Think You’ve Been Eating Wasabi All This Time? Think Again

If you’re a die-hard fan of Japanese cuisine or even if you’ve heard about Japanese cuisine, Wasabi is one thing you’ll know about. For sure. Hopefully. For those who might be a little confused, wasabi is that pungent green condiment you get with your sushi. Or that’s what it looks like!

eating wasabi
Via: mnn.com

Wasabi the Condiment

Wasabi is used as a sauce that makes sushi or other foods more flavorful by adding spice. It’s a part of the Brassicaceae family. That includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. The condiment is a stem portion, which has an incredibly sharp pungency similar to hot mustard.

Wasabi is sold as a stem. In that case, it must be finely grated. It is also consumed in the form of dried powder or as a paste. It is a popular misconception that wasabi is mainly the root, but that’s not true. Wasabi is essentially the stem portion of the plant.

Wasabi preparations vary depending on where you’re eating it. In some high-end restaurants, the paste is prepared on order. This paste tends to lose its flavor in just a matter of 15 minutes if left uncovered. When it comes to sushi, the wasabi is put between the fish and the rice. It helps in preserving the flavor of the wasabi.

You can also eat fresh wasabi leaves. They tend to have the same spicy flavor as the stems. Peanuts and beans and other such legumes are also coated with wasabi after being roasted or fried. It’s a pretty popular snack, in fact. 

Read also: Know about Entomophagy – The practice of eating insects

Wasabi Isn’t The Real Wasabi

Now the above is all great. But there’s one little question I need to ask you. You think you’ve been eating wasabi all this time? Well, you haven’t, unless you’re in Japan. Most of the wasabi served outside is a mixture of horseradish, mustard, and food coloring. In fact, even in Japan of all places, wasabi is in high demand. So much so that you might even get a horseradish mixture with barely any actual wasabi in it!

Regarding taste, there is a big difference between wasabi and horseradish. The actual wasabi has a more herbal taste to it. It’s fiery hot, but it doesn’t have that lingering burning sensation for an aftertaste. Real wasabi is smoother and cleaner than the horseradish you are served. The horseradish paste is much harsher and is less fresh.

The Irony behind

What makes all of this somewhat confusing and amusing is that wasabi translates to Japanese horseradish. This is strange because in most places they use horseradish to make wasabi (well fake wasabi)!

Image Source

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram

Random Post

13 Best Remedies For Glowing Skin

Everyone wants glowing skin. Nobody wants their skin full of acne, pimples, suntan, dark circles, etc. Nobody has enough time to take care of...

5 Mango Recipes To Make Your Summer Sweet

Mango and summer, are the perfect combination. The beginning of summer marks the arrival of the king of fruits. Since I was a small...

Getting Into Exercise: 6 Tips For First-Time Fitness Moms

The first month of the new year is the time when people make alk kinds of lifestyle changes. One of these is certainly getting...

Latest article

10 Unhealthy Foods That Are Actually Good For You

Whenever we hear this word, all that comes to our mind are veggies, fish, zero cholesterol, or zero fat foods. From the day we...

5 Tips to Make Your Devices More Efficient to Streamline Your Work life

Technology has become an integral part of our lives. From smartphones to laptops, we are constantly using devices to communicate, work, and entertain ourselves....

Five Reasons Why You Need a Skincare Routine

With so much to do in a day, it's hard to find time to do self-care. But if you keep on neglecting skincare now,...

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.