into a deranged mayonnaise, which will be the macob condiment for our raw fish. I don’t regret any of my ex fishes cuz every ex fish that I dated and broke up with led me to this fish. Do you ever feel that way? No. At this point, the barbs are still here. So, there’s still an element of danger to this meal. And hopefully I don’t slip and fall at the table. First, let’s try out the meat of the stonefish. The raw meat. It is a very white fish with a hint of pink. [Music] A little squishy. A little sandpapery on my tongue. Oh, really? Like when a cat licks your finger. The texture is very unique and strange. It kind of stays on your tongue. Not a strong flavor. No. Right now, I think what this really requires is some of that liver. Yay. Grab a piece of sashimi. Hit it with a little bit of liver. You don’t like how that looks, do you? From here, we roll it up a little bit. Oh, don’t think too much. Hit it in the panza sauce. Something completely different. Very soft, creamy. The panza just brightens it up. It’s not that strong or that intense, I don’t think. I think you should try some of the liver alone. Almost like uni, but not briney. I love oonie, too. Now that you say it, it makes me like it more. It’s good. It has a little seafoodiness to it, but very mild. It’s similar to the taste of the flesh, but it has actually more flavor than the flesh. Right here we have the stonefish hot pot. Let’s take a look. Oh. To make the stonefish hot pot, quickly blanch the stonefish, then wash off its slime. In a pot, arrange the fish with tofu, white cabbage, aninoi mushrooms, and pea sprouts. Concoct the broth by combining bonito stock made from dried fermented tuna, mirin, and soy sauce. Pour the broth into the fish pot and serve. Should we taste that broth? Yes. Oh, it’s so good. It’s warm. It opens up your chest. It’s inviting. It smells amazing in here. We do have some of the meat of the fish, but we also have some fins, some joints, whatever that is. So, right here we have thick kind of filleted chunks. It’s white. It’s kind of shrunk up a little bit. M. It’s so light. Oh, I love that texture. It’s got like a nice bounce to it as you bite through it. It’s good. This part, I bet we could eat. It’s gelatinous. When you squeeze it, it looks like there’s five bones. We have five bones. Oh, I think we used to be stonefish. What? What happened to the venom in my spine? Okay. Oh god. Did you get some off? But barely. It’s hard. And it’s actually basically just skin. The skin is half gelatinous, but then part of it like crispy, but in an exoskeleton kind of way. It tasted just fine. The texture on that was really weird. It’s like half bone, half cartilage. Uh, a very rewarding experience. After braving Tokyo’s most dangerous seafood, we’re heading even further south along the coast to the countryside of Shizuoka. This is where things are about to get even weirder. I’ve never seen anything so disconcerting as this here. Thousands of slimy eels are raised on eel farms. Eels are slimy, but it turns out when you raise eels in a tent like this, everything is slimy. Look at that wall. Then turned into dishes. Both delicious. I’ve never had this dish this good and daring. What’s the worst that could happen? Well, dying. [Music] Welcome to Shizuoka, the eel capital of Japan, where unagi is not just a food, but a way of life. This region is famous for its pristine waters, ideal climate, and centuries old eel farming traditions. That’s what makes it one of the top freshwater eel producers of Japan. In a moment, we’ll go to an eel farm where we’ll find out exactly what it takes to raise Japan’s prized unagi. We have entered into the eel’s layer. In here, it’s about 100% humidity, while outside, it’s about 32°, hence the creeping fog spreading out throughout the room. Eels are slimy. But it turns out when you raise eels in a tent like this, everything is slimy. Look at that wall. Look at the ceiling. There’s slime everywhere. Now, of course, a very important part of raising healthy, tasty eels is feeding them. On the eel’s dinner menu, fish paste. A mixture designed to replicate the eel’s natural diet. The natural part is the fish they eat, like sardines and anchovies. Though, the unnatural part is the disgusting goo ball those fish are turned into. Actually, doesn’t smell that bad. I’ve never seen anything so disconcerting as this. hundreds, maybe thousands of eels, and they’re so vicious. They cling to the food. They’re trying to push each other out of the way, but they don’t have any arms. And then they take big bites of this giant mucky blob of fish paste. These are Japanese eels, but in kitchens, they’re called unagi, a Japanese word that simply means freshwater eel. Each year, this farm produces 60 tons of eel, satisfying a tiny portion of this country’s massive eel demand. Aawasan is here to walk me through the eel farming process. Can you tell me a little bit about where we are right now? This is the final processing facility for the eels here. They’re just resting and waiting to be transported. They have to keep them in water to ensure that they’re still fresh and alive. Returning as my guide to this country, Miss Universe Japan 2024. Ka, how does the eel raising process begin? When they’re in their act, they come from the ocean first and then when they’re like almost like a tadpole, they come through the Japanese river and that’s where they get them and bring them here. Since Japanese eels only start reproducing at 12 years of age, breeding them on farms is not cost effective. Instead, farms like this go out and catch baby eels in the wild, then raise them in a feeding pool like you saw earlier. It’s going to take at least 6 months to fully mature into the size that we can eat. But it can also take a year and a half for some. It’s like competition. So, they’re not categorized according to age. It’s according to their size. Once the eels are big enough, the cozy pool they call home is drained, turning their former residents from this into this. Moments ago, you saw me just feed the eels, and I fed them in a pool just like this. Now, this pool has just been drained, and the eels moved out of here by way of an eel superighway. The eels get sucked through a pneumatic tube. The same kind of tube you see at your bank when you send them your money from your car. So, the eels have gone from this building to another building. They thought they were flush down the toilet for a second and then they go, “Oh, wait. We’re okay again for now.” Hungry Japanese folks are lurking and they want some unagi. Farm workers pick up the eels that failed to catch the water train on time or those that end up stuck in the mud. Then they reunite the eels with their siny friends in a temporary holding pool where the eels wait to be sorted. We have come to the eel sorting center. This is awesome. Now from that temporary pool, they get pumped up to here. This is a sorting station. This place is critical for making sure the correct eels get brought out of this place. Most of these eels are adults and they’re ready to be processed and move on to the next step, which is becoming food. Here’s how it works. So here we have a wooden grate. If they’re small enough, they’ll squeeze through. Oh, that one’s not small enough. Oh, some of them get stuck. It’s like a traffic jam in here. What I’m saying is if a eel is small enough, it will go through that gap and it will go into a basket and it’ll be returned to a pool where it can grow even bigger. This is a pretty dicey job. These old guys working here, they’re usually strapped in and that’s because it can be very slippery and also they have to lean over. So, it gives them a nice back support so they can stand like this. Good old guy posture. The big eels that can’t squeeze through the grate move all the way to the end of the line where they’re caught by a basket. The baskets are then suspended in a waiting pool to keep the selected eels alive and fresh until transport. A 30inut truck ride takes them to a nearby processing facility where they’re mass-processed into Japan’s most iconic eel dish. This place is where they sort the eels once more. So they back up a truck literally full of eels. They dump the eels out from these