The Free Range Gourmet Free range thoughts on the finest ingredients, cuisine, and fine dining in Hawaii.
Free 

Range Gourmet

  Local Hawaii ingredients used with an international flair


        ^BNanette^K^H (Gone but not forgotten) 1946-2020


                   Email: nanette@freerangegourmet.com

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

 

Proper grater essential to enjoyment of real wasabi


Having a source of real wasabi at the KCC Saturday Farmers Market (see previous post) is a pleasure, but it also presents a new challenge. Wasabi cannot be grated with a standard grater. Even the finest Microplane won't do the job.

What is really needed, and there is no perfect substitute, is a "same-gawa" (sharkskin) grater. The most common type has the shape of a small wooden paddle faced with genuine shark skin.

Since real wasabi is a rarity in the States, the sharkskin grater is also hard to find. Google will reveal several sources, of course. We don't have our genuine sharkskin grater yet, so we're making do with a stainless-steel model purchased at Shirokiya. This article describes the proper grating technique--a circular, kneading motion on the flat sharkskin surface. The article has information on wasabi and its history which you may enjoy also.

Don't underestimate the importance of proper technique. The wasabi is a bit of an investment, so you might as well enjoy it thoroughly. Prepared using a standard grater, it doesn't yield even a fraction of its full pungency or flavor.

So if you've bought your wasabi root, make a trip to Shirokiya to pick up the little grater pictured. Try the circular motion described in the article. If you like the results, consider acquiring your own sharkskin paddle.

Once you taste real wasabi properly prepared, there's no going back to the imitation green-dyed horseradish or mustard.



  

Follow Free Range Nan on Twitter

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Email: nanette@freerangegourmet.com
Twitter: @freerangenan


Search this site


Do you want to receive an email whenever this page changes?



Powered by FeedBlitz



RSS News Feed


Receive Free Range Gourmet news via our news feed

How do you read news feeds? Click here for some information.





Market News

Official web pages and Tip Sheets for Saturday morning KCC Farmers' Market, Wednesday night Honolulu Market, Sunday morning Mililani Market, and Thursday Night Kailua Market


Resources

Slow Food

You've read about the world-wide slow food movement. Hawaii has an active Slow Food group. Learn about or join Slow Food USA at the Slow Food USA website.

Where we're Eating

Town
Olive Tree Cafe



More Links




Archive




Image: 

powered by Blogger


[Valid RSS]


 
 

   Contact the webmaster: webmaster@freerangegourmet.com