Talk:Wasabi

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How can you see if it is imitation or real? Apart from inspecting the label that is Naelphin

The article makes a distinction between the correct and incorrect way to use wasabi to flavor food, but does not explain the correct way to use wasabi. Can this explanation be made? Dysprosia 09:27, 27 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I do not understand the following sentence: "However, wasabi's flavor dissolves very quickly in water and the best way to enjoy wasabi is to apply wasabi after dipping into soy sauce or carefully avoiding wasabi from mixing with soy sauce." It seems a bit contradictory. --AlexG 21:31, 3 Aug 2004 (UTC)

There are possibly four ways to apply wasabi on a piece of raw fish:
  1. Put a little wasabi on the fish (top side) and then dip it into soy sauce (bottom side) quickly;
  2. Dissolve wasabi in soy sauce and soak the fish in it; <-- I mean you just twist and rub that poor defenseless piece of animal muscle inside the soy sauce container until the meat becomes a soggy piece of pulp!
  3. Marinate the fish (usually tuna's fatless red meat, aka mi in Japanese) in soy sauce for hours and then put a little of wasabi on it;
  4. Same as above, but with soy sauce + wasai.
Method 1 is the traditional way to serve the fish. It helps to preserve wasabi's flavor.
Method 2 is, IMHO, the less civilized way to eat the fish. Very frequently, people just mix wasabi in their soy sauce dishes. Sometimes that could be acceptible. But most of the times, they are wasting the fish. However, some stone age people are trained to kill their food completely down to every single cell before eating it. I find it difficult to put the blame on them.
Method 3 and 4 are special ways to prepare the fish developed some 100 years ago. They did not have refrigerators at that time, so they used soy sauce to preserve the fish. Japanese people did not like tuna's fatty belly meat (toro in Japanese) then.
Have a happy meal. -- Toytoy 00:33, Aug 4, 2004 (UTC)


Another fun recipe:

Wasabi Pickle

Take bread and butter pickle (The presliced kind) spread a pinch of wasabi on it.

Eat fast.

(Vance Clarend 23:16, 4 April 2006 (UTC))

Can someone validate or refute the following statement? That the flavor evaporates I can believe, that it would evaporate significantly in the 15 minutes between serving and eating I have some doubts.

"Once the paste is prepared it should remain covered until served to protect the flavor from evaporation. This is why sushi chefs usually put the wasabi between the fish and the rice."

Jerdwyer

Contents

[edit] Snorting? ouch!

Not sure if some mention should be on the main article page, but WOW this video of an idiot snorting powdered wasabi, well it led me to here to see if it's been mentioned as a "do not do this!" activity yet :)

http://www.media-post.net/link408.php

http://www.filecrush.com/files/wasabi.html

[edit] Supposed modern reading of old kanji

I've taken out the "which would be read wasahi in modern language" in "Wasabi (Japanese: 山葵 (originally written: 和佐比, which would be read wasahi in modern language)". I don't believe there is any reason to suppose that the kanji 和佐比 would be pronounced wasahi and not wasabi; 比 in fact is read as bi in a lot of words (check http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/j-e.cgi/sjis/dosearch?sDict=on&H=PA&L=J&T=%94%E4&WC=none&LI=on for examples). Correct me if I am wrong. 24.159.255.29 20:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Old pronunciation and spelling do not have the modern one-spelling-one-pronunciation rule and a kanji has multiple pronunciations. Individually, "比" is read most commonly as "hi" as in "hiritsu"('ratio'), "hikaku" ('compare') and "taihi" (another 'compare'). Dakuon is usually avoided when the original pronunciation is unknown.--Revth 02:23, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
The 和佐比 rendering is leftover Man'yōgana; the pronunciations /hi/ and /bi/ were generally undifferentiated in writing until fairly recently (i.e., 17th century or thereabouts). Jim_Lockhart 08:37, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Good Omens

In my copy of Good Omens, the car is named "Dick Turpin", rather than Wasabi. Is there a difference between the American and UK versions, or is the article in error? 24.154.116.172 02:08, 11 December 2006 (UTC)Abby C.

