It is sad that most sushi lovers will never have real wasabi. I had assumed that I had sampled real wasabi when I spent several days eating sushi morning noon and night in Actual Japan. But even then, there is a good chance I never tasted the stuff.
The reason that most "wasabi" is fake, and the agronomy and chemistry of wasabi, turn out to be really interesting.
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Must admit that I get a sort of subliminal pleasure from eating with chopsticks. I had the good fortune to visit Bali in 1982, just before they built the 5-star hotels and it became overrun by mainstream tourism. And none of the Chinese restaurants there had utensils. So out of necessity I learned how to cope with chopsticks.
Once mastered, it really is the most pleasurable way to consume oriental food. But now you tell me that the wonderful green-on-steroids wasabi I have been consuming with my sushi for the past 30+ years is... fake. I'm gutted, I tell you :-(
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Interesting clip and article. Cheers.