Penzeys has pure wasabi, as well as horseradish-wasabi blends. But if I’m understanding their “turtle” analogy right, you won’t like it.
I was eating some cold soba noodles in a traditional Japanese noodle house once, and there was a generous mound of paste that looked like miso in the dim light. About halfway through the meal I pinched off a finger joint-sized piece, coiled some noodles around it, and popped it into my mouth. It was wasabi of course (or I wouldn’t be telling this now) and I had about six times as much as I would have liked.
The pain was incredible; I don’t remember any endorphin effects, but I do remember the sensation of the insides of both nostrils melting. I groped for the teacup, but I had just poured it. It was still simmering in in the cup, and one small corner of my mind figured it would only makes things worse. I just sat there for about two minutes with tears streaming down my face until the pain receeded enough to go on.
I had real grated-at-the-table wasabi once. The taste was noticeably different from the typical green paste - it was sharp, of course, but also almost sweet. A++++, would eat again.
I guess if you like "wasabi’ as you’ve been eating it and love your sushi, if you seek out real wasabi you’ve not really accomplished anything, since the taste is not the same. You like fake wasabi, so stick with it.
I love sushi. If any dopers are ever in South Jersey, U.S.A and would like to go out for sushi with me to show me the ropes, let me know. I will treat! I don’t know enough about it and darned if anyone in my circles knows.
Real wasabi looks like this in its unadultered state. It is usually freshly grated on a very fine grater before serving, as the pungent oils/compounds start breaking down with prolonged exposure to air.
The taste of real wasabi is not dissimilar to horseradish, but it is a little more refined and elegant, for lack of a better term. It’s not quite as sharp, but it’s still fairly pungent. For those familiar with cassia (what’s labeled as Cinnamon in America) and true Ceylon cinnamon, I’d say the difference is something like that (with horseradish being cassia in the analogy). Wasabi is a bit more mellow and sweet, and doesn’t completely attack and destroy your palate as aggressively as fauxsabi.
Around here, you can find real wasabi at some sushi bars. The market price is generally around $5 for a small serving. Personally, I never noticed any addition of sugar to freshly grated wasabi.
Oh, and as for wasabi powder, most of those are horseradish, too.
Me, too. It was far more complex and delectable than the fake stuff. It had an almost hazelnut-y aftertaste, and the heat was less astringent and searing. I can only get it at one or two very serious sushi bars, and I notice the sushi dudes look like they’d like to reserve it for their Japanese customers. I’m not shy, though - I’ll always pipe up and ask for some.
That more mild “real wasabi” sounds alot better than what I normally get. The most I can do is mix it into soy sauce other wise the flavor is WAY too much for me.
Personally, while I love horseradish and its derivatives (I grew up in an Eastern European family, and we ate pretty much straight grated horseradish with sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs, none of that weak “horseradish sauce”), I never understood why people would take a beautiful, tasty, and expensive cut of fish and then completely annihilate the delicate flavor by burying it under mounds of wasabi and soy sauce. I mean, hey, you’re paying for it, do what you want, I won’t say anything, but it’s always struck me as odd. I mean for me, if I even bother using wasabi, a tiny dab is more than enough, otherwise, all I taste is wasabi, and no fish.
I don’t know. Most wasabi peas I’ve seen have labeling that states “wasabi flavoring” or “wasabi seasoning,” or “wasabi (horseradish powder),” all suggesting not a real wasabi is being used. I, personally, have never had wasabi peas where the labeling suggested real wasabi was being used, but I don’t know about all the different brands out there–I just know the ones commonly available around here do not use real wasabi. I have no idea what the labeling laws surrounding the use of the term “wasabi” are, so I don’t know if the labeling suggests that real wasabi is being used or not.
As mentioned above, one of the main reasons that wasabi is not common outside of Japan is that it perishes quickly. Wasabi peas may well be flavoured with “real” wasabi because it’s cooked. However, virtually every time I’ve bought wasabi peas in Japan, it’s been artificial wasabi. It’s possible that some of the more unusual tasting peas I’ve had in izakaya are authentic wasabi, but frankly I couldn’t say that they’ve tasted any better.
You can occassionally buy the roots in supermarkets, I’ve seen them here and there for around $7 or so for a finger sized root…Problem is that when ground into a paste, it doesn’t seem to produce much.
I did have it at a really nice restaurant, though. On my last day of working the president of the company took me out to a really expensive yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant. Along with eating some of the best beef I’ve ever had, we each got a wasabi root to grind and use as we pleased.
While I absolutely abhor the typical wasabi pastes (I can’t stand the flavor, too horseradish-y) this stuff was divine. It had a slight spice, but it was much more delicate. It made me wish that I had not been scared to buy the actual root when I saw it (I was afraid that it would be too much like the normal pastes).
