real wasabi. you’ve never eaten it. LRB found real wasabi on the menu at bluefin restaurant in memphis for $3 per tablespoon. worth it? yes. the texture was of freshly grated horseradish root with a bright green color. put your nose right to it & the aroma is fierce but the taste is less pungent than that fake paste. the wasabi rhizome is grown mainly in japan but recently has been cultivated in a handful of states in north america. real wasabi is very expensive and even more difficult to purchase fresh. fun fact: Wasabi has shown in studies to be anti-microbial and possibly anti-carcinogenic, the former may be why it has long been eaten with raw fish, which in the past was not handled with the care it is today. It is also suggested that it may have anti-inflammatory and blood thinning properties, both useful to the medical community. It is even used in toothpaste in Japan for its anti-bacterial properties. ok, foodies, here’s a link to buy fresh wasabi and don’t forget the grater. OR, at the very least, be a good foodie and demand real wasabi next time you go out for sushi.
LRB forgot to snap a photo of the fresh wasabi at blufin before we dug into it
2 comments:
I'm jealous. Wasabi is pretty much the only reason I eat sushi (fake or not, I love things in the horseradish family) . Get wee to do an imitation of my wasabi headrush.
And I HAVE had real wasabi, grated at my table at Mashiko restaurant in Seattle, WA as I watched. sushiwhore.com. Thanks.
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