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There’s a tiny scoop of green on the corner of the plate. If your friends thought it funny on your virgin trip to the sushi bar, they told you it was green tea ice cream, which you greedily snatched up and popped in your mouth, only to have your face turn 14 shades of purple as you breathed fire before gulping down an entire large bottle of Asahi in one shot. It wasn’t green tea ice cream; it was wasabi. Ha ha funny funny.
Why sushi bars give you that extra wasabi is odd, since supposedly, you’re not really supposed to add any more to your sushi, i.e. your shoyu in the sara should stay dark brown, not army green camo. The chef has added the perfect amount for whatever flavor fish it is. I guess it’s kind of like dipping a piece of your filet mignon at Morton’s in A-1.
As much of a heat-freak as I am (spicy), I usually don’t use wasabi at sushi bars, simply because I love the taste and smell of the fish. Then again, there’s something painfully pleasurable about that burn, leaning my head back, holding my nose, with tears in my eyes...
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9-30-2005 @4:44PM gk said... When I was in Japan, people I talked to who had had sushi in America thought it was really weird and surprising that the sushi came with wasabi hidden under the fish. I was taught you *are* supposed to mix the wasabi and soy sauce together. I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't in America, since the (chef's idea of the) perfect amount is already there, but I'd rather have the choice of putting as much as I'd like.
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9-30-2005 @6:14PM Steve Johnson said... I come from a Japanese family (my mother's side), and we all mix the wasabi into the soy sauce, myself, my mom, her mom, her sister. They call this "wasabi-joyu".
If anything, probably 99% of the wasabi you see in the USA is not really wasabi. It's just plain horseradish with green food coloring. Real wasabi, comes from the Wasabi plant, and is extremely difficult to grow, due to its sensitivity to environmental conditions. As a result, it's very expensive and cost-prohibitive for most sushi-bars.
Real wasabi is much more milder in taste, rather than the sinus-shocking sharpness of the green-horseradish paste we get with Japanese cuisine today.
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10-01-2005 @12:52AM Dulce said... Given the range of sushi restaurants that I have experienced, I wonder if all the sushi 'chefs' are trained in the traditional methods. That makes me question the expertise that goes into deciding the perfect amount of wasabi to add to a roll or other sushi. I can attest to having consumed a few major sinus-clearing tuna rolls in my time ... and that's without adding any more wasabi.
I, too, have heard about the distinct taste of real wasabi (but alas! never tasted it, but read on) There is a company in the US in, where else, Oregon, that is growing wasabi. They sells plants, seeds and paste. I don't think the plants will succeed in producing sufficient wasabi for use with sushi, but it might be interesting to add leaves to salad, sandwiches. For a mere $20.70 (+S/H) you can order 2 lbs of real wasabi and taste it for yourself. http://www.freshwasabi.com/
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10-01-2005 @4:45PM two bits said... I just can't resist that streaming-tears effect, it's my favorite part of sushi. I usually only pile it on with the cheap n' nasty stuff from caterers or buffets, good sushi needs to be tried without it. (although I usually break down and have to pile it on with at least one piece)
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10-02-2005 @7:37PM sarah said... well, yes, the wasabi addition usually depends on where and what i am eating. if it's a tier one sushi bar, i would HOPE that i wouldn't need to add wasabi. but at second tier places, or even on a *eek!* buffet, you just have to add that wasabi. i don't know...maybe something psychological like the heat of the wasabi kills bacteria...lol!
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