baskets and they sort them out right here. Yes, we did sort the eels already, but here they do it once again with even more detail. In the front section, we have medium. Here we have large. And over here, we have the smallest eels. So, the biggest, thickest, baddest eels are right here in this middle section just slithering down to meet their fate that awaits them. This place is processing up to 30,000 eels per day. They’re turning these slippery, slimy creatures into something absolutely delicious. Perhaps the world’s most delicious eel recipe, kabayyaki. Kabayyaki is a Japanese grilling art that transforms slimy fishy eels into tasty glossy fillets. While the factory turns them out in bulk with high-tech machines, I get to see this 700-year-old dish crafted the traditional way by chef right here. Oh god, I was told he was going to tickle it to death. He’s cutting the head, but he doesn’t break the head completely. He just severs the spine right behind the head. From here, he takes a knife and he slits it down the back along the spine of the eel. The chef’s movements are mirrored in the facto’s filleting room, but with hundreds or even thousands more eels. And you can see all of the internal organs in the front third of the eel and all behind the organs. You can see this nice clean fillet. Right now, he’s going to carefully extract the organs and the spine. He removes the spine, not taking any meat with it. While the factory only keeps the fililelets and discards the organs, Ourisan carefully saves them for a special, albeit slightly challenging, dish he’ll serve us later for the kabayaki. After removing the head, he skewers the eel fillet horizontally to keep it flat while grilling over charcoal. [Music] Meanwhile, in the factory, eel fillets lay open on a conveyor belt that carries them through a massive electric grilling machine, like a tanning bed set between high heat and slightly charred. Once the eel meat is firm, Ourisan dips it in a magical blend of soy sauce, sake, sugar, and mirin before placing it back on the grill. He repeats this dipping and grilling process three times to create the rich, flavorful coating that kabayyaki is known for. Thanks to modern technologies, the mass-produced kabayaki goes through a similar process without ever leaving the conveyor belt. The factory-made kabayyaki will reach its final destination in grocery and convenience stores. While Ugurisan’s masterpiece teams up with rice and meets me at the table. Who makes kabayyaki better? A human or a machine. He works for the company that has the factory. This may make his head explode. Still, factories cannot keep up with how we make it because he can see, visualize, and adjust what cooking when necessary. And factories still can’t do that. I love because of this chef’s pride, he’s willing to sacrifice his job here. Are you going to be okay? Yeah, most. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. Now, it’s time for us to to go for it. Now, as you pick it up, you can see it’s so soft and tender. That skin that was once slimy and slippery is now fatty. mama. It’s best to eat just the eel first, then you can mix it with the rice later. [Applause] Wow. I’ve never had this dish this good. There’s like kind of a top leathery, slightly crunchy layer. It’s sweet and it’s just been dredged or soaked with that sweet sauce, but then there’s some natural saltiness that comes from the fish itself. And then that fat, the fat just helps everything melt right on your tongue. It has a nice depth of flavor with a smokiness. That’s what I really like about it. Once you get past the fillet, you can work your way down into the rice, which has been soaked with that same sweet brown sauce. This is perfect. Chef, I’m really truly blown away. Oi, how do you say it? Very. You want to say it with slang? Yeah. Oi. Yes. Remember all those eel organs? Well, instead of discarding them, skewers them up before cooking. This is what they refer to as eel liver, but actually it’s not just the liver. It’s basically all of the internal organs, including its bile sac. The organ skewers receive the kabayaki treatment starting on the grill. You as a chef and people in Japan, do you prefer farm-raised eels or wild caught eels? The dipping grilling process infuses the organs with the same flavor that blessed our eel fillet. Contrast to belief, you know, we think that fresh and wild caught is going to be tastier, but actually the ones that’s grown commercially is going to be better cuz you can control the amount of food that you’re giving them, the oxygen level, so it’s going to taste so much better than what we see in the wild. The other good thing about being farm raised is that the internal organs like these, you know, they’ve only experienced good quality clean food cuz this next bite is going to be something a little bit challenging. [Music] So, I’ve had something similar when I was in Vietnam. We had eel and we cooked the bile sack and we ate it and it was very very bitter. Now when we bite, you know what? Don’t even ask. [Music] That’s a different flavor. Oh yeah. It popped in my mouth. Mhm. Juicy. Like a wood tick that got too big. It’s like there’s a lot of sweet brown sauce on there. There’s a lot of char too that gives it a little bit of flavor. You can taste the intensity of the eel through its organs. It’s a much more vibrant, intense, amplified flavor and a little bit bitter. Everywhere I go in Asia, anytime you eat something a little bit unusual, they say it’s good for you in some way. Does eating the biosack give me any superpowers? No, no, no. [Music] I’m not sure if I can say this on screen. Oh, you can say it. It’s good for at night like sexual stuff like for men. What? Well, scientifically, it has a lot of vitamins in it. [Music] I can’t sleep tonight. Do you have a takeaway container? Next, we’re leaving the factory and heading to a proper restaurant where eel dishes go far beyond kabayaki, transforming into culinary works of art. This is an egg brick. You could build a house with this. This is umaki, which is eel and egg. This is bigger than anything I’ve seen in a restaurant. Usually, it’s like half of this size. So, this is crazy. I think that we should work our way up to that. And we should start with this right here. This is the eel tempura. Tempura is the Japanese name for anything battered and deep fried, including whole eel fillets. The fillets put on a coat of flour and a layer of batter. Then they swim in bubbling oil until they’re fluffy and crispy. The traditional way is to take the radish and mix it in with the suyu, which is dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and bonito flakes. We can take our tempura eel and just dip it and eat it. Wow. You like it? I love it. It’s so fluffy, oily, but the radish cuts the oiliness out. Right. This is cold. It’s cool. It’s refreshing. And this is extremely oily. And not just the batter and the fact that it’s fried, but the eel itself is pretty oily. So, this is a perfect combination. You can really taste the eel. Like what eel actually tastes like. I would say that’s ID eel. I Okay, I’m I’m going to leave. Now, buried somewhere in here is an eel. In a bowl, our chef cracks in eight eggs and pours in dashi, a stock made from bonito flakes. He whips them up well before adding sugar and soy sauce. What I think probably happened is he started with an eel and then he coated it with egg and then rolled it like rolling it down a hill. No, tell me. We start with cooking the egg in this rectangular pan first. Once you build up a good foundation, then you can add the eel and then you roll it. You tip the pan over slightly and you add more egg mixture. And you just keep repeating that process until it becomes a brick. Boom. That’s way more eel than I expected. This is like sir eel. Surreal. You can eat this alone actually cuz the egg should have that dashi flavor. It’s full of flavor. Yeah, it it’s weird. There’s plenty of oil that went into both of these dishes, but it doesn’t feel that heavy. And I was hit with like a smoky flavor from the eel, actually. How do you feel right now? The eel. That’s lame. Fluffy egg, flaky eel. The textures melt together perfectly. It’s got that dashy