What is wasabi? Wasabi is commonly known as the spicy green paste served as a spice in all forms of sushi. But you can use wasabi to spice up every recipe, such as these wasabi beef fajitas.
Wasabi is made from the rhizome, a plant’s stem that underground grows where you would hope to see a root of the wasabi japonica plant. Real wasabi tastes green and bright with a touch of fastly fading up. It is aromatic yet tasty enough to let the flavour of raw fish shine.
What is horseradish?
Horseradish is an aromatic root vegetable in the family of mustard. Horseradish is planted in early spring or late fall and blooms in cold environments. Horseradish is often made into a prepackaged sauce by the same name, used to season everything from fish to burgers. It is the same flavour as wasabi, used as a common sushi garnish. Horseradish sticks out from other vegetables due to its strong, biting flavour. While you won’t get your whole day’s vegetable intake from consuming horseradish alone, it will add elegance to any dish you make with it.
What are their nutritional Value?
Wasabi is often considered a superfood. Rich in protein, it also offers plenty of dietary fibre, vital to keeping your heart and gut health. Its also high in vitamins and minerals, such as iron, magnesium, calcium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Loading an antioxidant punch, it also has zero cholesterol. Naturally, antibacterial horseradish is equally best for you and provides many benefits.
Similarities between Wasabi root and horseradish root
Wasabi is similar in many ways to often horseradish. Wasabi is sometimes even known as Japanese horseradish. And in Japan, horseradish is known as western wasabi or seiyo wasabi. Wasabi and horseradish are both members of the Brassicaceae family of plants, which also added the similarly spicy mustard and radish varieties. Both are commonly consumed by grating and grinding the rhizomes and their stems which contain a spicy taste that tickles the nose contrary to the tongue as chillies do.
How does wasabi differ from horseradish?
The most apparent difference between these two condiments is the appearance of everyone. When prepared, wasabi has a pale green colour; horseradish can range from beige to white. The next main difference is tricky; different parts of every plant are eaten. While both are generally referred to as a root, wasabi is a rhizome.
As for horseradish, the root is the part of the plant used to prepare the condiment. Fresh wasabi has an extremely nuanced flavour and a milder heat that does not stay for as long as the heat from the horseradish. These two plants have geographically frantic beginnings in that wasabi comes from a Japanese plant while horseradish has its origins in Western Asia and Europe.
Wasabi’s traditionally used largely confined to Japanese cuisine, and the use of horseradish is mainly in European foods. Wasabi is more difficult to cultivate than horseradish, which means that it is difficult to find and more expensive in those sites where it is available. Fresh wasabi rhizome is, in fact, pretty rare outside of japan; horseradish can be found in many European and American grocery stores.
When should you use wasabi and horseradish?
Although they are exact to being best interchangeable in terms of flavour, the perfect use for each is their respective traditional applications. Fresh wasabi is perfectly used in sushi, sashimi and other traditional Japanese dishes. It can use for western Japanese-style dishes to supply a note of authenticity. Horseradish is the perfect use for applications like the cream sauce for British roast beef, where it will offer both the flavour and the classic appearance.
Can you use wasabi in place of horseradish?
Wasabi and horseradish are commonly suggested as substitutes for each other due to their similar flavour profiles. Believe the fact that wasabi products sold in more grocery stores outside of japan consist mostly of horseradish with tiny mustard and some green food colouring. This makes prepackaged wasabi paste practically identical in flavour to prepared horseradish.
The difference is a little more apparent in fresh horseradish vs fresh wasabi, but the two are still the same enough that each will work as passable substitutes for the other. Make sure that passable does not mean perfect. Sushi lovers will be able to detect the difference easily. The appearance may be the key hindrance when using wasabi in place of horseradish.
While green food colouring can be added to horseradish to make it the same as wasabi, the green colour of wasabi cannot be eliminated to make it look more like horseradish. In applications where a traditional appearance is essential, wasabi will not make a good replacement for horseradish.
Health benefits (Wasabi Vs Horseradish)
Cardiovascular system
Horseradish may regulate blood pressure. Moreover, horseradish reduces the risk of getting a heart attack, because horseradish increases the elastic part of the heart’s blood vessels. Wasabi has a lowering cholesterol activity as well.
The digestive system
Horseradish has a laxative effect. On the other side, wasabi improved the gut microbiome. Wasabi has been revealed to reduce inflammatory bowel disease.
Respiratory system
Horseradish may be a possible alternative to pharmaceutical drugs in treating respiratory issues. Wasabi can stimulate the sinuses. This is best for when you have a stuffy nose.
Immune system
6-MSITC, a compound found in wasabi, has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects. ITCS extracted from horseradish had anti-fungal effects against a few dermal fungi. ITCS may be possibly used to treat some fungal infections.
Food poisoning
Wasabi which is commonly eaten side by side with sashimi or sushi is believed to provide against food poisoning that could result from consuming raw fish (See the side effect of eating wasabi). Wasabi has been revealed to have bactericidal against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which are bacteria often involved in food poisoning.
Cancer
6-MSITC has an anti-cancer effect in wasabi and maybe a potential compound for controlling cancerous cells. Wasabi has an interdict effect against the genotoxicity of acrylamide. According to studies, horseradish contains a compound called sinigrin that causes the death of prostate cancer cells.
