Fresh wasabi rhizomes (colloquially known as fresh wasabi roots) are a rare and precious culinary commodity prized by high level sushi and fine dining chefs. Fresh grating is key with fresh wasabi rhizomes.  Below are instructions for how to get the best flavor out of fresh wasabi.  How to Use Fresh Wasabi: 1. Rinse the wasabi …

Frying potato chips at home is surprisingly easy, and fresh potato chips are much more delicious than store bought.  That said, you don’t have to just fry potatoes.  Lotus root chips have a slightly creamy, slightly sweet flavor, look gorgeous, and crisp up even better because of their holes.  Taro root also makes great chips, …

It is better than store bought.   And, simple to make.  But you have to really want to make it because it is hard on the eyes, nose and throat.  Really hard.  If your eyes can’t handle you chopping onions, don’t even think about making fresh horseradish.  I made the mistake of making horseradish inside — …

Wasabi Gremolata While gremolata is traditionally used to balance the richness of braised meats like osso bucco (traditional germolata recipe), this version has lighter, more complex flavors that are better suited to rare steaks, kurobuta pork, or seafood (particularly halibut or tuna).  Here it’s depicted on a grass fed steak. Ingredients: (per 3oz of protein) …

(Serves 4) These wasabi smashed potatoes are a more rustic version of mashed potatoes with a mild wasabi flavor, but you could easily add more wasabi root to turn up the volume. Ingredients: 1 ¼ lbs heirloom potatoes 1+ Tbsp heavy cream 2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter 2-3 Tbsp fresh wasabi rhizome Portuguese Sea Salt to …

Melody of GourmetFury.com is a food and travel writer by day, wine and cocktail ninja by night.  She is the fire behind Vancouver Food Tour, can be found on Twitter, and will hopefully be back here again some day. ———- Sweet Potato Dessert Dumplings with Fennel Pollen and Ginger I dedicate this dessert to my mom. Sweet potato holds …

Everyone likes their Bloody Marys a little different. This version combines the potent heat of ghost chili peppers with the nasal-clearing effect of fresh wasabi, the result is almost certain to shake you awake in the morning. Wasabi Bloody Mary Ingredients: (makes 1 tall glass) 4 oz Ghost Chile Vodka 6 oz tomato juice 6 dashes …

This recipe is certainly a sophisticated take on fish & chips, but if you want to really go all out, check out Lazaro’s Cuban Fish & Chips.  Lazaro will be guest posting here soon, but if you can’t wait to check out his consistently impressive creations, go to Lazaro Cooks Now! Perch and Sunchoke Fish & …

As delicious as mashed potatoes are, it’s sometimes nice to use a different vegetable that fills a similar role on the plate while bringing a different flavor and texture.  Jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes) are a great way to add even more exciting novelty to entrees involving exotic meats (like kangaroo meat).  This puree is smooth, sweet and …

This is a more conventional (but finely tuned) take on the classic bloody mary than our spicy wasabi bloody mary recipe or this Szechuan Button Bloody Mary, but it calls for freshly grated horseradish root rather than jarred (and significantly toned down) horseradish. Layers of aquavit, pepper, tomato juice, Worcestershire and horseradish are blended together into a …