sushi

The wasabi root.

To cleanse the palate between bites.

Saki.

nb

Sparkling wines can work pretty well with sushi. I like sushi with Marlborough sauvignon. Sake is probably more traditional, but I know little about it, except that sake is not really wine -- more related to beer. Come to think of it, beer goes great with sushi.

Andy

The Gari ginger is for refreshing one's mouth. It removes the taste of stuff you ate before, then makes you ready for other stuff. It's like eatable ginger ale.

It's horseradish. Also called daikon radish.

It is also a digestive and settles the stomach.

Sake, I do believe. I prefer beer with sushi. The two are a perfect match. A nice dry beer, like a high adjunct Japanese beer is the best.

Paul

In the US, the stork brings it. In the UK it's found under a cabbage leaf.

Fred.

Honeyyyyy, when are we going to Florrridaaaa?

Wasabi is a small root grown in very cool wet environments. Until recently, it was only grown in Japan and Korea, but about 10-15 years ago a northern California farmer was able to commercially grow wasabi in the US.

Ginger is used for four purposes; to cleanse the pallet between different flavors of sushi, as a vegetable eaten along with sushi, as a flavoring in cooking, and.... get ready for this... as a great way to prevent motion sickness!! (sea sickness, car sickness, air, etc.,) Even ginger snaps work, as does ginger ale, and crystallized ginger candy. Many people undergoing chemotherapy are now using ginger to prevent the associated nausea!

While sake is the traditional wine, many people prefer a dark beer. The sake can be drunk warm or cold depending upon the season. The beer is best served cold.

Steve Kramer "PhotoEnvisions" Photography Chiang Mai, Thailand

I have found that beer works very well with sushi, as does saki. No surprise there. However, I also found a zinfandel that was so spicy as to be (IMHO) borderline defective, worked extremely well and stood up to the wasabi. IIRC it was the 1997 Lolonis Zinfandel - great with Maguro (sushi tuna), hot Italian sausage, and other very spicy foods, but overpowers anything else.

Jose

Paul wrote on Sun, 22 Jul 2007 07:22:45 GMT:

??>> The wasabi root.

PMC> It's horseradish. Also called daikon radish.

??>>> What is the ginger for? ??>>

??>> To cleanse the palate between bites.

PMC> It is also a digestive and settles the stomach.

??>>> What are recommended wines with sushi?

??>> Saki.

PMC> Sake, I do believe. I prefer beer with sushi. The two PMC> are a perfect match. A nice dry beer, like a high adjunct PMC> Japanese beer is the best.

First let me say that I like beer with sushi. Practically any non-sweet beer will do but my preference is for Japanese beers, particularly the "dry" ones. I believe Japanese do drink beer with sushi but I think tea is more usual or even water. I prefer to drink *cold* sake before eating and, again, I believe this is the Japanese custom.

James Silverton Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Japanese horseradish.

It's a palate cleanser.

It's better with beer or sake, IMO.

I agree about beer & sushi. Yes, Sake is more of a beer than a wine in that it's fermented from grains rather than grapes. It's stronger than a typical beer and it's not seasoned w/ hops.

Actually, most "wasabi" you get in sushi bars is really just horseradish and green food coloring. Real wasabi is very expensive. Some high-class sushi bars have it, but you have to ask for it, and be prepared to pay a significant amount of extra money, perhaps as much as $25US.

Three points:

1. It's spelled "sake," with an "e" at the end.

1. Because it's made from rice (a grain), not fruit, sake is actually an uncarbonated *beer*, not a wine at all.

2. Traditionally, sake is drunk with sashimi, but never with sushi. The Japanese feel that sake with sushi is rice with rice, and don't go together.

I normally drink either tea or beer with sushi (both are traditional), but I've occasionally had it with wine. I think a crisp white wine, like a sauvignon blanc, works.

But untraditional as it may be, I don't mind sake with sushi either.

My favorite is shots of ice cold vodka.

-bwg

Ken wrote on Sun, 22 Jul 2007 10:12:41 -0700:

??>> On 2007-07-22, RichD wrote: ??>>> Where does wasabi come from? ??>>

??>> The wasabi root.

KB> Actually, most "wasabi" you get in sushi bars is really KB> just horseradish and green food coloring. Real wasabi is KB> very expensive. Some high-class sushi bars have it, but you KB> have to ask for it, and be prepared to pay a significant KB> amount of extra money, perhaps as much as $25US.

My normal reference for all "spices" is Gernot Katter. His article on wasabi is

It is a bit of a stretch to call wasabi a spice but anyway! One or two interesting things are that it *is* diffficult to grow (even if virgins in kimonos are not essential) and consequently the real thing is expensive. Nothing disagrees with what you say but the page makes interesting reading.

James Silverton Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Real wasabi is a root, also known as Japanese horseradish. Almost all sushi bars, however, serve imitation wasabi, made from regular horseradish. If you can find real wasabi, even powdered, you should try it at least once.

The ginger is served to cleanse the palate between different varieties of sushi.

The wine, well, I can't help you there...I don't drink wine :) Alot of people drink saki with sushi, I myself drink tea, either green or oolong.

kimberly

Yes, it is interesting, thanks.

If you ever eat too much and get that awful bloat feeling and you wish you could just purge it all, squeeze some ginger into a glass, a little is all you need, then add some cold club soda. It really helps settle the stomach quickly.

Paul

Sushi Chefs' noses.

Cleaning up after you're done.

"MAaaaaaaAAAh! I wanted my own California Roll!"

and

"But it's not COOOKED!"

--Blair