ironchef said:
And your point is....[/QUOTE
That real wasabi makes a great ingredient for a salad dressing. I used it last night on sea beans and cherry tomatoes as a garnish for grilled wild fresh Copper River Salmon.
BTW are you always this rude or is it just your way?
The art of cuisine is a pleasure to share
Mary-Anne
Thai Food Editor
Bellonline.com
Scroll up. You decided to quote my post regarding the mustard, contradict it, and take it off on a tangent that was no where near close to what this thread was asking for. If I seem rude to you, then don't use my quotes unless you can counter them. By quoting me, you are responding directly to me, and that's fine. I have no problems with that. I love a good debate, especially about if it's food and/or wine.
The classic dressing that the French make is a comination of vinegar, salad oil and disjon. It is fabulous and never over powering. Sometimes I use part olive oil, also sometimes white balsamic vingar or tarragon champagne vinegar. The quality of the mustard is what makes it so good!
Mary-Anne
Quote:
Originally Posted by ironchef
Mustard would work to some degree, but then you would taste mainly mustard as the predominant flavor since you'd have to add so much of it to get a significant amount of heat. Wasabi or Colman's mustard would do the job, but then you'd have to be looking for a certain type of flavor in your dressing to use those.
Please point out where I said that mustard would overpower a BASIC vinaigrette? This thread was regarding SPICY DRESSINGS, and so my post was directed accordingly. I KNOW that using mustard as an emulsifier should not overpower a dressing if used proportionately. However if you were to use mustard as the primary source of heat, you would need to be looking for a specific flavor, which is what I originally stated. You can add cayenne to a basic tomato sauce, beurre blanc, hollandaise, bechamel, etc. to make it spicy without impacting the base flavor. You add enough mustard to make it spicy and you will significantly change the flavor.
Real wasabi does not come in a powdered form. Wasabi powder is available in most grocery stores and is also used in most sushi restaurants in the U.S. The powder is not real Wasabi at all. The primary ingredient is horseradish powder, which has a hot flavor that has been passed off as wasabi. It's convenient and inexpensive but tastes nothing like real Wasabi You are referring to this horseradish died green. Real wasabi is a root grown in running water. It can also be purchased in a plastic cone shaped container in the frozen section of your Japanese Market. The flavour and heat is unmistakable.
Fresh wasabi root freshly grated is quite a treat.
Mary-Anne
Quote:
Originally Posted by ironchef
Thank you for re-posting my wasabi suggestion.
However, as I noted, wasabi will NOT give you the spicyness you're looking for if your goal is to obtain the type of heat found in different types of peppers. Wasabi goes straight to the back of the throat and your nose so depending on the type of flavor he wants, wasabi may or may not be a great idea. Also, if he were to purchase fresh Japanese horseradish, he would need to use it all within a certain time frame because of it's perishability. Also, it is harder to use in terms of controlling the heat and flavor for those not used to working with it. Wasabi in paste or powdered form would be much better to use, especially for those who are only going to be using small amounts of it, and for those who are unfamiliar with using the ingedient in different recipes.
Again, you did not answer or refute any of my points which are:
- If a person is looking for a heat that is along the lines of cayenne/habanero, wasabi will NOT fit that bill.
- Many people have no experience with and/or do not have fresh wasabi available to them. The version of wasabi that is very readily available is cheaper, has a longer shelf life, and is more practical to use if you only need a small quantity and if you are not familiar with using it.
I love wasabi too but if someone is looking to add a spicy flavor to their food, then I would suggest togarashi shichimi before I would wasabi. Like you said, fresh wasabi has it's own unique flavor and in that I totally agree with you. But you also need to be looking for a specific type of flavor and recipe, and also be able to have the ingredient to be readily available to you as well. You can add cayenne pepper to practically anything and call it a "Spicy ________". You cannot however, add fresh or powdered wasabi to something and expect it to be that universal. I never said in any of my posts that using wasabi, fresh or otherwise, was wrong. I said that in using it, one would need to be looking for a specific type of flavor and heat and if you're not familiar with using it, than one should excercise caution when adding it to a recipe
