Wasabi!

[rain_gryphon]

The wasabi that comes in the little tubes from the Japanese grocery is about eight thousand times more potent than the wasabi that comes in prepared sushi from the Giant Weasel!


Edit: And it is astonishing, and perhaps a bit worrying, how quickly one gets used to that.

Comments

[kitten-goddess.livejournal.com]

How the heck did you get used to that wasabi? Mark fed me about a drop of wasabi once in a restaurant, and I yelped. For the record, I can handle jalapenos with no problem, so I'm not a wimp when it comes to spicy food.

[xolo.livejournal.com]

In retrospect, I think the first bite just overloaded my senses, so that I was desensitized to it afterward. I had made California rolls, and I had the leftovers tonight (you pretty much have to make two meals' worth at a time to avoid wasting the avacado and cucumber), and found that a much more reasonable amount of wasabi worked for me.

I do like wasabi, though. It's not simply hot, but it has a very nice flavour to it as well.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_fluffy/]

Wasabi spice and chili spice are completely different, involving different chemical reactions and using different sensory pathways. As such you have to get used to them separately.

That said, wasabi is about balancing the flavors and bringing out the flavor in the food it's on. People who drown their sushi in wasabi are missing the point entirely. The hallmark of a good sushi chef is one who knows how to balance the flavors already so that no added wasabi is needed. (I have only had sushi that was that well-prepared a handful of times. Most of those times were in Japan, and the rest were at a sushi restaurant opened by a master sushi chef from Japan.)