Wasabi sauce is easy to make, whether you use powder or fresh wasabi root. You can buy wasabi paste in most Asian markets, but it's simple to make at home. Homemade wasabi is fresher, with more of a "kick" than premade paste, and will add a nice touch to any Japanese food you serve.
What is Wasabi?
Wasabi, or wasabia Japonica, is a plant that is native to certain areas of Japan. Cultivated wasabi is also grown in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada to meet the worldwide demand. Wasabi rhizomes are ground or grated, and have a taste that is reminiscent of a cross between horseradish and mustard. Much of the premade wasabi paste sold in stores is actually a mixture of mustard and horseradish, tinted with green food coloring.http://www.haystack.mit.edu/hay/staff/jball/Wasabi.pdf
Read on to learn how to make wasabi at home in minutes!
How to Make Sushi - Wasabi Explained
Two sushi chefs demonstrate how to make wasabi on this video. The chefs begin with dry wasabi in a bowl, and add water until the wasabi reaches a "play dough" consistency. They recommend wasabi be made daily, as it loses heat the longer it sits. They use bottled Fiji Water to make the wasabi, but ordinary tap water will work just as well.
Reconstituted Wasabi Powder
Most wasabi powder is not made from actual wasabi, but from a related Japanese horseradish, known as seiyou wasabi.http://www.mangajin.com/mangajin/samplemj/Wasabi/wasabi.htm While the taste is similar, it is not identical. If you cannot find fresh wasabi, it is an acceptable, although milder, substitute, and should be reconstituted with water according to the package directions.
Fresh Wasabi
Fresh wasabi can be pickled, and eaten alongside other foods, or grated and turned into the familiar wasabi paste or sauce that is served with sushi. In order to make wasabi paste from fresh wasabi, you'll need:
- ■Fresh wasabi, washed carefully
- ■Paring knife
- ■Very fine grater (in Japan, wasabi graters are made from shark skin)http://www.mangajin.com/mangajin/samplemj/Wasabi/wasabi.htm
- ■Plastic wrap
How to Make Wasabi Paste
- Cut away the leafy end of the wasabi rhizome.
- Rub the cut end with the grater
- Gather the grated wasabi in a ball, and wrap in plastic wrap
- Allow the wasabi paste to sit for 15 minutes
- Serve at room temperature.
- Refrigerate any leftover wasabi in a damp paper towel, covering it with plastic wrap.
Fresh Wasbi Sources
- Pacific Farms, 800-927-2248, 88420 Highway 101 North Florence, OR 97439
- Olympic Mountain Evergreen Farm, 360-426-6543, 2933 West Skokomish Valley Road Shelton, WA 98584
- Pacific Coast Wasabi Ltd. 604-682-4577, 450 – 1050 Alberni StreetVancouver, BC V6E 1A3 Canada
- The Frogfarm, 206-361-1981, 3408 NE 193rd StreetSeattle, WA 98155
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
To retain maximum heat, prepare on the day it will be used
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Fact:
If you are buying a mixture beware, some mixes are not real wasabi, but a mix of horseradish and mustard
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Fact:
When making fresh wasabi, ensure the it is very finely grated to form a more solid paste
