All About Wasabi

This post is courtesy of my new friend, fellow blogger and sushi lover Robert-Gilles Martineau, who authors a blog about the sushi and sashimi experience in Shizuoka, Japan. Please check out his blog – the link to the site is on the blogroll to the left.

Wasabi has arguably become the most famous single Japanese condiment/spice in the World, but how many people know that it originated in Shizuoka Prefecture, which incidentally grows 80% of the total production in Japan? (farmers have started growing it South Korea, Taiwan, Tasmania and elsewhere with various degrees of success) It is mass-produced in the Izu Peninsula and at the foot of Mount Fuji, but the best wasabi is cultivated in altitude (500~1,000 meters) in Utougi, Shizuoka City, about 33 km up the Abe River.
An organic vegetable by definition, it requires a full two years to mature into constantly flowing pure water in comparatively cold environment.

(Utougi/Courtesy of Shizuoka Shinbun, Januray 21st, 2009/Start of harvest season!)

Widely known in its wild form all over Japan, a resident in Utougi first successfully grew it in 1604. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Shogun of Japan who had just retired in Sumpu (present Shizuoka City) after closing the doors of Japan, fell enamored with the condiment and actively promoted it.
The root is grated, preferably on a sharkskin grater, before being used, not only for sushi and sashimi, but also for raw or cooked meat, o-cha zuke (vegans, rejoice!) and almost any seafood.

(Courtesy of Dominique Corby)

The stems and leaves are edible and a rare treat in their raw form in salads, in tempura, or steamed as demonstrated by Dominique Corby in his Osaka restaurant.
The stems and leaves (and flowers!) are also cut and pickled into sakekasu/sake white lees to become “wasabisuke”, another Shizuoka gastronomic specialty!
Tamaruya, the first shop to sell it at the beginning of the 17th Century, still exists in Shizuoka City, and even has a stand at Haneda Airport in Tokyo!

(Fresh whole wasabi)

The wasabi served and used in Shizuoka restaurants (and in many homes) is naturally of the best quality. If you happen to stop over in Shizuoka City, make a point to visit Sunpu Raku Ichi shop inside the JR Station where the plant is sold fresh and whole for a ridiculous price!
Shizuoka Prefecture is not only blessed with wasabi (and green tea), but also prides itself in catching some of the best fish in Japan thanks to the rich waters of Suruga Bay and Peninsula Bay. It is an open secret that most of it finds it way onto Tokyo restaurant tables!
As the icing on the cake, know that Shizuoka Prefecture has acquired national fame for providing some of the rarest and best sake thanks to the extravagant abundance of pure water flowing from the Southern Alps and Mount Fuji!