flavor, like you said, a little smoky. It’s excellent. Egg. Excellent. You’re getting pretty good. Here’s what we should do next. The owner of this restaurant has a special dish he’s preparing for us. What I’ve heard is that eels in Japan, they’re like beef. They’re graded differently and there’s different levels of quality. So, I want to talk to the too much explanation. Editor, just write some voice over, please. Chef, put her there. Thank you. Akimoto is the representative director of Kosaro restaurant. This is a restaurant that specializes in local food. Do you want to do the whole interview in English? No. Chef, I want to talk about this right here. I’ve never seen an eel so vulnerable looking. It looks naked. It looks like I walked in on an eel as it was getting out of the shower. We here at the restaurant believe that this is the best way to truly taste the eel. This is shiryaki, a cooking method that begins with filleting and grilling the eel, similar to kabayyaki. But unlike kabayyaki, shiryaki requires only a light sprinkle of salt and a spray of sake. Everybody knows in Japan there is Wagyu beef that has a rating system from I don’t know A through F and 1 through five. But it’s my understanding that you’re also grading the eels. How does that work? The grilled unagi takes a short break from the grill and rests inside a steamer to rehydrate and enhance its tenderness. There’s actually just two levels of eels. So the standard can be both male and female eels. But the dish goat, which is the premium, can only be female eels. While regular eels possess 20% body fat, the desiko eels have 28%. And more fat means more flavor. So today, have you served us a standard eel or the desiko eel? Nice. After the steaming section, the unagi’s skin side is grilled once more to regain its crispiness. The shiyaki is served with finely grated garlic and wasabi. So he actually served this dish to the emperor of Japan and they really love the grated garlic and wasabi with the unagi. M. That is the way to try eel. Mhm. It is so soft, fat, tender, juicy. It’s really delicate, flaky meat. You have the fat kind of interspersed within the meat, but then of course the skin. The skin is so fatty too. I thought since it’s a freshwater animal that it might be mineral-y, that it might have some giness or funk to it. It is such a clean flavor. I was skeptical at first about the garlic, but it’s really, really good. Oh, the garlic’s very nice. The garlic is very potent. It is like a uh don’t say nuclear bomb. It is like uh sorry, like a explosive device of flavor. Jesus, I’m not doing good here. Should we try now with wasabi? Oh, hey. The wasabi and garlic are similar. They’re both really intense and kind of burn you and it really cuts through that intensity of the eel. Do the eel. If I had to choose between these three, I would take the eel. Our last stop is a restaurant that attracts travelers from all over Japan. Here they serve over 10,000 sashimi eels each year. That means 10,000 eels served raw. Nakamura. I forgot my next line. That took all my energy to remember that. Meet Nakam Murasa, the man who is responsible for our sashimi eel and maybe even our lives. I’m told that when you make the sashimi, you have to prepare it properly or else something bad could happen to the people who are eating it. Stomach. Stomach. Oh no. You won’t die, but your stomach will be in lots of pain. I’m assuming to be killed, you’d have to drink 60 blood. Possible. What is the proper process to kill an eel and then drain its blood so it can be used for sashimi? It must be still living when it is prepared. Oh, if you kill it first, the blood will bleed out and the blood will get all over the eel and that will make it poisonous. We have to first chop the head and the tail off. And then he puts a mysterious white powder into the ice bowl and then That sounds like me after I eat Indian food. So he places the freshly chopped eel into the mysterious liquid and it starts spewing out blood from both ends. Wow. Yeah, that is quite a visual. The chef repeats this process multiple times over 3 hours to ensure the meat is cleansed of any blood. Then he slices the eel meat and blanches the skin before slicing it thin. The only problem, unbeknownst to us, some blood still remains, which we’ll find out soon. Now, we’re going to try this in one moment, but first I want to talk about this right here. So, these are the eel’s bones. They have been made into a chip form. Here’s what I love. Basically, today we will have eaten every part of the eel except for its face. Oh, it’s kind of like a fish skin chips. But it’s got a lot of flavor though. It doesn’t feel like I’m eating a bone. It feels like I’m eating like the skin of the potato. Like a little gritty. That’s true. It would be a great accompany with some sake. Come by. I think that was the liquid courage I need to try this right here. All right. This seems like something that’d be pretty rare. What percentage of Japan do you think’s actually tried this? Honestly, I think like 5 to 10%. Now, what’s interesting here is he’s using the dashiko eel that has 80% fat, but it doesn’t look fatty. Each piece is so thin. Do you want to dip it in the soy sauce? No, I want to go full eel. I want to see if eating eel raw is going to be a brand new enlightening experience. H different from fugu. Different from just normal fish. A little bit more gummy than I expected. Slightly chewy. There’s a bit of minerality to it. Did your tongue go kind of numb? Yeah. Now, here’s the thing. He puts a white powder in with the eel. And maybe that powder is in our mouth now, making it go slightly numb. There’s a strange sensation when eating this. It’s confusing me. Should I be scared? Yeah. And now I’m feeling it like in my throat. Yeah, it’s like spreading. Is it from the sake? I don’t know. I think we should call him over here. We’re eating this. It’s making us feel weird. This little pinkish red part of the eel is blood vessels. And that’s the same feeling of the blood in a way. Some people feel it, but most people don’t actually. But what’s the worst that could happen? Well, dying, he muttered. I shouldn’t say what’s the worst. What’s most likely to happen? It’ll quickly go away. It just happens when it’s in your mouth. The taste might actually diminish if you eat it with the ponzi sauce. I can eat the whole plate and still live. Yes, thank you very much. Safety. Safety. Hit it with a little bit of sauce. That’s delicious. Seems slightly chewy texture, but of course it soaked up all that delicious bones of sauce. Before we wrap up, right here we have some eel skin. It looks curled up and cute and tiny. Cheers. M. Kind of reminds me of pig skin. Like the texture. That’s cuz it’s mostly just made of pure fat. It’s very thin. It’s very small. I mean, this is the confetti of eel skin. Not much flavor. It’s just a little bit of a texture sensation, and it’s not making my mouth go numb. Yeah, that’s a good part. I think people would want to eat this because of the unique texture it serves rather than like the taste. Well, I think it’s just an experience. We’re sitting here wondering if we’re going to die. I’m wondering if there’s something in my sake and if you drugged me. You didn’t drug me. No, no, no. It’s really hard to get drugged as a 40-year-old balding guy. Hugging Japan’s eastern coastline, our seafood mission takes us from Shizuoka to the seafood paradise of Mia. Here, precious marine morsels are pulled straight from the sea by almond divers, women in their 70s and 80s who plunge into icy waters with no oxygen tanks. She’s been doing this since she was 15 years old. Taking part in a tradition that’s lasted over a thousand years. Ma’am, good morning. Put her there. How you doing? Yankee disco. Hi. Joining me once again for another fun seafood adventure, Ka. We’re currently on a small boat with the legendary Alma, a word that means see women. I kind of want to ask about their ages. Is that impolite? Honestly, I think it’s impressive rather that they’re still doing it. So, I feel like it’s a compliment if we ask them. Well, let’s 76. That’s remarkable. It turns out amma divers in Japan are typically between 60 and 70 years old. Most began