The real deal on real wasabi
Check out this video response to Carol Mason’s query on whether wasabi can be grown in Arizona. Nope, the real stuff pretty much isn’t grown outside of Japan. According to the sushi chefs at Roka Akor in Scottsdale, it is terribly difficult and not cost-effective to grow wasabi outside of a particular mountainous region in Japan. The result – much of the “wasabi” eaten at U.S. restaurants is really powdered American horseradish flavored with wasabi oil. That may explain why I haven’t been able to reproduce the tears of joy and pain I experienced when eating wasabi-laden sushi in Japan. I could only imagine my sushi bill if pure wasabi was flown in and used to make my maki rolls!
