My daughter, who is taking Japanese in high school, just asked me an interesting question. I failed miserably in answering it. (I know! I was as shocked as you are!) I, therefore, put it to you:

What was the original purpose of wasabi?

 

I have no idea, but i would like to know the answer.

 

It is a horseradish powder...We in our restaurant use it for potatoes and you can also add water to it and make a paste for dipping

 

something about making the raw fish more healthy... sort of.
other than getting rid of that fishy smell (yum) and taste (yuck)
it's believed to get rid of "poison" sort of thing in raw fish.

or... may be i'm wrong. haha.

 

I dunno but have you ever had the *real* stuff? It's awesome and completely different than the powder crap.

 

The medicinal values of chemicals extracted from Wasabi were first documented in the Japanese medicinal encyclopedia during the 10th century (Hodges, 1974). Biocidally active chemicals in Wasabi are said to act as an antidote to food poisoning, one factor that might have led to the use of Wasabi with raw fish dishes in Japan.


From : http://www.freshwasabi.com/wasabi_technical.html

 

I suppose no different to chillis

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by naishou
[B]The medicinal values of chemicals extracted from Wasabi were first documented in the Japanese medicinal encyclopedia during the 10th century (Hodges, 1974). Biocidally active chemicals in Wasabi are said to act as an antidote to food poisoning, one factor that might have led to the use of Wasabi with raw fish dishes in Japan.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by naishou
[B]The medicinal values of chemicals extracted from Wasabi were first documented in the Japanese medicinal encyclopedia during the 10th century (Hodges, 1974). Biocidally active chemicals in Wasabi are said to act as an antidote to food poisoning, one factor that might have led to the use of Wasabi with raw fish dishes in Japan.

 

So, was that the right answer or not???