their diving journey around the age of 12. She’s been doing this since she was 15 years old. And what about you? From when she was 20 years old. So today I want to learn about how this works. But first, can you tell me where we’re headed right now? We are going to head to her area for her usual trip of diving. This area is about 3 to 5 m. No, I did not. I I I I I forgot my my diving clothes, but I am here for moral support. Amma divers typically work in summer when Japan’s current warms up and nourishes Mia waters, making it a haven for oysters, abalone, scallops, and lobsters. All treasures the Amma divers have their eyes on. But in February, with water dipping down to 57°, Hayashi is one of the few brave souls who still dives. All right, some diving has already happened. There’s a few interesting things I’ve noticed about how the diving works here. First of all, she has kind of an inner tube that follows her around. She ties herself to the inner tube, so she’s never too far from a flotation device. But it has another purpose, too. All the seafood she’s catching, like this giant pen shell right here, she can throw into the inner tube, which has a net inside. Amma diving has been practiced for over 2,000 years along Japan’s coast. In the 21st century, swim fins, wets suits, and diving masks have become part of their attire. With a wet suit, you have insulation, but between your skin and the suit, there is a layer of water. Now, the water can warm up a bit, but it’s still going to be cold. It’s cold. But one thing you’ll never see these divers use is a breathing device. [Music] Between dives, they slowly whistle air into their lungs, filling them with enough oxygen to submerge for over a minute. To make the most of their time underwater, they wear thick gloves to protect their hands from sharp rocks and coral. But the tool they rely on most is this. No, this is a multi-functional tool. This side is for hooking things such as octopus. And this end is for scraping the abalone off. Abalone are tough cuz they have a shell on one side and a big thick strong muscle on the other side and they suction to the rocks. So she just takes this and gets it off there. Amma divers once played a vital role in sustaining coastal communities with their ocean harvest. Their population peaked at 10,000 before World War II. Can I see this? Thank you. Look at this fat scallop. It’s a beautiful purple color and it’s very outgoing. I’ve never seen a scallop just open its mouth like that. You think I’m dumb enough to put my finger in there. Nailed it. Today, with industrial fishing ruling the seas, only around 1,000 alma divers still carry on the tradition with half of them living here in M. [Music] Almost everything you see here was caught by hand in the ocean today. Behind me, a traditional amma hut. This is where the women go with their food, with their catch, with their prize from the sea to celebrate and to eat. But let’s talk about what we’re going to be celebrating today. This is the turban shell, a type of sea snail right there. You can see its heel. Can I pull you out? That is a big sucker right there. Is Oh, he has since closed his little hole. These turban snails and the scallops we saw earlier will soon join us in a meal with the amma divers. That is like the poop sack and the snail all in one bite. But that’s not all Mi has to offer. Next we have the abalone. This is a big beautiful black abalone. And then finally right here we have the most price seafood of this region. Is ebi. This is the local spiny lobster. Not gigantic, but what they lack in size they make up for with money and personality. Oh wait, that’s me. They make up heart with delicious sweet meat. Next, we’ll sample these ocean treasures at three eeries across MI. Starting with the Amma Hut. We are inside right now an AMA hut. Yes. What is an AMA hut? And what’s important about the Amma Hut? They’ve always had this Amma Hut since the start of when Amas existed. This is the place where Amma divers come to rest after they have gone diving. Three times in a day. They would go out for an hour and then they’d come back, get warm, and maybe head out again. You sound like a modern-day CrossFitter, actually. Cold plunge, sauna, cold plunge, sauna. And guess what? At the end of it all, no shellfish. Meanwhile, she was collecting a bounty enough to eat food for herself and to sell to make a living, too. In this cozy hut, with us are Kitamura and Hayashi, our brave diver from earlier. Her plentiful catch is now spread across the grill. Maybe we should start with the scallops since they’re starting to turn black. So, what we have here is a scallop cooked in a very basic way. She grilled it. As the water would bubble and come out, she would dump the water in a separate container so that it wouldn’t drip down onto the fire. She then took off one side of the shell, flip the scallop inside until the whole thing kind of dried out. There’s no seasoning, salt, soy sauce, panzoo sauce, just a straight up dry grilled scallop. How you doing? That’s really good. Looking at the outside, I thought, oh, this is becoming a little scallop raisin over here. Not at all. Inside, it’s very juicy, super flavorful. It’s sweet, fairly briny, but it has a lot of flavor to it. It reminds me of a fusion of a clam and a scallop almost. Well, it is a scallop, but it’s like a clammy scallop. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s like a fusion. I like it. What do you think? In a moment, we’re going to try the snail. That looks really nice, too. But I have some more questions. The Amma Hut. Was this like a women’s only space? Back then it was a women’s only club. After the wets suit was invented and more men was able to start, then it was like both genders. Oh, that’s interesting. Why is it that before the wets suit it was only women who were going in the water to do this job? Men are susceptible to getting cold easier and women have higher body fat percentage. That’s why they were able to be in there for a much longer time. Are you buying that? something. You’re right. Yes, you guys are weak to the cold. Before we try the snail, I’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about this. This is a mix of rice and hijiki seaweed, which was locally caught in the area. It’s good. A subtle, delicate seaweed flavor with perfectly fluffy steamed rice. This is definitely the perfect meal to eat after diving in the cold weather. Absolutely. And it makes me crave for snail. What I find remarkable is that they’re still selling it. How can you compete with these big fishermen who have boats and traps and nets? This area of MI. It’s actually not allowed for big fishing corporations. Instead, the jobs are given to the amma divers. There are regulations that have been put in place to conserve this old tradition. A tradition that includes catching snails. Look at these. That is like the poop sack and the snail all in one bite. A lot going on there. The texture is excellent. Sometimes snails can be really chewy. It’s not that way. It’s tender and it’s slightly sweet, but then that poop sack, mine at least, fairly bitter. The back of my mouth, it’s like, yeah, I taste it, which they like the flavor, actually. Yeah, I feel like it’s an acquired taste. I think if I ate 3,000 more of these, I’d get used to it. Right now, we’re saying goodbye to the alma divers, but going even deeper into the divers catch. Working our way from simple shellfish to the king of m seafood. First, massive mia abalone served with a Japanese twist. When you look at that color, does it give you feelings? Not good feelings. We have come to our second seafood location, a fine dining Japanese restaurant where we’re going to cook up some of these. Wait, no, not this. Actually, this very interesting and also very excited to see me. The problem is this one is not local. This was flowing in and today we’re focusing on the domestic seafood. Are you done yet? God, I remember being a teenager. Anyways, I was actually talking about this right here, the prized abalone. Let me get it unstuck. Give me one second. You almost have to trick them. Sneak up on them. There we go. Got it. They stick to surfaces so well that you can see it’s actually