• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Explore Cook Eat

  • Recipes Home
  • 1,000 Foods to Eat Project
  • MUST Try Korean Dishes!
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Europe
  • Travel
    • USA
      • New Mexico
      • Texas
      • Utah
      • North Carolina
    • Japan
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

Home » 1,000 Foods To Eat Project

Incredible Wasabi! - 1,000 Foods to Eat Project

Jun 28, 2020Last Modified: August 7, 2020

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Wasabi, one of the foods in my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project!

wasabi root in pans

We recently returned from a ONCE IN A LIFETIME TRIP TO JAPAN! The word "incredible" doesn't even begin to describe it.

1,000 Foods To Eat Project

I used this as an opportunity to try to knock off as many of the Japanese foods as I could that are listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton.

1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die Front Jacket
1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton

Basically I am trying my best to work my way through this book, and what better way to enjoy the Japanese foods than in Japan!

I learned Japan is COMPLETELY FOOD OBSESSED! I was in my element and had the time of my life trying some of the Japanese foods in the book.

Food #33 in My 1,000 Foods To Eat Project

Wasabi is food #32 on my list. Wasabi is also known as Japanese horseradish. It is a member of the family Brassicaceae, and grows naturally along the banks of stream beds in Japan. It is the root that is used to make what we know of as wasabi.

We found the root in both the grocery store and the markets when we visited Japan. The picture at the beginning of the post shows the wasabi root being sold in the market in pans of water. The picture below shows it being sold packaged in a grocery store.

wasabi in a package

It's quite expensive. 980 yen is around $9-$10 US dollars!

True Genuine Wasabi

It turns out that we may not have actually eaten true genuine wasabi while we were in Japan. We may have, but I'm not entirely sure.

jar of wasabi paste and sushi

Most of us are familiar with the paste that is sold in a tube as pictured above. I LOVE the stuff! It's pretty head clearing but I love it! My experience with the paste sold in the tube is to serve it with sushi and also as a condiment to accompany Cold Soba Noodles.

soba noodles in a white bowl with chopsticks, white bowl with soba sauce, and daikon, wasabi, and scallions on a white serving tray
Cold Soba Noodles served with wasabi, daikon, and scallions 🙂

My understanding is that generally the paste is usually a combination of mustard, horseradish, and food coloring.

S&B Wasabi in tube
My favorite prepared wasabi is S&B!
S&B Wasabi box with ingredients list
Ingredients list S&B prepared wasabi...so there is wasabi in there! 🙂

True Japanese horseradish can be had by consuming the fresh root! Cooks and chefs use wasabi graters, as pictured below, to grate the root. Guess what? The grater is made of sharkskin! Grating the root produces the paste. It's my understanding that once grated, you want to consume it ASAP...as the longer you leave it the less heat there will be.

Wasabi graters and other items at the market

The only place we may have had the genuine wasabi in Japan was at a restaurant called Yakiniku A5 Toku in Osaka. We were served a platter that included some as seen below. They didn't grate the fresh root at our table but served it this way. So MAYBE it's the real deal? I'm not sure but it was delicious whatever!

platter with meat, banana leaf, wasabi, and rosemary

There is a great article called "What is Wasabi?" from Taste of Home that provides wonderful information on this amazing food. Please have a look if you have a chance!

Wasabi Powder

True genuine Japanese horseradish can also be dried into a powder. You simply take the powder and mix it with water to make your paste! I have never tried the powder. However, the next time I buy wasabi I'll be trying this DualSpices Japanese Wasabi Powder. 🙂 There is one ingredient: 100% Pure Wasabia Japonica!

How Does Wasabi Taste?

My experience with wasabi (the paste anyway) is that it can blow your head off if you eat too much of it at one time! I'm used to the heat going up my nose and sometimes I think I'm going to die. 🙂 Seriously, I have had some of these moments. LOL

I read that the real deal is strong and vibrant, but the heat quickly fades so it's quite a clean heat versus the heat that you experience from chili peppers.

Fun Flavored Foods!

There is a plethora of wasabi flavored foods to be tried! Here are a couple that we got from Japan: Wasabi flavored KitKat and Wasabi pistachios. Both are yummy! I included links here if you'd like to check them out. 🙂

By the way, note the sharkskin grater on the KitKat pack. 🙂

Wasabi Kit Kat
Wasabi KitKat
Wasabi pistachio
Wasabi Pistachios

Where Can I Buy The Genuine Root?

This amazing plant is difficult to grow and requires very special growing conditions. Believe it or not, there are companies here in the US that grow wasabi. One of them, Real Wasabi is based in the Carolinas. They have a farm located in North Carolina where they grow much of their fresh wasabi.

I can't wait to explore the Real Wasabi site further! In addition to the plants and rhizomes that they sell, they also have recipes and offer some beautiful gifts. Definitely check it out!

Enjoy This Incredible Japanese Horseradish!

Whether it comes prepared in the tube, or if you are a purist and only 100% pure genuine Japanese horseradish will do, I hope you will enjoy some of this amazing food soon! It's such a unique taste and complements so many foods so well. It's also super fun to try the wasabi flavored foods!

Some Other Foods You May Enjoy!

Yuzu - (1,000 Foods to Eat Project)

Yuzu in a plastic container

Spicy Edamame

Spicy Edamame in a bowl

1,000 Foods To Eat Project

Please follow along with me on this quest to try the 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, from the book by Mimi Sheraton! Join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! Visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page to view a list of the foods tried so far.

If you'd like to follow along and be a part of the 1,000 Foods Project, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂

Cheers!

Grace

« Fantastically Easy Mushroom Tostadas!
Super Easy Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




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

Primary Sidebar

Sign up so that you never miss the greatest recipes!

About Me

Hi I’m Grace! I'm married and a mom to my fur baby, Toby, and food and travel are two of my greatest passions! Since our bank account does not allow us to travel or eat out as much as we'd like, I decided I would cook delicious meals that could give us a taste of all the places we'd like to go. My goal is to get you in the kitchen, and inspire you to cook and taste delightful meals that will transport you too. Let’s throw some actual travel in from time to time, all with an emphasis on keeping your wallet full and happy as well. Let’s get cooking and let’s start exploring!! I'm excited to be on this journey with you!!

By the way most of these recipes are Toby taste tested and Toby approved!!

Chief Taste Tester Toby

Toby Chief Taste Tester

Recent Posts

  • 51 MUST Try Foods When In Japan!
  • Easy and Spicy Thai Chili Oil Recipe
  • Italian Peas and Ham Frozen Peas Recipe
  • Easy Middle Eastern Chicken With Lemon and Olives Recipe
  • Easy Cajun Crawfish Sauce Recipe

Recent Comments

  • Grace on The BEST and Easiest Korean Bok Choy Kimchi!
  • MsLinda on The BEST and Easiest Korean Bok Choy Kimchi!
  • Grace on Easy and Delicious Connecticut Steamed Cheeseburgers!
  • Shawn on Easy and Delicious Connecticut Steamed Cheeseburgers!
  • Grace on Incredibly Delicious Brussels Sprouts

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Footer

Amazon Associates Disclosure

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 Explore Cook Eat on the Foodie Pro Theme