Karashi (Japanese mustard)

Karashi (moutarde japonaise)

What it is

Karashi is brown mustard seed ground fine and nothing else — no vinegar, no wine, no salt — so it makes its own heat only once water lets the enzyme meet its precursor. Kumamoto packs it into the holes of a lotus root and fries the slice, a dish the story goes was devised to feed an ailing lord.

In the kitchen

Mix the powder with water at body temperature, never hot, and let it stand ten minutes — boiling water kills the enzyme and leaves bitterness with no heat. It fades within half an hour, so mix it as you serve.

Goes with

Pork Lotus root Soy sauce Miso Egg Shrimp Napa cabbage

Same species

Baek-kimchi Broccoli Brussels sprout Cabbage Cauliflower Cavolo nero

Also used with

Nanohana (rapeseed blossom) Udo Urui Natto

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