"Dick Turpin" is the name of the car, "Wasabi" the name of the (fictional) maker. Note that the article says it's called "a Wasabi". --Brazzy 11:18, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Popular culture section

This section needs to be trimmed. Many of the entries there simply consist of bare-mention examples without any substantial reference to wasabi beyond the name. I made the change, but it has been reverted. I would like to solicit further opinions. --Eyrian 00:02, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

I concur, fwiw. I think these "in popular culture" sections in many of the articles on things Japanese, are quite annoying and not at all informative. I don't understand their purpose and think they should be deleted unless one of these nuggets demonstrates some way in which the subject has informed popular culture in some way. Best regards, Jim_Lockhart 01:03, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Horseradish vs. Wasabi

Does the imitation Wasabi also have microbe fighting ability as the real thing? I ask this because, no doubt, I've only had the imitation brand.Jlujan69 21:17, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

The sulfur in the thioindoles that giv it flavour can probably kill a few microbes. I've read that even Cabbage juice, from probably the weakest crucifer, can defend against (and even reverse) pre-cancerous polyps of the colon. I'd like to remember the book where I read that, but epl was rearranged.
I taste no difference between Wasabi and horseradish, and I've had both. Neither is as powerful after drying and reconstitution. One of them might be naturally green. They are both mother of cabbage, IMAO, no matter how different the roots might look. I've seen varieties with tap roots and varieties with roots like jinjer.

I'm totally skeptical of the claim that "most sushi bars" only use the fake. It's hard to find the real stuff at American grocery stores, but I've never had a hard time finding it at Asian markets in a variety of cities in the U.S. I am under the impression that I can tell the difference. I find that most sushi bars use the real stuff, and if you get grocery store sushi or sushi off the buffet at an Americanized Chinese restaraunt, you usually get the colored horseradish. Since there's absolutely no source listed for the claim that most sushi bars don't use the real stuff, I think that should be removed unless such a source can be provided. (My evidence is anectdotal, but no statement at all about the prevalence of real vs. imitation should be made unless it can be sourced.) 69.247.73.57 16:02, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

It is true that very few sushi bars/japanese restaurants in North America serve real Wasabi. If your sushi arrives with a lump of green paste with it then the Wasabi is most likely made from horseradish, food colouring and other chemicals. Real Wasabi should be grated at your table. Ask your sushi chef to show your his Wasabi. For more information go to: www.wasabia.com.BrianOates (talk) 20:09, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Better yet, don't eat at the table. Get a bar seat. :p (however this and the preceding comment are not in the appropriate scope of the talk page) It should be noted that the chefs will almost always grate real wasabi at the beginning of any bar service, particularly if you are ordering omakase, and it does seem true that most wasabi at American sushi restaurants is not the proper stuff. Moreover it's rare for good sushi to be served to the customer with a clump of wasabi at all. Both the wasabi and the soy based dressing are more appropriately placed on the pieces (especially when consuming nigiri) by the chef, before presentation. Tomyumgoong (talk) 04:57, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Gwokahol:

Pyuuray the following, in this order:
One grapefruit
One tomato
One white pepper of the Halapenyoh family
One teaspoon of Cardamom
One teaspoon of Wasabi powder or Horseradish pyuuray
Half of a Banana, possibly old
Half of an apple

Note: All five parts of the tung are involved in tasting this: sweet (Apple and Banana), sour (grapefruit), salty (tomato), bitter (grapefruit), hot (Wasabi and Halapenyoh), and flowery (Cardamom, which smells minty), and it may not balance the same way on your tung, so the size of fruit (and strength or kind of Cardamom) can matter. The order is designed against oxidation. One guy told me he tasted lime. Brewhaha@edmc.net 07:26, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

this sentence seems to have come out of nowhere. Some copy'n'paste problem?? "These legumes are roasted or fried, then coated with a wasabi-like mixture (usually an imitation). These are then eaten as an eye-watering "in the hand" snack."

222.166.160.28 10:15, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

refers to wasabi peas, I believe. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.144.16.61 (talk) 06:59, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Uses

"Once the paste is prepared it should remain covered until served to protect the flavor from evaporation. For this reason, sushi chefs usually put the wasabi between the fish and the rice."

