YT- Most of the time, the wasabi you get in a restaurant or buy in a store is fake. It’s actually horseradish that’s colored green. Why? Well, wasabi is a notoriously difficult plant to grow. In fact, it’s considered the most difficult plant in the world to farm commercially. Yet for the past century, the Daio Wasabi Farm in Hokata, Japan, has been growing it successfully with natural spring water from nearby mountains.
9 Comments on Where the Wasabi?
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I swear, if I was 18 again, I would go to Japan and immerse myself into their culture for some time. I find it fascinating the way they approach life and tradition.
I still want to take some and travel through the country. I’ve been all over the world and frankly, I’m not interested in traveling anymore. But I would love to spend time in Japan.
That might be true about a lot of wasabi being fake-there’s a sushi place in Denver where their wasabi was definitely different tasting then most other that I’ve had but I’m not enough of a connoisseur to know.
I would never intentionally eat that stuff or horseradish. I like simple plain food.
Nothing hot, nothing spicy.
I like the wasabi that when you get a good snort of it, it instantly clears your sinuses. That and the Chinese hot mustard that’s served with pork. I also like Taco John’s hot sauce, especially with the pureed jalapenos, it makes my forehead sweat, good stuff. Dried wasabi peas in Chinese rice crackers do the same thing. And the funny thing (as well as good) is I don’t get heartburn from it like I do with spicy tomato based Italian foods.
I love the real and the fake both. It’s a learned taste.
And all the other spicies too.
Wasabi, Harambe, it’s all stuff you shouldn’t give to children.
GROWING WASABI FACTS:
1. You need cold SPRING water flowing at a certain rate to avoid stagnant water and bacteria forming.
2. You need to let the seeds germinate in that water for a while.
3. You need to plant it in the right soil with the right PH, with the right amount of sunlight and water.
I’ve seen books and charts on how to grow this stuff, and it’s SCIENCE LAB type stuff. Charts, graphs, and sign waves all over the place.
You don’t need to grow it in Japan, or on a mountain, there are ways to grow it in regular areas called “Field Wasabi” not “Mountain Wasabi.”
It’s a ridiculous plant to babysit, but I’ll tell you what? You pull even a 3 incher out of the ground, that’s 10 bucks right there. Grind it on a stone and take a little taste? WHOOOOOA! That’s fresh and your nose is clear for a few hours!
The Kikkoman brand I used to buy is loaded with MSG, GMOs, Soybean oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Sugar, Artificial Flavoring and coloring.
It lists “Root Blend (Horseradish And Wasabi)” in the ingredients but the front label only says Wasabi Sauce.
I love horseradish! Give me a piece of prime rib with a dab of horseradish on the side and I would be a happy camper. That first bite that goes to your sinuses will knock you flat on your butt. It’s like a good kind of pain at first. There’s a horseradish farm not too far from where I live. It’s good stuff.
We grow a lot of Wasabi here in the Pacific North Left. I love it, I don’t care if it’s real or fake….kind of like TITS!
https://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2011/10/real_wasabi.html