Attention Fresh Wasabi Fanciers

Was at Mitsuwa this weekend (Sat) and they had six or seven fresh roots, albeit @ 59.99/lb. Most ~ $11.00 a piece. All whole, green and firm. The one I picked was very, very good with hamachi, ika and maguro I bought...Asked produce guy if they get it on a regular basis, but with my English and limited Japanese and his Spanish and limited Japanese I only got the equivalent of a "shoulder shrug".

The Dude abides,

MC

I've seen it there at least once or twice when I was there, so they probably get it regularly.

At that price, though, I'm not buying without a specific meal to make: the stuff does not keep well -- I'd had some from some place in Oregon, I'd had a gift cert from a friend, and it lost its flavor quickly.

mchodera wrote:Was at Mitsuwa this weekend (Sat) and they had six or seven fresh roots,

MC,

Thanks for posting the info, I'll be paying Mitsuwa a visit this week.

See Ed, I told you Mitsuwa has fresh wasabi.

Enjoy,
Gary

I was also there saturday and noticed that Matsutake Mushrooms were also on sale for 69.99/lb. I understand that this is the beginning of the season for these delicacies.

So, I just got a little piece of fresh wasabi at Mistsuwa. I got some tuna sashimi and I have soy sauce and ginger. I figure we'll grate the wasabi and use it the way you normally use the premade stuff. Is that right?

I'll be posting this question to Chowhound too, if I can figure out which board it belongs on.

bibi rose wrote:So, I just got a little piece of fresh wasabi at Mistsuwa. I got some tuna sashimi and I have soy sauce and ginger. I figure we'll grate the wasabi and use it the way you normally use the premade stuff. Is that right?

I'll be posting this question to Chowhound too, if I can figure out which board it belongs on.

Pretty much. Grate it like you would ginger or horseradish and use it normally.

As a side note, Coast Sushi on Damen (a block north of Armitage) has fresh wasabi available pretty much all the time. It's $1.75 for a large pile of fresh-grated wasabi. 1 order is enough for probably 3 or 4 people, maybe more.

Coast itself is fine, but not great. The prices are reasonable, though, and it's BYO (no corkage if $15+ per person, $5 per person otherwise). They're known more for the specialty maki than anything else.

-ed

Thanks, gleam.

We really enjoyed the grated wasabi with our sashimi tonight, and I will definitely get it again. The only problem was that the piece I bought (for $7) was much more than you need for two servings of sashimi. I suppose we could just have sashimi again, but I wonder what else I could do with it. (I'm not a fan of wasabi mayo, or I would make some of that.)

Anyway, very good, and by no means what I would consider out of proportion expense if you are garnishing a good quality of sushi or sashimi.

I've ordered delivery from Coast a couple of times, which is convenient, not bad except for one thing I noticed-- their soy sauce or dipping sauce was weirdly sweet. I don't use it now, I pour my own.

bibi rose wrote:...but I wonder what else I could do with it. (I'm not a fan of wasabi mayo, or I would make some of that.)

Add it to your favorite ranch or similar creamy salad dressing. Makes for a nice bite.

Use with sour cream in mashed potatoes.

I'd say use it wherever you'd use horseradish, but that's not too many places either. Gefilte fish? Roast beef?

Joel, thank you for the suggestions. I will make wasabi mashed potatoes some time.

Last night, dinner ended up being grilled fish, so I just grated the rest of the miso into some soy-sesame dipping sauce and it was pretty good. And then I dropped the end into some vodka to make an infusion!

I will definitely be buying fresh wasabi in the future. I paid $7 and got easily enough for 4 large servings. The taste difference is really appreciable.

FYI... Just received the Mitsuwa weekend sale flyer. Fresh wasabi is on sale for $49.99/lb. Also looks like a new "store" is open in the building... Looks like a cookie/bakery place from Kobe...

PS... The cookie place is opening this weekend (5/5)

CrazyC wrote:FYI... Just received the Mitsuwa weekend sale flyer. Fresh wasabi is on sale for $49.99/lb. Also looks like a new "store" is open in the building... Looks like a cookie/bakery place from Kobe...

C,

I was at Mitsuwa last Thursday, didn't notice a new bakery, must have opened over the weekend. Thanks for the heads-up on the wasabi.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sorry... it is opening this weekend... forgot to mention that...

with this new "store" opening, i also saw sushi-to-go specials for $5. 7-8 pieces of salmon/ebi/masago/saba/tuna, etc. no wasabi, no ginger, no nothin'. $5. good deal IMO.

Pocky is also onsale, $2 for $5. i bought 2 boxes Saturday nite, by Sunday noon, they were all gone. every single stick, i had exactly: ZERO. these things are like.. panty droppers...

Help!

I've been looking all over for some fresh wasabi. Has anyone got any idea where I can get some. I live in Joliet but don't mind driving a bit. I also don't mind ordering online, from a reputable dealer. But all the online dealers required at least a 1/2lb minimum. That's alot of fresh wasabi and I just can't use that much.



thanks for your help
dan

If you need the root itself, Mitsuwa usually has it.

For mail-order, I've been very happy with Pacific Farms (http://www.freshwasabi.com/). $20 for six tubes of grated wasabi, it freezes well -- not the same as grating the fresh root, but an excellent substitute and rather inexpensive.

Thanks for the advice and link Dom. I'll make the drive up to Mitsuwa, is there anywhere I should eat at nearby?

Thanks Cathy. I'm not sure how I missed this post when I searched.


dan

gonefishin wrote:Thanks for the advice and link Dom. I'll make the drive up to Mitsuwa, is there anywhere I should eat at nearby?

At Santouka Ramen, right inside the store.

Just to expand a bit on what's been said already, last time I looked at Mitsuwa (last year), whole wasabi rhizomes were $100 per pound. A bit steep perhaps but a $10 chunk will produce quite a lot of grated wasabi.



By the way, those reddish buds next to the wasabi are myoga, a type of wild ginger. I didn't know what to do with them at the time but after reading this, I can't wait to try some.

I've also ordered the tubes of wasabi paste from Pacific Farms and was pretty happy. It's definitely not the same as fresh but it's infinitely better than any "wasabi" powder you'll find. Note that if you order the large tubes you get 3.5 times more for only $8 extra. Find a friend who likes wasabi!