Comments - Wasabi does not "evaporate" it is more protected from oxidation which reduces its flavor and potency, as well evaporates the water content of the grated root. Wasabi is placed between the fish and rice as a seasoning agent but to smear the wasabi on top of the fish sitting on the sushi would be unappealing, not to keep it from "evaporation", it is not a liquid.--Christopher Tanner, CCC 00:56, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

can you not read? the quote refers not to the substance of wasabi from "evaporating", but the flavour. And please don't start "flavour can't, strictly, evaporate"; in common speech, flavour can evaporate as well as hopes can evaporate, dreams can die, plans can disintegrate, etc.

placing the wasabi in such a way does protect the flavour from the effects of oxidisation, the aesthetic reasons you stated for sushi chefs "hiding" the wasabi are totally wrong. If we had a problem, aesthetically, with having wasabi out in the open - or we wouldn't have lumps of it on the serving dish, and designs made with them as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.144.16.61 (talk) 07:27, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Wow, you are cranky! What did you have for breakfast, pure wasabi? ;-)
You made very good points, but do note that Christopher Tanner made his comments in a very polite way. You, on the other hand, answered in an aggressive tone ("can you not read?", "And please don't start...") that actually detracts from your arguments, weakening them. If you respond in a more polite way there is a higher chance of getting your point across.
Now, even though I agree with everything you said, I must point out that "common", almost poetic phrases such as "hopes that evaporate, dreams that die, plans that disintegrate", and "flavor that evaporates" is nice but not the best choice for an encyclopedia. The language used in an encyclopedia should be neutral, devoid of subjectivity and of the possibility of misinterpretation. As such, if there is a more clear way of saying something, that's what should be used. In this case, a better phrase could be:
Once the paste is prepared it should remain covered until served to preserve the flavor. 128.169.245.254 (talk) 01:18, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Chips?

I am not sure that the chip link is strictly useful: 'Additionally, the leaves can be battered and deep-fried into chips.' I am not too well versed in Japanese food, but the idea of 'chips' made from leaves is rather confusing to me. Anyone care to correct/explain this?[[user:jimjamjak]] 14:57, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

I think the writer was meaning the leaves are prepared and served like Potato chips (crisps for those reading from the UK). It's not hard to imagine, really. Vladamire Steelwolf (talk) 07:35, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wasabi as an explosive ingredient?

The following paragraph looks like patent nonsense—a joke, perhaps?—and needs to be substantiated by citing a reliable source:

Wasabi can also be used as a raw ingredient to make powerful explosives. Even though it may not combust by itself, isothiocyanates in wasabi are powerful oxidizing agents (which also explains its antimicrobial properties) that can create highly exothermic reactions when combined with certain organic fuels. During the early 20th century, the Japanese military researched the use of wasabi to make "bunker buster" type explosive devices. However wasabi-based explosives were later substituted for C4 and other synthetic explosives.

  • Please source the statement that wasabi can be used for making powerful exposives. As a matter of fact, rather than writing “powerful”, tell readers how powerful so they can judge for themselves.
  • I assume that “[e]ven though it may not combust by itself” is just poor writing for “though it does not combust spontaneously, the isothiocyanates in wasabi are powerful oxidizing agents.” This “may not” construction is ambiguous (and therefore counts as a weasel word) or it’s just plain wrong.
  • What are the certain organic fuels?
  • The writer’s intent in the final two sentences is unclear, as they seem to contradict one another: Why “however” if the wasabi was so good that it could be “substituted for C4 and other synthetic explosives”? On the face of it, this statement looks ridiculous. If “however” is indeed correct, then the following phrase is backwards: It’s C4 and other synthetic explosives that were substituted for (i.e., displaced) wasabi in these applications.

If these statements cannot be rewritten unambiguously AND substantiated with citation of reliable sources, they can be justifiably removed. Jim_Lockhart 06:49, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Duruma" or "Daruma" Cultivar?

Hi. "Duruma" looked odd to me. Google for "Duruma"+"Wasabi" --> turns up almost only pages that quote the article. Google for "daruma"+"わさび" ( though I'm sure this needs no explanation for many folks reading the article , I should mention that "わさび" is "wasabi" in hiragana) turns up a lot more, including this. It's someone's personal page, hosted by their (apparently) former university. Though obviously the work of an expert (and damn interesting reading), as arguably a self-published source I guess it isn't a link that could be cited. I do think that it, plus the search results - and this the context of an article that has citation problems - alter the balance of probabilities very much in favour of changing the cultivar name. --Shirt58 (talk) 09:51, 26 February 2008 (UTC) ps: I've rem-d invisible SineBot's signing of this comment - oops, clicked wrong button.

Oh dear, I really should do basic research before I go spouting off. http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Wasa_jap.html is already included in Wasabi#External_links. --Shirt58 (talk) 10:06, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Health Benefits

I've added a citation request for the list of health benefits at the end of the uses section - without some sourcing, it seems dubious at best, and like snake-oil sales pitches at worst. Does anybody know of some decent science for this?Neil (talk) 22:05, 2 April 2008 (UTC)