imprinted some of the basket pattern on its large muscle here. Nia is famed for two types of abalone. The red abalone, fetching up to $35 for a plump one, and the black abalone that I’m holding now, which costs twice as much. These abalone grew up in MI. These waters are very mineralrich waters. Beyond that, they’re very cold waters. Cold waters means slow growth, but slow growth for abalone means better flavor. At least that’s what I’m told. I’m about to find out for myself here at this restaurant as they prepare this abalone in two different ways. First up, abalone sashimi. With a sharp knife and swift movements, the chef pops the abalone off its shell, removes its mouth, and separates its liver. The liver, which has a dirty secret, will be saved for later. The chef lines the shell with fresh radish, carrot, and shiso leaves, then scores the raw abalone before setting it a top the vegetable bed. The sashimi arrives at our table accompanied by Suzuki. Hey, you look ready. I’m ready. I’m told you are the lady of the house. I’m curious what that means. My role here is oversight everything to make sure it’s presented beautifully and eaten with like lots of gusto. The lady of the house or okami has been a revered figure in Japan’s high-end restaurants since the 17th century, and she’s usually the owner’s wife or the owner herself. The Okami is the face of hospitality, overseeing service and socializing like a hostess, welcoming visitors into her home. A potential problem is that people in Japan are very polite and maybe they kind of don’t like something, but they don’t want to be forthright about it. How do you get to the core of somebody and what they truly believe about the food they’re eating? When I ask the customers, I can kind of like see into what they’re actually feeling. She can see such joy on their faces and the smile. She just knows they can’t be lying. I feel like she’s looking through my soul at this moment with those soft, gentle eyes. There’s no way I can lie about what’s coming up next. Though, to be honest, I may be tempted to lie. You’ll understand why when you see what we’re about to eat. This is what I want to build up to. But first, right here, we have the abalone sashimi. A very simple, straightforward preparation, and it looks gorgeous. Cheers. [Music] Crunchy. Ki crunchy. It reminds me of a thin slice gooey duck sashimi. It’s cold, it’s thin, and it’s crispy. It’s almost like eating tendon. Oi. M. Okay, she didn’t look deeply in my eyes. I’m safe for now. There’s a bonus item right here. They actually cut out the raw liver. But let me tell you about the liver. The black sack under the abalone, often referred to as the liver or gut, is its digestive gland. So, I think it’s a lot of things in one, including probably its waste or poop. This digestive organ processes the algae and seaweed the abalone eats. So, for some people it might be a little bit too much, but I think if you’re a true seafood connoisseur, you appreciate the flavor and instead of calling it ew, you call it ew, mommy. I just thought of that. It’s pretty good. Hit it with the sauce. Yes, you me. Oh, it’s gooey. All right. Cheers. [Music] H. Completely different. Certainly not crispy or crunchy. It’s gooey. It’s kind of like piece of snot. I would say it’s a little bit briny. And there’s a maybe a tiny bit of bitterness to it. But I think people shouldn’t be scared to try this dish cuz it’s actually quite mild compared to what I thought it was going to be like. Sure. And soon we’re going to try an even more intense version. For this dish, the chef first grills the abalone whole over charcoal. Mia isn’t seen as this tourist destination. At least for folks traveling internationally. Everyone goes to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. Who are the people who are coming to me? Honestly, not much foreigners. Japanese people know this spot. And the main reason they come is the Eay Shrine. Mia is cherished as the home of Japan’s holiest shrine and the birthplace of the ninja legacy. I think this is kind of this hidden gem of Japan. It’s a beautiful place. There’s such a mix of rural countryside with small developments instead of these towering highrises. If more foreign tourists discovered MI, would that be a good thing or a bad thing? Yes, we want foreigners to come and enjoy our hospitality and also the people. What if I moved in next to you? I just want to test the limits here. Welcome. After the abalone is cooked, the chef separates its liver from the meat. He finally chops the liver, then tosses it into a pan with butter and sake. After adding a pinch of salt, he stirs until each ingredient comes together to form a muddy sauce. Is this something you’ve seen before or heard of before? I’ve seen it and heard of it before because liver is a popularly used ingredient cuz Japan really wants to not waste any ingredients. I respect it. Very briny. It scares me. Yeah. Don’t smell it too much. Should we go for it? Cheers. [Music] Is it different from the raw? Everything is different. I’m surprised that it’s not as dense as abalone can be. It’s a nice uniform texture, but it’s a little bit more tender. It’s nice and soft. Completely different from the hard, crunchy raw sashimi. And then, wow, that sauce has so much flavor. It is a little bit umami. I’m never going to get sick of that word. It’s delicious. It brings out a better flavor in the abalone when we use the sauce. Yeah. It’s a little bit nutty, too. And the butter in the sauce. Yeah. The richness of the butter amplifies the liveriness so much. It turns it up to 11. The more I eat it, the more I like it, but it is still the perfect food to have with sake. It’s like you want your taste buds numbed a little bit. Ah, balance. After trying shellfish and abalone, the king of m seafood still remains. And they call it Isay Ebie, the Japanese spiny lobster that cost twice the price of the American lobster. Kaia and I are here to see if it can truly compete with the best. I want to talk about one of your most unique menu items here and that is right here in my hands. This is the eBay tama. E dama eB. Yes. I’m not going to try again. These balls are Chef Yamamoto’s innovative take on takoyaki. Takoyaki are savory fried dough balls filled with octopus. Here, instead of octopus, he uses the mi lobster. These guys stand out for their vibrant reddish orange armor and long spiny antennas. Sure, you can find them in some other regions, but Mi’s waters are said to produce the best ebi. After boiling the lobsters, our chef removes the shells and shreds the meat into small pieces. Then he makes a batter using the lobster stock, 16 eggs, and flour. [Music] He fills the takoyaki pan with the batter, topping it with lobster pieces, pickled ginger, and green onion. All that’s left to do is form that signature ball shape with care and precision. He loves takoyaki. He’s an AVID fan, and he also loves the local lobster in the area. So, he wanted to make it easy for people to get it and eat it at a reasonable price. And also, because it’s such a convenient size, people can just have a quick bite and enjoy the local flavors. Love it. We have what appears to be kind of a traditional preparation. We have the balls themselves. On top of that, a sweet brown sauce and then the bonito flakes. I’m going to give it a little dip in the mayonnaise and then I just cannot wait to get your balls in my mouth. M. Oh my gosh. The first flavor that hits me is the smokiness from those bonito flakes. Then there’s that sweet sauce. And then you have that delicious ball. Fried. Glorious. Little bits of lobster meat on the inside. M I can taste a dashi in the batter and it’s so flavorful in itself. Is a normal part of making takoyaki to put a very flavorful dashi water with the flour. He thought of it himself. Really? Yeah. These sum these are some good balls. This is only the appetizer. But the ultimate lobster experience you’ll find here is the is ebi sashimi or lobster served completely raw. But before that, a lobster roll. Not like this, but like this. You often see shrimp get tempura, and that’s essentially putting a Japanese batter on it, frying it. This is my first lobster tempura ever. The making of the lobster roll starts with dshelled is ebi coated with flour and batter, then deep fried into an oversized tempura. Chef Yamamoto mixes rice with crushed seaweed and spreads it over a sheet of nori. He tops it with shiso leaves and that lobster tempura, then rolls it with tight precision. A meal featuring ea ebie is a luxury for two reasons. One, these creatures live in deep waters, making them difficult to harvest. Two, farming them is more expensive and demanding than farming other types of lobster. