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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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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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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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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