Wasabi or water radish is known as a spicy green seasoning paste from Japanese cuisine. The stem is thereby processed into the paste, meanwhile Wasabi is therefore no longer cultivated exclusively in Japan.
What you should know about wasabi
Mistakenly, the root of the wasabi plant is understood to be the basis for the Japanese hot spice, but in fact the stem is finely grated. Wasabi is a cruciferous plant and is also known as Japanese or water radish. The wild plant is found exclusively in Japan, but wasabi can be cultivated in greenhouses worldwide and is therefore also grown outside Japan. Mistakenly, the root of the wasabi plant is understood to be the basis for the Japanese hot spice, but in fact the stem is finely grated. This can grow up to 60 cm high, and can be harvested from May to June. In Germany, mostly ready-made pastes, powders or foodstuffs coated with wasabi, such as nuts, are offered, the fresh wasabi stems are more likely to be found in specialized stores and are not infrequently imported from Japan. Some nurseries also offer wasabi for home cultivation, but it needs a shady and rather cool place during the summer and is only conditionally hardy. Wasabi develops its maximum pungency when the stem is freshly grated and processed immediately. Wasabi loses its pungency very quickly when exposed to fresh air. In Japan, the wasabi stem is traditionally grated on a piece of detached shark skin, which has very fine teeth and grinds the wasabi exactly as desired. It is served in small portions with sushi and other rather mild tasting dishes, for example, to serve as a spicy dip or flavorful change from the mild main course.
Importance for health
The basis of wasabi pungency is mustard oils. More specifically, wasabi provides the two mustard oils sinigrin and glucocochlearin; the former mustard oil is also found in conventional mustard or in horseradish. Mustard oils are known to regulate and stabilize digestion, and they also inhibit the growth of many bacteria in the body, thus having an anti-inflammatory effect. In addition to bacteria, the mustard oils in wasabi also have an inhibitory effect on viruses and fungal infections. Regular consumption of wasabi could lead to a general improvement in the performance of our immune system by increasing the number of immune cells. However, wasabi in large quantities is also not good for you: especially if you already have stomach problems, the spiciness of wasabi can make them even more unpleasant, resulting in stomach discomfort and diarrhea. However, when considering the importance of wasabi for health, the question of whether it is real wasabi or a paste or powder always plays a role. Powders and pastes usually contain only a little wasabi, but all the more additional substances that are easier to preserve. Mostly, however, these are also harmful to health, especially preservatives and artificial colors.
Ingredients and nutritional values
| Nutritional information |
Amount per 100 gram |
| Calories 109 | Fat content 0.6 g |
| Cholesterol 0 mg |
Sodium 17 mg |
| Potassium 568 mg | Carbohydrates 24 g |
| Dietary fiber 8 g |
Protein 4.8 g |
In pure wasabi without any other additives, there are some vegetable proteins, vegetable carbohydrates and very little vegetable fat. Pure wasabi is considered cholesterol-free. The micronutrients it contains include sodium, potassium, iron, magnesium and vitamins A, C, D and B12, among others. The situation may be different with powders or pastes that contain additional preservatives or have received further additives through processing. Here, it helps to look at the list of ingredients; in particular, attention should be paid to preservative salt. In the case of wasabi snacks, which are popular in this country, the wasabi is of course also only the garnish and the nutritional values come mainly from the snack. When consuming wasabi nuts in larger quantities, you could ingest about a lot of salt and also fat – and of course preservatives and coloring agents of the very likely fake wasabi powder.
Intolerances and allergies
Mustard oils can be beneficial to health in small amounts, but sometimes they are the cause of intolerances.People with stomach problems or generally poor tolerance of spicy foods will most likely also tolerate wasabi poorly. The mustard oils can cause stomach pain with diarrhea, at least in larger quantities. This is a normal sensitivity reaction to spicy food. Allergies, on the other hand, may be to the mustard oils in wasabi itself. Great care should also be taken with wasabi pastes, which often consist only of green-colored mustard powder and contain no wasabi at all. The tartrazine contained here can trigger allergies. Real wasabi hardly triggers allergies and is generally well tolerated except for a possible reaction to the spiciness.
Shopping and kitchen tips
There are basically two types of wasabi: the real and the fake. Genuine wasabi consists of water radish and contains at best otherwise no additives. In this country, however, it is rather rare, which is also due to the fact that wasabi loses its spiciness so quickly after processing. However, it is this wasabi that contains valuable mustard oils and is generally well tolerated if there are no problems with mustard oils. The lion’s share of wasabi sold in this country is a powder mixture stirred from mustard powder and green dye, with little to no real wasabi in it. Sometimes it also contains native horseradish. Japanese refer to this as Seiyō Wasabi, and the real variety is called Hon Wasabi. You should therefore pay attention to these designations on the packaging as well as the list of ingredients when buying. Genuine wasabi on the stem should be stored in airtight packaging for a few days, grated a few minutes before eating. Half an hour in the fresh air can be enough to make wasabi no longer taste particularly spicy. In fact, artificial, fake Seiyō wasabi is much more widely used than real wasabi, even in restaurants.
Preparation tips
Wasabi serves as a seasoning and spicy garnish in traditional Japanese cuisine. Since the real strain was traditionally freshly grated on a piece of shark skin, it is known in Japan as a finely grated garnish served with sushi, for example. The creamy wasabi paste served in this country is hardly known in Japan, even though pastes and powders are now sold there as well. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a wasabi strain, grate it fresh for serving – and only as much as you want to offer. Otherwise, it can only be kept in airtight packaging. The fake Seiyō wasabi is sold not only as a paste for sushi, for example, but also as a coating for nuts, peas, other vegetables or in the form of wasabi chips. Although these products must now contain a minimum proportion of genuine wasabi, this is still very low. The spiciness of such wasabi snacks usually comes from horseradish and mustard.