Before you start:
When you receive your wasabi, you’ll quickly realise that you can’t just whack it on your sushi as it is, it’s going to need a bit of careful preparation.
It’s really easy to do, and even simpler with the aid of a couple of inexpensive tools. We have sourced these tools from Japan and are passing them on to you at the best possible price as we feel they are essential if you are going to experience the very best that fresh wasabi has to offer.
Buy them here. The set of teeth on these tools means a lot of your valuable wasabi will be left behind on the grater and it is very hard to remove. Above all it is essential you grate the wasabi into a fine paste to generate the best flavour and the all important, pungent heat.
Preparing your Wasabi:
This is your guide to preparing fresh wasabi paste from the revered wasabi rhizome. The rhizome, often mistaken for a root, is a swollen stem that builds height as the leaves grow from the crown of the plant, much like a palm tree. Follow the instructions below to produce an authentic, fresh wasabi paste with a naturally aromatic, floral flavour backed with the unmistakeable sweet pungency of real wasabi.
After rinsing the rhizome under cold running water, follow these easy steps to preparing your fresh wasabi.
1. Peeling is not essential but any dark patches of skin can be removed for a cleaner paste. Remove the stems as shown in the image, this will reveal the greenest, sweetest wasabi; it is here you should start to grate.
2. Using a wasabi grater, grate in a circular motion; this effectively advances the wasabi to a fine paste. Keep grating until you have as much as you need. Don’t grate too much in one go as it will lose its flavour after 15 – 20 minutes and you can always grate more.
3. Use the brush to remove the wasabi from the grater to a wooden or ceramic surface as a steel surface speeds the oxidisation process. Gather into a ball and let it rest at room temperature for up to 5 minutes for the flavours to develop, then it’s ready to serve.