ABOUT THE WASABI

If you've never been to a Japanese restaurant, you need to experience it at least once.
Many years ago I went to a Japanese restaurant in California. You were seated with your party just like any other restaurant, but the restaurant in Louisiana was very different, there you are not seated until they have a certain number of people and you sit in a group of about thirteen other people. The first time we went there I thought I was not going to like being seated with a group of people that I didn't know. I came here to have dinner with my daughter, not a bunch of people that I didn't know, but it turn out to be a lot of fun so this trip we went back.

At this restaurant, each group of people has their own special Chef and he puts on quite a show as he prepares all of the food on a huge grill with people sitting all around three sides of it.
I ordered some Avocado Appetizers, the avocado is just a very small piece in the center wrapped with seaweed then tightly pressed rice around it, it is open so that you can see each layer. While I was eating it I noticed a small piece of what I thought was my avocado and I thought it had fallen out of the wrap so I scooped it up and put it in my mouth. It looked just like a piece of avocado, same color exactly. Little did I know that it was the dreaded Wasabi. Oh my God, don't make the same mistake that I did. Well what preceded to happen turned out to be quite hilarious, but when I decided to write this post I didn't know that my daughter had made a comment on my previous post where I mentioned the restaurant, AH LAUGHTER, IT'S A GOOD THING ! . She described it pretty well so I'm just going to post her comment , it's funnier then anything that I would have written.

TheBlondeBrunette said...
you guys should of seen her when she ate the wasabi.......hehehe haaahahaha it was so funny at first it scared the crap out of me.. I wasn't sure what was going on and she never ever tells me what exactly is bothering her it is always a guessing game..{when she has a pain she calls me for help and then won't tell me a thing when I get to her how on earth am I suppose to know how to treat her symptoms or illness if I don't know what the heck is going on}
any way her eyes were bugging out of her head and they were all watery gasping for air I thought at first she has something stuck in her throat she is still breathing this is good able to still talk this is good able to cough this is all good it is okay then she starts like gasping hyper ventilating......oh sh*t like WTF ....." I'm gonna I'm gonna she repeats" ...... I am looking at her intently your gonna what?......." I'm gonna pass out something took my breath away I'm gonna pass out" again she said franticly....ok this is a good thing when someone is hyperventilating if they would just go ahead and give in and pass out it will reset there body and they are ok.......but noooo does she no she gets over her fits and gets grips at me for not being more concerned ......lol I couldn't help it I was laughing when I found out what she put in her mouth all of us at the table where and the cook it was funny then she told me you would of done the same thing .......no I wouldn't I don't know about you guys but I have to smell my food before I eat it... and if it doesn't smell like it should It don't go in my mouth...lol......then I have to hear the lecture of I see how you are your going to let me die before you do anything....lol tell me to pass out.......hehehehe you people should of been there the whole thing was hilarious......

What she didn't mention was when I gained my composer I wanted to know why the EMT with me wasn't trying to save me, her reply was , you were alright, you were still breathing. My reply back to her was, you dummy when you stop breathing it's to late. We all laughed and laughed. I'm sure the people seated with us will never forget meeting us.

I couldn't tell you if the Wasabi was hot or not, in fact I exited it into the napkin immediately, something about it-- a sent, a flavor went down my throat and up my sinuses to such and extent that I could not catch my breath.

My curiosity was heightened. I needed to know more about the wasabi, so I went in search and this is what I found out.

Wasabi is a plant, an ugly little green plant that packs a wallop.



Chemistry:
Sinigrin (C10H16KNO9S2), a glucoside found in the seeds of black mustard and included in the rhizome of wasabi does not taste so much in itself even by nibbling, but after the destruction of cells by means of grating, it reacts with internal enzyme myrosinase and is hydrolyzed to produce volatile and pungent allyl mustard oils, giving the main characteristics of wasabi

Ah so this is the little culprit that almost did me in.
Wasabi should definetly come with a warning lable !!