There’s a sushi bar on Santa Monica Boulevard called Echigo that serves ONLY real wasabi. It’s an ideosyncratic little place. It’s upstairs in a strip mall and has zero ambiance. They don’t do cut rolls, only hand rolls, and even those are very old-school. No avocado, no fake crab, no spicy tuna. The rice is warm and very vinegary and the fish is absolutely first-rate.
I originally ate sushi like the OP’s girlfriend: drape the ginger over a piece, optionally dipping it in wasabi-enhanced soy sauce. That’s the way I was taught to do it.
Then someone told me that the way they do it in Japan is to eat the ginger after the sushi as a palate-cleanser. So I did it that way.
Then someone told me that it’s a regional thing in Japan - some do it one way, some do it the other. So now I sometimes drape it over, but mostly I just ignore it and enjoy the sushi. I rarely bother with soy sauce anymore either.
(Wow, what decisiveness I’ve displayed in this post. Whatever way the wind blows, that’s me.)
I don’t eat the ginger with the sushi. Only in between
I do make wasabi-soy soup sometimes, though I know it’s terribly gauche.
It is supposed to be very difficult to cultivate real wasabi. It is semi-aquatic and needs clear cooling water for optimal production. The Mother Earth News had an article about someone trying to grow it in the U.S. (Oregon I think). Their operation was fairly successful but the final product was still as expensive as hell.
Could someone outline the proper wasabi technique for me?
If you’re going to be a purist you should apply the wasabi directly to each piece instead of mixing it with the soy. That way you can adjust how much you use to the type of sushi you’re eating.
But, really, it’s no big deal if you mix it with the soy.
Also, with certain kinds (mostly nigiri, I think), you’re not supposed to add any, because the sushi chef has already done so.
When the Japanese come over here and kick our white, occidental asses for corrupting another Asian tradition I will not be in the least surprised.
Bet you all have questions about the proper consumption of sake, too.
Bolding mine
Is this a variant of Yakuza?
I just saw this was a double post, sorry for that.
That’s me as well. Sometimes I marinate the roll in a wasabi-tamari soup. Sometimes I eat the roll pristine. Sometimes i drape some ginger on the roll atop a bed of wasabi pesto. This cat rolls whichever way he wants, man.
And if any Japanese purist complains, I’ll just say: corn and mayo pizza, sparky. Corn and mayo pizza.
Daniel
I’m very new to sushi, but thought the ginger was a palate-cleansing thing too. I think it tastes awful and would never ruin a bite of sushi by adding it.
I ignore the sushi and eat the pickled ginger. Because it’s yummy. Like hot vegetable candy.
I live in New York City, so everything I do is right, and I mix my wasabi into my tamari, too. Ginger in between fish, though.
I can see folks sharing lunch with you.
Heretic!
Sushi is as sushi does. Traditionally the ginger is meant to clease the palate, but seriously, do whatever you want. Even in Japan, the populace has widely varying sushi eating habits.
Having eaten supposedly western food in Japan, I can only say turnabout is fair play.
Truthfully, there’s nothing wrong about taking another culture’s cuisine and adapting it to local tastes.
Pennzey’s has this to say about wasabi. They don’t really say what genuine wasabi tastes like other than a weird turtle analogy, so thank you for your description, teela. At 12.49 for 20 grams, I think I’ll sample it in a restaurant first.
I’ve also heard that real wasabi is very perishable. Once it’s cut open, the compounds that give it its flavor begin to dissipate into the air so you have to prepare and eat it fresh and you can’t successfully store the leftover root. And the only place where you’re going to use that much wasabi every day is in a high-class sushi restaurant.
Nope, I don’t know how I messed Yakuza up. “Y” was the only letter I was sure of too.
Gotta agree with Chum on this one - Can’t stand the ginger. I think it tastes like soap (yes, I know I’m in the extreme minority on this).