Wasabi Part I

Let me preface this with the following statement: Growing wasabi is hard. Very very hard. Allow me this as well; I still haven't figured out the best means to grow it, and I'm still learning. With that out of the way, let me get into what this post will be about. This will be a brief overview of what wasabi is and some basics of how it grows.

Wasabia japonica is a member of the cabbage family. It's most frequently associated with sushi and sashimi. That being said, you usually don't have it when you go to a Japanese restaurant. What you're eating is most likely a mixture of horseradish, mustard, and some green food dye. Now, that's not necessarily bad, I like horseradish and mustard, but there's nothing quite like the real thing (this is part of the reason I advocate real vanilla over vanillin). But in this case real wasabi has a substantially different flavor. I've only ever had it once, but it was spread very thin on some grilled salmon. What I could pick up had a really wonderful flavor, hot, but not as hot as horseradish.

But that brings us to another discussion, “Why don't Japanese restaurants have real wasabi?”, or, “Why haven't you tried more than a thin spread?”. Well, it really boils down to this: real wasabi is $125.00 per pound. It is the second most expensive spice per pound in the world, after saffron (Crocus sativus, $500-$1,500/lb) and ahead of vanilla (Vanilla spp., $70/lb). Not only is it prohibitively expensive, but, when prepared, only has an 18 minute window where it has any flavor. And finally, even if you can afford it, it's pretty hard to find in the United States.

In Japan, wasabi is generally grown in paddies (down-paddy of rice). It prefers cool fresh water, and is said to have the best flavor if grown in these conditions. That being said, wasabi can grow well in regular soil as well. You want to have it grow in a very compost heavy bed, with some sand. You really want to make sure it drains well. Another equally important point is that you need to know about growing wasabi is light requirements. This is a shade loving plant. Direct sunlight for more than 3 to 4 hours a day will kill wasabi, or, if you're lucky, severely stunt it's growth. It's native to shaded creek beds in Japan, and even domesticated wasabi requires similar growing conditions to it's ancestor.

“That sounds great, but is there any way I can try it or even grow it?”, In short, yes! There are people that do sell seeds (I recommend going to Google), but there aren't many, and there aren't many varieties to choose from either. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but there are at least 18 varieties of wasabi that I know about. Some of the more interesting varieties include Sabumi and Simane Zairai, which have purple and brown flesh, respectively (this is opposed to the regular, familiar green wasabi). There are alternatives to growing it by seed, though there are differing levels of success that you might have with these methods. Perhaps one of the most successful is to propagate via rhizome offshoots. This might even have a better success rate than seeds, however you need to get a “parent” plant first. If you do have a parent, it will bud off smaller rhizomes that you can separate and replant. Tissue culture is another way that you can propagate wasabi, however you need some specialized equipment for that. You're probably better off with seed or offshoots.

Wasabi does have predators, as well as diseases that afflict it. My main personal attempt ran into a major snag due to a massive fungal infection. But not all is lost, as I'll talk about in Wasabi part II next week, I'll also talk about the common varieties, as well as hopefully having some links for seed purchase and local places you can buy wasabi roots.

Below is a link to an amazing Washington State University publication that has helped me write this article, as well as taught me much about what I know concerning wasabi. It has much more information that what I have talked about here and if you're very serious about trying to grow it, I cannot more highly recommend giving it a read:

cru.cahe.wsu.edu/cepublications/pnw0605/pnw0605.pdf

Also, as another plug for Jeanette Sedell's photography, she has new pictures up from the trip to Sarracenia Northwest, go check them out:  
http://jeanettesedell.deviantart.com/