Today, we’ll explain how to create the vegan version of a dish, that while somewhat dangerous to consume, is considered a major delicacy on Sol Three. Fugu is the flesh of the blowfish, one of the most venomous ocean creatures on that planet. Japanese people there consider it to be a great delicacy and reportedly over ten thousand mintons are sold every year. The fish contain a neurotoxin, which is 1,200 times deadlier than Transurian pintian. The toxin is so potent that a lethal dose is smaller than the head of a pin, and a single fish has enough poison to kill 30 Transurians. Fugu is prepared only by expert licensed chefs who remove the poisonous parts and such expertise makes the dish extremely expensive. Some who eat it report a strange tingling of the lips from minute traces of the poison. That sensation, the danger and the high price — the equivalent of 500 Transurian credits — give the dish its strange attraction.

A wonderful, and safer, vegan version is created using a base of ten medium size thrash leaves and several ingredients obtained from any good out-of-world market. Cut the thrash leaves into paper-thin slices. Add two drams of brown sugar, one-half dram of cardamom, a pinch of snur powder, and just enough water to cover the mixture. Let it marinate for 5-6 hours. Prior to serving, heat the mixture (but do not boil), add a quarter dram of dried Oleander flowers (supplies a mild poison) and simmer for 5-10 minutes, not more. Discard the sauce, then arrange the vegan fugu on ceramic plates, sprinkle with a touch of Kurrie salt, and serve.

A few Japanese on Sol Three die from eating fugu every year. A much smaller number of Transurians die yearly from eating vegan fugu. Enjoy!

from the kitchen of Ronald M. Larsen