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a sushi roll this thick. It kind of reminds me of a Japanese futaki, which means fat roll. Oh, how do you say American? Can I say futikachi? Yeah, that means fat American. Do we give it a little bit of a dip? Let’s taste it first to honor all the natural flavors it has. Good. I want to honor this lobster properly. M. It’s actually really good. That bite was perfect. I’ve never had such a flavorful sushi roll in my life. He’s added seasoning to the lobster, maybe to the rice, too. It’s got a nice taste to it. You don’t need soy sauce in this at all. Actually, he did drizzle that sauce onto it. I think it’s some sort of cut, which is soy sauce and sugar and vinegar stewed for a long time. So, I think that also added more flavor. Super fresh. A little bit of crunch. You got to be quick with this cuz he put sauce on it and then he’s putting steamy rice on it, too. So, if you wait too long, the crunch will dissipate completely. I haven’t seen this style actually ever. Usually rolls are really uncommon. It’s more like an American thing out in the foreign west. Are you telling me the Philadelphia roll is not Japanese? No, I think it’s from Philadelphia. Oh my god. Our final dish relies on the lobster’s freshness and the chef’s skillfulness. From the pool, the lobster goes straight to the cutting board where it parts ways with its head. The chef carefully removes the tail meat without damaging the shell, which he uses for some plate decor. Then he chops the meat into smaller pieces, squeezes out the excess water, and reunites it with the head and tail. Let me unveil it. Now you can see clearly. Lobster sashimi. This lobster was just moving moments ago on the actual plate that he serves the lobster on. How does that make you feel? I feel like that honors the lobster in the best way possible. Exactly. I’m going to eat you in the best way possible. So, thank you for your life. I love that. Oh, if you look at the individual muscle fibers, to me resembles pomelo. Oh my god, you’re completely right. And it has the pink strings in it too sometimes. I thought it might be more sweet. It’s very neutral. There’s not a lot of pungent potent flavor there. It’s very mild. It tastes different from when it’s cooked. Like completely different. Completely different. Would we like to try it with the soy sauce? Yeah, I think we should put a little bit of wasabi off this wasabi tree here. I suspect this is going to just absolutely absorb that soy sauce pretty immediately. Little too much wasabi. I burnt my brain a little bit. I’m all right. This is a good soy sauce. Yeah, it’s sweet. It really brought out the sweetness of the lobster. I think 100%. It feels like it was missing something and now it’s perfect. You get a little sting, a little kick from the wasabi. It’s salty, but it’s nutty. It’s a deep umami flavor. It’s wellrounded. It’s excellent. That’s good. From Mia, we dive deeper south to the final stop on the seafood journey. Welcome to Hiroshima, the land where you can find oysters the size of your hand. What kind of oyster is this? Here, we’ll follow the oysters journey from the farm. Check out this genius engineering. I expect nothing less from the Japanese to the fire. It’s the most lethal cooking I’ve ever done on this show. And I shot a zebra with a gun. And finally to a fine dining feast. This might be a dish that few people even in Japan recognize. Could you tell me about what we’re about to try here? Welcome to Hiroshima, Japan’s oyster capital. In fact, twothirds of Japan’s oysters come from here, Hiroshima Bay. This region is famous for its mild climate, nutrient-rich seas, and centuries old oyster farming traditions. Right now, we’ve just arrived at an oyster farm where we’ll see firsthand how these shellfish are raised. Let’s move. I have seen oyster farms in a couple different countries at this point. The first one I ever went to was in Vietnam. There they had these big wooden lattises with strings hanging down holding the oysters. Then I went to Virginia. There they had huge plastic containers of oysters in the water. Here they have tons of these floating platforms holding oysters underneath. We are approaching the boat now. The sun has just come up, but these oyster farmers have been working already for hours. We’ve got like a pile of oysters right here. Unlike anything I’ve seen before, this boat here is designed specifically for this very purpose. Extracting thousands and thousands of oysters from the sea. Wow, this thing is massive. It’s so huge. The move. It seems each rope has kind of a clamp at the bottom. They cut that off and then all the remaining oysters pump it down onto the ship. A boat like this hauls in 30,000 to 50,000 oysters per day, feeding into Hiroshima’s massive 30,000 ton yearly export. When they come off the rope, they look fairly unrefined. It’s full of goo, plant matter. It looks a bit beat up. What kind of oyster is this? Shimada is my guide for the day. It’s called the Magaki oyster. And Ka is here again to bridge the gap between us. It’s a specific type of oyster which grows in the cold winter months. Also known as the Pacific oyster, this little overachiever was later introduced to some regions in the world for its superior quality. How it the life cycle of the oyster works, it starts in around July to August is where the cultivation begins. And on this scallop shell, he’ll put baby oysters on them. The oysters are attached to a scallop shell. Yes. But then they grow their own shells. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. One female can crank out up to 200 million eggs in a single go. And in just 2 years, they’re fully grown and ready to harvest. Soon, I’ll be sinking my teeth into some of the finest oysters you’ll find anywhere. Prepared in ways you can only find in Japan. Also, there’s a real chance one of these might kill me. This could be my last oyster. I hope it’s a good one. Cheers. But before this murky mullisk gets to the table, there’s still a lot left to do. All right, folks. Now that we’ve brought our oysters back to the port, it is time for processing. Check out this genius engineering. I expect nothing less from the Japanese. We’re on a boat that is also a holding vessel and a conveyor belt. So, automatically, all of the oysters are coming off of here and they’re heading to a conveyor belt here where they’re sent over to the processing plant. Now, these oysters definitely will need some processing before this is going to be an actual edible food that I’d be willing to put in my mouth. And I’m somebody who’s willing to put just about anything in his mouth. All the oysters have been conveyor belted up here. And this is the first step of processing. Inside of this steel drum, there’s a load of water and is turning, mixing, and pounding those big chunks of oysters that we saw. So all the detritus, all the different seafood and shellfish are separating from the steel drum. The oysters go on a conveyor belt and they drop here into this giant steel cage. He just hooked the cage and the cage is now going to move up and head into the processing facility. Once the oysters are freed from all the gunk and grime, they head into a tank inside the factory for a purification process. Here they’re soaked with filtered fresh water that was pumped from deep underground. Then they’re left to sit for 24 hours until they’re ready for the next step. They get a chance to detox and get cleaned up. You know, that sounds nice. Yeah, I could use that. Like me after a night of sake. It’s the oldest American joke. In Japan, if you say a joke and it it lands flat, just say American joke. And they’re like, “Haha.” After the oysters are purified from the level below, they’re brought up to this level here. Then these oysters are put into this giant hopper. From the giant hopper, they drain down to the floor below where they have a massive team of professional shuckers taking out that delicious succulent oyster meat from each shelf. But trust me, you have never seen shuckers who shuck like this. [Music] From that giant oyster hopper on the second floor, all the oysters descend down here into the shucking room. And let me tell you, these guys here are some bad mother shuckers, including Janie. Janie. Yes. Can I see your weapon? Okay. Right here she has a blade. It’s like kind of a piece of wood with a steel spike coming out of it. This is amazing cuz when you go online and buy a shucking tool, it looks nothing like this. Here, you can have it back. Jamie, can I ask you how many oysters can you shuck in like 1 hour? Two buckets. How many oysters do you think that is? 80. That’s 80. 