Wasabi

Traditionally, wasabi was used to make the fish taste better and to fight bacteria from raw fish. Today, wasabi is still used for this reason. Its flavor is designed to bring out the taste of the raw fish, not cover it. Too much wasabi, however, may overpower the fish taste.

It is a seasoning of choice in many Japanese sauces and dressings, much like soy sauce and pickled ginger. Chances are that the first time you came across wasabi, you were very generous with it and learned your lesson too late–with a few tears shed in the process. The spice can be a lot for people to handle, but it’s great once you’re used to it. Here we’ll teach you exactly what wasabi is and how to utilize it in your sushi endeavors.