Funny, I just saw a short video on Youtube about wasabi the other day. It has to be grown in rocks, flooded with water, in the shade at a certain narrow range of temperatures. This guy was one of the only American farmers growing the stuff. He had a really fine grater, and it took a while to grate enough to put on sushi. And he said the flavor dimmed fast after grating. It was probably good for only 15 minutes before it was flavorless.
I’d love to try the stuff. I come from the “horseradish capital of the world” so it’s kind of cool to know that most “wasabi” even in Japan, actually comes from my back yard. But despite that local pride, I’d love to try the real deal instead of dyed horseradish at least once. Even though I’m a fan of the dyed horseradish. I’ve read that you shouldn’t dip sushi in wasabi because the sushi chef already put an appropriate amount in the sushi, but that’s never been the case in my experience. I’ve only eaten sushi in mid-level US restaurants though. Nothing fancy or in Japan.
You impressed him either by your ordering habits or your tip, or both.
I was once at a high-end sushi bar and the conversation at the bar turned to folks who order the big overblown Americanized dragon rolls and such. I said that I like to call those rolls “hakunjin-no-maki”*, and the sushi chef guffawed before he caught himself. This is the only bar that gives us real wasabi without us having to ask.
Ginger is miles less volatile than wasabi, though. That’s why they tell you to only grate what you need and don’t try to store it grated because it’ll just be flavorless after a half hour.
A few years ago I saw an episode of “How It’s Made,” and they covered wasabi farming. It’s an extremely fussy plant, requiring very specific conditions. It grows in gravel of a certain size range under running water, and IIRC, needs one particular temperature range during the early phase of its growth, and a different temperature during the later phase. The amount of land in Japan and elsewhere with conditions suitable for growing wasabi is very small, so the global supply of wasabi is very limited, which explains why it commands such a high price.
It definitely is notably different from the much more commonly encountered blend of reconstituted horseradish, and worth trying for a couple of bucks if you’ve never had it before.
You’re right about that. I hadn’t read this factoid here before I grated the last of it for this morning’s tamago omelette. I let it sit around for fifteen minutes or so before serving it and it tasted quite wimpy. I won’t make that mistake again.
Oh, I get that. My meaning was, the leftover piece of wasabi, after grating off the bit that you need, isn’t necessarily wasted. It dries out, kind of coagulating itself like a wound.
But that flavorless dry part would be a complete waste–you’ll have to cut it off to get to the juicy flavorful part and at a hunnert bucks a pound slicing off even a sliver would be like flushing money.
Yeah, I realize I’m a little obsessive about this but I have an eight dollar bag of asparagus in the fridge that also drives me wiggins if I end up having to throw away a bunch of it. I mean, aside from having to toss the woody bits from the ends of the spears. Wasting food makes me fussy.
Heh, I put the woody ends in a little food chopper and mince them up, then give that to the chickens. When I make brussel sprouts I give the trimmings to our tortoise. He loves to gnaw on the hard bit.
It’s kind of like Maraschino cherries. 99% of places use the artificial red dyed monstrosity we all know. I went and bought a jar of Luxardo cherries for $20 and I can’t go back. Why do that to myself with wasabi, which I love even though it’s really just horseradish? “Here, I’m going to give you a ketchup that you will never be able to find anywhere but it will ruin you forever for other ketchups.”
That’s not quite what is usually known as “real” or “true” cinnamon. Indonesian cinnamon is Cinnamomum burmannii. What is known as “true” cinnamon is C. verum, also known as Ceylon cinnamon. Mexican cinnamon is also usually C. verum, as far as I know. Indonesian cinnamon is often referred to as a type of cassia or cassia cinnamon, while Ceylon cinnamon is never referred to as cassia.
Some of them get chewed up by the young dog, if I chuck 'em out onto the hugelkultur-in-progress. She thinks they’re quite nice but only wants a couple so the majority of them are just a waste. If I had a smidge more yard I’d probably keep chickens but alas, it is tiny. If only I wasn’t such a total sucker for out of season asparagus!
Here ya go. Not knowing which one Cats meant, I’d just gone through their varieties of ground cinnamon and went with the phrase “Korintje cinnamon is the type of cinnamon we all remember from our childhood,” in the description. The Ceylon variety was neither offered ground nor had a description, for some reason.
I lived in Japan for 4 years and I don’t know if I ever had ‘real’ wasabi; I did have real sushi and sashimi, though, so I guess I scored. Used to walk by the fish market as it was bringing in the fresh catch before sunrise.
One time when I ordered sushi and asked for no wasabi, the lady behind the counter scolded me and said, “What kind of Japanese are you?”. I just laughed and said I’m half Okinawan and don’t like ginger either. She just kind of glared and shook her head at me.
I also don’t like Chinese mustard (Coleman’s or whatever else they use). Something about “opening up your sinuses with mustard or wasabi” is a negative for me.
