November 24, 2012

A Few Notes on Wasabi/わさびに関して少し

Here is some practical information about wasabi in Japan.
日本のわさびに関する実用的な情報です。

Needless to say, wasabi is called wasabi in Japan, but to clearly distinguish it from horse radish, which is called seiyou wasabi (lit. Western wasabi), it is also called hon wasabi.  Hon means real, authentic, etc.
言うまでもなく、日本でも「わさび」は「わさび」と呼ばれていますが、ホースラディッシュ(「西洋わさび」と呼ばれる)とはっきり区別するため、本わさびとも呼ばれます。「本」とは、本当の、正真正銘の、という意味です。

When you purchase a pack of sashimi in a supermarket in Japan, you will usually see a small packet of wasabi attached, such as the one below.
日本のスーパーで刺身のパックを買うと、普通、次のようなわさびの小袋が付いてきます。 
The ingredients label says:  Hon wasabi, seiyou wasabi, mizuame (starch syrup), vegetable oil, salt, sour agent, gardenia pigment, and spice extracts.
原材料名は、本わさび、西洋わさび、水飴、植物油、食塩、酸味料、クチナシ色素、香辛料抽出物です。 
The term "hon wasabi" is placed before the term "seiyou wasabi", which means that this packet contains more "hon wasabi" than "seiyou wasabi".
「本わさび」という言葉が「西洋わさび」より先に表示されていて、これは、「本わさび」のほうが「西洋わさび」より量が多いということです。

I checked other wasabi packets, which happened to be in the fridge, and found they also contained more "hon wasabi" than "seiyou wasabi".
たまたま冷蔵庫にあった、他のわさびの小袋も調べましたが、それらも「本わさび」のほうが「西洋わさび」より量が多かったです。
I didn't know that even such cheap products now contain more hon wasabi.  What's more, the one below says that it uses domestic hon wasabi.
こんな安い製品にも現在では本わさびのほうが多いとは知りませんでした。その上、下の製品では、国内産の本わさびを使用していると書かれています。

There are some tubes of wasabi that contain no seiyou wasabi, like the middle one in the photo below.
下の写真の真ん中の製品のように、西洋わさびを含まない製品もあります。  
I tend to buy such a tube because it's only about 1.7 times more expensive than a cheap one that contains both hon and seiyou wasabi.
本わさびと西洋わさびを両方含んでいる安いのより1.7倍程度高いだけなので、私はこのような製品を買うことが多いです。

The one on the left is a new product from S&B, called Kizami Wasabi, which contains shredded wasabi stalks.
左のは「きざみわさび」というS&Bの新製品です。きざんだわさびの茎が入っています。
I thought it was a good product and bought one without checking the label.  I later found that it contained seiyou wasabi as well.
いい製品だと思って、表示を見ずに買ったのですが、後で、西洋わさびも入っていることに気付きました。
Finally, a tube of wasabi that contains 50% or more hon wasabi may have "hon wasabi shiyou" (hon wasabi used)" written on the package, while a tube of wasabi that contains less than 50% hon wasabi may have "hon wasabi iri" (hon wasabi contained) on the package.
最後に、本わさびが50%以上入ったわさびには「本わさび使用」と書かれていることがあり、本わさびが50%未満入ったわさびは「本わさび入り」と書かれていることがあります。

Edited to add:
追記:

Kona (= powder) wasabi, wasabi in powder form, is usually made from horse radish.  Wasabi in a tube is called neri (= kneaded) wasabi.  I'm not implying that neri wasabi is superior to kona wasabi or that hon wasabi is superior to seiyou wasabi (horse radish).  I wouldn't mind at all having sashimi with kona wasabi because that is something I grew up with and kona wasabi, if properly mixed with lukewarm water (about 40C), is more pungent than hon wasabi.
通常、粉わさびはホースラディッシュからできています。チューブに入ったわさびは「練りわさび」と呼ばれます。練りわさびのほうが粉わさびより優れている、本わさびのほうが西洋わさび(ホースラディッシュ)より優れていると言う気はありません。私自身は刺身を粉わさびで食べることはまったく気にしません。小さい頃から食べなれているし、粉わさびのほうが、正しくぬるま湯(摂氏40度くらい)の水で溶くと、本わさびより辛みが強いからです。

3 comments:

Sissi said...

Thank you so much, Hiroyuki. I find your explanations very useful. I don't think I will ever find here tubes with hon wasabi only, but when I go to Japan next time, I know what to look for (especially since wasabi is written in hiragana... It will be easier to check).
I would love to taste the one with shredded wasabi stalks!
I miss a lot the wasabi root I brought from Japan and finished a long time ago.

Nancy Heller said...

We tried to grow wasabi once; it is very difficult and finicky, which explains why it is so expensive. Keep the great posts and photos coming!

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: I have just added some info about kona wasabi.

I've been slightly disappointed by the one with shredded wasabi stalks in it because it is less pungent and does not go very well with sashimi. It may be good in other uses.

Nancy Heller: Yes, I know. Because of the problem known as self poisoning, wasabi roots cannot grow big under normal conditions, and require clear running water to grow big.