WASABI : A Must-Eat Condiment

Familiar with wasabi (わさび)? Generally, it is used as a condiment in sushi, sashimi, soba and others. Wasabi has an extremely strong and hot taste that burned your nose and head but not like chili’s spiciness. We hate this much but after getting a lot of information about this stuff, we are in a conclusion that we have to eat wasabi.

credit : wisegeek.com

Wasabi is known as Japanese horseradish. By grating the stem, we get the paste. But be careful! After 15 minutes left uncovered, wasabi will lose the flavour. That’s why sushi chefs always put the wasabi between rice and fish. In nowadays’ Japanese sushi restaurants, especially outside Japan, mostly use wasabi paste in tube and wasabi powder that is made by horseradish, mustard, startch and green food coloring. Real grated wasabi paste is now commonly served in high-end sushi restaurants. Why don’t regular restaurants use real wasabi?

Cultivation of wild wasabi in Japan was started in 1596 when Utogi villagers in Shizuoka perfecture tried to regrow wild wasabi, that used to grow wildly in Abe river, around Idogashira water springs. Wasabi was also presented to Ieyasu Tokugawa, founder of Edo Shogunate. Ieyasu liked it very much and was so delighted to know that wasabi’s leaves have the same pattern as Tokugawa’s family clan crest. Then he ordered to forbid its sale outside Tokugawa family.

 WASABI LEAVES
credit : realwasabi.com

TOKUGAWA FAMILY CLAN'S CREST
credit : yoroiya.hamazo.tv

The reason why wasabi is expensive is because it is difficult to be cultivated. Naturally, wasabi grows in cool, clear mountain stream. The temperature must be between 10 to 17 degrees of Celcius, the water has to be clean. It needs 3-4 years to fully grow and ready to be harvested. It also must be treated carefully. In Japan, wasabi central production area is in Shizuoka, Nagano, Shimane, Yamanashi and Iwate prefecture. Nowadays, because of the growth of Japan tourism site and also because of the stock of national wasabi isn’t sufficient, Japan imports it from China, Taiwan and New Zealand.

Why do we need to eat wasabi while eating sashimi or sushi? The grated wasabi is known to realese Allyl Isothiolyanate that is anti-bacteria, so when we eat that with fresh fish or others, it is surely ‘safe’ for our body.

credit : colourbox.com

Now take the attention to wasabi paste on tube and wasabi powder. From the packaging, we could see how much the content of real wasabi is inside the product. Real wasabi means wasabi steam or other parts. More than 50% is called as honwasabi shiyo (本わさび 使用) and under 50% is called honwasabi iri (本わさび 入り). But truly its effectiveness as anti-bacteria couldn’t be compared with real grated wasabi stem.

-So, would you eat wasabi?-

credit : seriouseats.com

We eat, we walk, we talk

-FoodyFooty2-

contact and follow us on:

email                 : foodyfooty2@gmail.com

facebook           : foody footy

twitter              : @foodyfooty2

instagram          : @foodyfooty2