Wasabi

Wasabi is a pungent plant native to Japan. It grows in mountain streams and wetlands, and blooms small white flowers with four petals in spring. The rhizomes and leaves are edible and used as a condiment or seasoning with a strong pungent flavor. This is my personal opinion, but the spiciness of wasabi is different from that of mustard and chili peppers, and you feel it in the top of your head rather than in your mouth. In Japanese, it sounds like “Keen(Japanese expression)” in your head.

Wasabi is eaten in the form of a spicy paste that can be added to sashimi and sushi. In the case of sushi, it is applied a little on top of the rice under the sushi material. In other words, it is sandwiched between rice and sushi ingredients. If you don’t like wasabi, you need to order without wasabi before ordering sushi at a sushi restaurant. However, recently, at casual sushi restaurants such as conveyor belt sushi restaurants, ``sabi-nuki(without wasabi )’’ sushi is the standard, and people who want to add wasabi can put wasabi in a small bag and add it themselves when eating sushi. The style seems to be mainstream.

Now, let’s talk about a party. A man who had just arrived in Japan found something deliciously green and creamy next to his sushi tub. Take a bite it and see! The man put a spoonful of it on a sushi plate and skillfully used chopsticks to bring it to his mouth. Unfortunately, the green cream happened to be wasabi.

It’s not hard to imagine the tragedy that followed, so I won’t go into detail here, but here’s what to do when you’ve had the misfortune of eating too much wasabi and can’t stand the spiciness.The spiciness of wasabi is felt through the nose, not the mouth, so the easiest way is to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Let the air wash away the pungent ingredients that have accumulated in your nose. Then, strangely, you won’t feel the spiciness.