If you have eaten sushi, you might assume that you have tried wasabi.
However, chances are that it was an artificial version that Japanese growers say is a world away from their “green gold.”
Unlike the spicy neon concoction familiar to many fans of Japanese cuisine — which is in fact made from horseradish — real wasabi is pale green and offers a complex, mildly piquant flavor.
Photo: AFP
Even in Japan, it is not common fare. That is because the knobbly root is so difficult to grow and consequently expensive to buy, with most of it snapped up by wholesalers.
“The most important requirement is crystal-clear water, in abundance,” 62-year-old Yoshihiro Shioya said as he pulled a wasabi root from the sodden soil at his lush, green mountainside farm on Shizuoka Prefecture’s Izu Peninsula.
“It is absolutely necessary that the water temperature stays between 10°C and 15°C, year-round,” said Shioya, whose family has been cultivating wasabi in the region for seven generations.
Patience is key — each wasabi crop can take a whole year or even 18 months to mature in the large artificial terraces, which serve a particular design purpose.
“The water flows down from the top of the mountain, which has terraces built into it covered with layers of pebbles and sand that filters and purifies it,” said Yasuaki Kohari of Izu’s agricultural cooperative.
Once ready, the long roots, topped with a plume of round leaves, are harvested by hand. The leaves are stripped off and the root, known as a rhizome, is carried away in baskets.
About half of the 550 tonnes of fresh wasabi grown in Japan last year came from Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo.
Wasabi grows naturally there and has been used in local cuisine for centuries.
Legend has it that it was especially loved and popularized by 17th-century shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, a military ruler who was one of the unifiers of Japan.
These days, it is mostly purchased by high-end restaurants in Tokyo and Osaka.
Wasabi is prepared by grating the root, usually on a small square device with fine metal teeth or topped with coarse sharkskin — a process done almost immediately before consumption, as its piquancy fades after about 20 minutes.
Its spiciness is produced by a chemical called allyl isothiocyanate, which also gives mustard, radish and horseradish their pungency, and which scientists say has antibacterial properties.
It is usually served as a complement to raw fish, or alongside buckwheat noodles.
Toshiya Matsushita, a sushi chef at a restaurant in central Tokyo with a month-long waiting list, would never dream of using imitation wasabi.
“It feels powdery in your mouth and doesn’t have much flavor,” he said. “Fresh wasabi not only masks the smell of the raw fish, but also heightens its flavor. It is spicy, but with sweet notes.”
However it does not come cheap. Matsushita spends more than US$700 a month on wasabi and uses one whole root a day, which he grates freshly for each order at his restaurant, Sushi Matsushita.
“The taste, the texture and the spiciness are different according to the way it is grated,” he said.
Despite its enthusiasts, wasabi remains largely the preserve of restaurants like Matsushita’s — but these have suffered along with the rest of the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, wasabi growers have been prompted to think of ways to expand their market.
Wholesalers have been selling their stock to supermarkets, hoping to acquaint new customers with the taste of the unique product.
The high price continues to be a barrier, Shioya said.
Others, like Yamamoto Foods, about an hour’s drive from Shioya’s farm, offer wasabi-based products that go beyond the root’s status as a condiment.
“You can also eat the stalks, the flowers, the leaves. We use all the parts, so people can really get to know this delicious product,” Yamamoto store manager Mayumi Yasumori said.
The firm offers wasabi-infused olive oil, salt and mayonnaise, as well as shavings of wasabi to sprinkle on rice — and even wasabi-
flavored ice cream.
“Wasabi should not just play a cameo in the kitchen,” Yasumori said. “It can also take the leading role.”
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