Recipe
Freshly grated wasabi
- Herb:
- Wasabi Wasabia japonica
- Method:
- Culinary use
- Plant part:
- Rhizome
About 5 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Rinse the rhizome, cut off the dry end and trim the bumps left by the leaf stalks; do not peel.
- Grate in a circular motion on a very fine grater (traditionally sharkskin, oroshigane) from the bottom of the rhizome, where it is sweetest.
- Gather the paste into a mound and rest for 5–10 minutes — the enzyme needs time for heat and sweetness to develop.
- Serve at once with sashimi or soba; after 15 minutes the aroma fades, so grate only what you will eat.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 2–3 cm of rhizome for 4 portions
- Solvent:
- no extraction — finely grating into a paste, resting for 5–10 minutes
- Shelf life:
- eat within 15 minutes; the pungency then fades
- Target compounds:
- disrupting the cells releases the enzyme myrosinase, which converts glucosinolates into allyl isothiocyanate and 6-MSITC
Notes
A kitchen method with no particular risks. Most 'wasabi' in tubes and powders is dyed horseradish with mustard — real wasabi shows as a pale green, finely grained rhizome.
Why it works
An intact rhizome is hardly pungent: only cell rupture brings myrosinase together with glucosinolates (sinigrin) to form volatile isothiocyanates, which quickly dissipate. 6-MSITC, the compound typical of wasabi, is studied in the laboratory for anti-inflammatory action; clinical evidence is lacking.
Literature
- Uto T, Hou D-X, Morinaga O, Shoyama Y (2012): Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Anti-Inflammatory Actions of 6-(Methylsulfinyl)hexyl Isothiocyanate Derived from Wasabi. Adv Pharmacol Sci 2012:614046 — Review of laboratory mechanisms; no clinical data.
Related
Wasabi — Herb card
Culinary use — Processing method detail