8 kilos. Oh, 8 kilos. I think that is at least 250 oysters. And she’s doing two of those buckets every hour. This lady is a machine. Do you ever sometimes just just sneak one oyster? Do you ever just eat one? No, because there’s a camera. There’s a camera. Pre-shocked oysters are a big deal in Japan. Many recipes here skip the shell entirely, which makes shipping massive quantities much more efficient. But that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy them the classic way, too. Here, a portion of oysters are still shipped out with the shell intact. How do you choose which ones to shut and which ones to keep in the shelf? He divides them based on appearance. He wants to make sure that it looks nice. It’s going to be relatively similar in size. For the ones that we’re just chucking, appearance really doesn’t matter much. At what point in the process is somebody looking at which ones are big and which ones are small? I’ve not seen that yet. Hi. After the purification process, usually the staff members will separate the large ones from the small ones. They have a circular like basket net that they put them in. For one like this, how much longer would this have to stay in the ocean? Oh, 1 month. Now that we’ve seen it all from the farm to the factory, there’s only one thing left to do. Sorry about the way I’m sitting. No problem. Some would call it manspreading. Yeah, I would call it my chair is the same height as the table. You just keep it to the side. There you go. Light it up. Light it up. Welcome to Shimana Oyster Hut. If that name rings a bell, it’s because this restaurant is directly connected to the factory. Once the oysters are processed, they take a short walk to where patrons can enjoy an all you can eat buffet of oysters that were just chilling in the ocean water earlier this morning. Basically, what they’ve done here is they’ve brought charcoal. They brought this tool for shucking. And they’re like, “Well, good luck. You don’t actually have to shuck these. They’ll open on their own because of the heat. Should we just fill up the grill then?” Yeah. You know, it is a good amount of work, but it’s kind of fun. It kind of reminds me of Korean barbecue. Yeah, true. [Music] Oh [ __ ] Oh, it just blew up. One of these just exploded on me. I have the result right here. I’m not lying. Oh, yeah. They’re starting to open. I didn’t know they explode when they open, though. This is dangerous. I think we need goggles. Oh, there we go. This is a This one has a deep crevice. 25% of them will explode onto you. You do have to watch out for that. I’m shocked. Are you okay? Yeah, I’m okay. That one was already open and exploded. Are you okay? Yeah, just emotionally scarred. We have a lot of flavoring agents over here. But before we put any of that on there, I think we should try it just plain. So, I think I’ve got all the Why does that keep happening? I think the barnacles. Oh, because it’s the barnacle pieces that are like Yeah, you’re right. The little barnacles attached to the oysters get hot and highly pressurized. And just when you’re trying to enjoy your next bite, they even share a warning on their website. So, dine at your own risk. Cheers. [Music] That is delicious. Mhm. Smooth, almost creamy, slightly briny. It’s got like a natural sweetness to it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know what it is, but I think the 2-year period of it waiting really gets it that nice creaminess. Oh, it’s so good. It’s just like it doesn’t need anything. I think it’s great on its own, but it also makes me curious what it tastes like with the other stuff. For Japan in general, all of seafood, it’s definitely going to be butter and soy sauce. There’s like a word for it. It’s bat showyu. Oh, it’s so good. It tasted like caramel at first for a second cuz of the sweet oyster, super rich butter, and then some salt from that soy sauce. That’s a delicious combination. It brings out the umami flavor of the oysters itself. I also love the idea that Japanese folks are taking something super healthy and turning it into something just full of butter. I mean, that’s what we as Americans usually are doing. We’re getting good at it. But there’s one flavor remaining. It is the garlic butter and cheese on top. This actually looks amazing. And it smells so so good. Oh, that’s a winner. Even just the garlic butter is amazing. It’s eaten like with the garlic butter and cheese is like a way that everyone can enjoy it except for lactose intolerant people. Okay. Not them. How about watch out for our marginalized communities? But can’t they take like the medicine to a 9 mm? They could just end it all, I guess. Soon we’ll see these Hiroshima oysters turned into more complex Japanese dishes. Is this a recipe that you still see commonly today? Or is this really kind of a relic of the past? But first, I want to understand why Hiroshima of all places is such a renowned region for growing oysters. Hiroshima. Chimata Shunsuk is the man behind it all. owner and representative director of Shimata Fisheries because of the river that flows through here and kind of mixes with the seawater here that makes it the best habitat to grow these oysters and he says notably the oysters here are creamier. I have to ask you one question. Are you sick of oysters by now? Oh yeah, he’s he’s sick of it. We are going to try some of your more peculiar oyster recipes. Starting with this, a fried oyster. To make this dish, start with a coat of flour. Dip it in an egg wash. Then one last roll in Japanese panko, Japan’s signature breadcrumbs. Compared to the other countries, you know, other countries eat them raw typically, but here in Hiroshima, he says there’s going to be so many different recipes that you can discover. M. Oh, that’s good. Mhm. All the liquid is basically out of it. It’s got like a nice bite to it. Still tender and creamy, of course, but it really firms up once it’s cooked all the way through like this. Is this mayonnaise? It’s tartar sauce and mayonnaise, basically. Ooh. I’m going to give this a little bit of a squirt. Oh, it’s creamy. It’s tangy. It’s crunchy. This is like 10 out of 10. Very nice stuff. You have a very humble kitchen, but a powerful kitchen. A lot’s getting done in there. I saw McDonald’s is just across the road. They could start selling this. American Joker. American Joker. Thank you. This company is not just you. You come from a long lineage of oyster farmers. How far back does your family go in this industry? Since the 1600s. Your family. That’s wild. When did the farming begin and what did that look like? Back then they didn’t use the strings that we use now, but rather they kept them close to shore and they would put the oysters onto the wooden poles so it would be easier to gather. Until recently, they developed now the current method which is so much easier, yields much more oysters. It made Hiroshima more famous for the oysters and also provide a lot of oysters to all of Japan to China and Hong Kong as well. M. But who gets the best ones? Japan. He’s like, “Yeah, Japan.” Good. And I say good because right here we have one more oyster dish that we’re going to be trying right now. First, the oysters get boiled with carrots in a pot of broth made from ku kelp and bonito flakes. Once they’ve had