Used with Fusion Cuisine
Fresh wasabi is traditionally ground with shark skin and served with noodles and sushi—more wasabi with oily fish and less with leaner fish. In recent years, however, chefs experimenting with fusion cuisine are finding new uses for it, for example, with steak, with ice cream, and even for brewing beer. The future of fresh wasabi use in fusion cuisine is truly exciting.
Fresh wasabi is a unique produce that is widely used in high-end Japanese cuisine, fusion cuisine, and Nordic cuisine. It has a fruity, vegetal fragrance and a spiciness that enhances flavor. The taste of fresh wasabi does not hit with the same intensity as western wasabi does, rather it’s bouquet and sweetness stimulate the palate with a balanced heat that is experienced more in the sinuses than on the tongue.
Not the Green Stuff
It must be noted that fresh Nordic Wasabi has little in common with the green stuff that most people in Europe and the USA know as wasabi. The green stuff is, in fact, a combination of mustard, horseradish, and food coloring—dubbed by the Japanese as seiyō or western wasabi. You haven’t tasted wasabi until you’ve had it fresh.
Nordic Wasabi is the first product by the Icelandic startup Jurt Hydroponics.
The Wasabi Japonica plant has been considered to be one of the most difficult plants to grow. But we at Jurt Hydroponics have cracked the code.
Our greenhouses are among the most technologically advanced in Europe. Advanced computer systems control heat, brightness, humidity, and are in charge of watering our plants with specific nutrients, with times and quantities based on environmental data.
Jurt agrees with the Nordic Food Manifesto—where the emphasis is on purity, freshness, and simplicity—and has labored over every step of the growing process to ensure that the process meets sustainable industry standards from start to finish.
To bring out the inherent bouquet and sweetness, fresh wasabi needs to be ground into a creamy paste.
• Begin by rinsing the stem under cold running water.
• Then trim the leafstalks from the top. The outside layer should be trimmed with a sharp knife as far up as the stem is to be used. This is not essential but makes a cleaner paste.
• Gently push the stem down on the grater and grate in a circular motion to make the wasabi paste. Do not apply force.
• Use the bamboo brush to remove the wasabi from the grater.
• Gather the paste into a ball and let rest for a few minutes before serving. The intense heat will begin to diminish after 15-20 minutes.