10-Year-Old Becomes Youngest Person to Pass Fugu Exam
Among Japan's many interesting dishes, there's one that comes with some notoriety. Fugu — known in English as puffer fish — is usually served raw, sliced so thinly you can almost see through it.
It's a delicacy in Japan. But if not prepared correctly, it can be dangerous. This is because many parts of the fish are extremely poisonous, and can cause breathing difficulties, paralysis, and sometimes death.
For this reason, chefs in Japan need a special license to be able to cook and serve fugu — and a 10-year-old has become the youngest person to get this license.
Karin Tabira, who lives in Kumamoto, did the exam earlier this summer. There are two parts to the exam: a written test on food sanitation, and a practical test preparing the fish and identifying the poisonous parts.
According to The Mainichi, she spent about six months training for the exam.
People must be at least 18 years old to take the exam in Kumamoto prefecture, so Tabira had to do it in Yamaguchi prefecture, where there is no age limit. According to The Mainichi, Tabira said she wants to take the exam again when she's 18, so she can prepare the dish in her home prefecture.
But she was still able to serve the dish in Kumamoto. On August 22, Governor Takashi Kimura tasted fugu that had been prepared by Tabira the day before.
"It's thin, clear and very tasty," Kimura said after tasting it, adding that he was impressed that she had decided to take the exam at just 10 years old.
Before Tabira, the youngest person to pass the exam — which has a pass rate of just under 65% — was an 11-year-old.