their moment, rice joins the other ingredients. Then it’s all topped off with Japanese mustard greens. It’s direct translation will be rice soup with oysters in them. I love it. There’s kind of a thick cloudy broth and some rice. I’m going to try that before even going to the oyster. Oh wow. It’s interesting cuz it’s not quite a congani or porridge, you know, it’s not overcooked to that amount, but the rice is very soft. It’s insanely savory. I can’t believe how savory it is without MSG. The oysters let out its natural flavors into the broth. M. Of course, the oyster itself, very tender, very soft. A very different experience from the fried oyster. This is a good like pallet cleanser after everything. True. We’ve eaten oysters in a few different variations since we’ve been here, but we haven’t had them raw. And actually, we were explicitly told that we can’t eat the oysters here raw. Now, I have to ask you, why is that? Hiroshima is the strictest place to raise oysters. They have so many regulations which means that there are areas you can eat raw, you cannot eat raw. Eating raw oysters can lead to vibrio infections bringing on serious illness or in some cases worse. Have you known people who have gotten sick? Notice I don’t know that many people who got food poisoning and then I asked there are people you know who got food poisoning. He’s like they’re just unlucky. Can I sign a waiver and eat one wrong? Okay. Okay. Listen, he said other people have gotten food poisoning, but not cuz they were bad people. Cuz they were unlucky, Ka. No, I’m good. Really? Yeah. Are you afraid? A little bit. That’s all right. Cheers. [Music] M. It’s so yummy when it’s raw. M. That’s when you get that real creaminess. Just a touch of brininess. It’s so meaty. That was amazing. Maybe even life-changing. And it tasted even better cuz it was an exclusive taste of something that is forbidden. You will never get to experience what I just experienced and it might be my last one ever, but I want to say absolutely worth it. Sir, these are Japan’s everyday oyster dishes enjoyed by all. But from here, we’re heading to an exclusive kitchen. A place where money is no object, but we’re creating a top tier oyster experience is everything. Sir, put her there. Amazing to meet you. Thank you. This might be a dish that few people even in Japan recognize. famous. It’s called the miajima yaki. Nowadays, no one knows where the origin of this recipe is. So, he minced together oysters, green onions, and miso all together to make kind of like a paste. These oysters have been minced. Yes, minced. I don’t think I’ve ever seen minced oysters before. That’s very cool. This is baked on top of the typical rice spatula that is used across Japan because Miaima Island invented this 200 years ago. That’s why not only does it show the cuisine of this area, but also kind of the history behind it. What must be done before I eat this? You must rinse your mouth with sake to cleanse the palette. Oh, I don’t know. It’s only 10:08 a.m. Okay. Oh, morning sake. So, this will be my first time using a spoon to eat from an even bigger spoon. Take some of this miso paste, green onion, and diced up oysters. [Music] M. Oh, wow. Oh, yeah. Of course, you taste the miso. It’s that fermented soybean full of flavor. Has a deep umami. And then you’re getting those chunks of oyster in there which contribute even more flavor. Even more umami. It’s just like a pure flavor paste. This would go really good with rice. You could smear this on anything. I’m so tempted just to eat from the big spoon, but I’ll be polite. Mhm. I have a little bit left. I didn’t know I was supposed to leave some. I thought that would have been rude. Coming up next, a French inspired dish called Atsu Atsu. It’s built around a ball of rice. A single oyster, lily pulps, plantain liies, and ostrich fern, all tucked into a piping hot ceramic bowl. Then comes the sauce made with starch, salt, mirin, soy sauce, and kombuashi. Then it’s tossed in an oven until it’s cooked all the way through. This is not an onsen, not a hotel. It’s a hotel is more for like staying overnight. It’s not really an experience, but Arioka is definitely an immersive experience in my opinion. Once you enter, it’s like you’re going back in time. And something really notable is you take your shoes off when you enter. True. Moments ago, we were eating fried oysters. It’s like something you would find at a state fair in the USA. And then this, something decadent, very premium looking. It’s a single oyster. Are you ready? I’m so ready. Let’s go for it. M. Mhm. The oyster itself is delicious. The seasonal ingredients that he used has more of a peppery flavor to it, so it adds like a different dimension. The rice is cooked perfectly, too. Thank god the owner is not here right now. He won’t see me scraping to the bottom of this. Oh, that’s good. So that is kind of our appetizer. But right here we have the oyster nav or hot pot. Into a pot of boiling kelp, the chef drops in white cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, Japanese mustard greens, and finally the star of Hiroshima, the oysters. When I heard oyster hot pot, maybe I was expecting more something like I would see in Vietnam. Like a bunch of stuff just thrown in one pot. This is so organized and it feels so Japanese. They’re like, “What? We’re not going to just mix all these ingredients together.” You can take the ingredients and put it into your own dish. These are some real plump oysters here. They’re really fat. Okay. Very simple, very light, almost just watery, and it’s just taking on some of the flavor of the ingredients in there, especially the cabbage. I’m going to take some of this cabbage, hit it with a little bit of sauce, soy sauce, ku dashi. [Music] M. There’s also panzoo in here, right? Like a little bit of citrus. Yes. But then there’s these local greens. Wow, this is such a bright sauce. Yes. Slightly sour, a little savory. I think we should jump right here to the oyster. This is going to be incredible. God, it’s a tremendous mix between being kind of meaty, hearty, it’s got a bite to it, but still a bit creamy, still tender, and it’s got some of that brininess has washed out a bit, and then it just soaks up this citrusy panza sauce. It’s a perfect pairing. This

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🇯🇵 *Sapporo, Tokyo, Shizuoka, Mie, Hiroshima, JAPAN*
🎬 *[FULL JAPAN FOOD SERIES COMPILATION!!]*

EP. 1️⃣ Japan’s $30 Crab vs $400 Crab!! (Rare Seafood Species)
🦀 *[JAPANESE HOKKAIDO CRABS!!]*

EP. 2️⃣ Eating Japan’s Most DANGEROUS Fish!! (Armageddon-Level Diarrhea)
☠️ *[WORLD’S DEADLIEST JAPANESE SEAFOOD!!]*

EP. 3️⃣ Inside Japan’s Most Bizarre Seafood Farm!!
🐍 *[SUPER SLIMY JAPANESE EELS!!]*

EP. 4️⃣ Japan’s Ama Divers Catch Mega Seafood Feast!!
🤿 *[JAPAN’S SEA WOMEN AMA DIVERS!!]*

EP. 5️⃣ The One Japanese Food You Can’t Eat Raw!!
🦪 *[JAPAN’S WORLD FAMOUS HIROSHIMA OYSTERS!!]*

Timestamps:
0:00 » Intro
1:52 » (Ep1) Sapporo Seafood
24:00 » (Ep2) Dangerous Seafood
42:25 » (Ep3) Mie Ama Divers
1:04:23 » (Ep4) Mie Ama Divers
1:25:40 » (Ep5) Hiroshima Seafood

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🥒 *ABOUT BEFRS:*
Hey, I’m Sonny! I’m from the US but I’ve been living in Asia for 10 years and started making food and travel videos to document my experiences. I travel to different parts of the world, hunting down and documenting the most unique food each country has to offer.

If you see any factual food errors in my videos, please feel free to politely let me know in the comments. I’m a huge fan of trying different, interesting foods in each country. My show is from a Western point of view, but more importantly, MY point of view. It is not meant to offend any person or culture. Peace!
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🎬 *CREDITS:*
DIRECTOR/HOST » Sonny Side
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY » Trần Quang Đạo
CAMERA OPERATOR » Đinh Tuấn Anh
EPISODE EDITORS » Dương Quốc Huy, Ngọc Lê Hồng, Thái Đỗ
COMPILATION EDITOR » Tiep Tran
MOTION GRAPHICS » Khang Bùi
COLOR & MASTER » Quí Nguyễn
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CO-PRODUCER » Chantal Bieger
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