The green and white stuff served with sushi is wasabi and shredded daikon radish.
The green paste is the wasabi in sushi and the white stuff is shredded daikon radish.
Wasabi is a spicy paste which is often green in color and is made from the Wasabia japonica or Eutrema japonicum also known as the Japanese horseradish plant.
Daikon radish is a crunchy white root vegetable which is common in Japanese food and is often thinly sliced and served as a garnish on sushi plates and can also add texture and sweet flavor to dishes.
In Japan, chefs sometimes refer to the thinly sliced daikon as tsuma.
Pickled ginger and soy sauce are other condiments that are commonly served with sushi.
Real wasabi is not very spicy although face wasabi is more spicy than real wasabi.
Real wasabi instead of being very spicy has a gentle spiciness to it that fades quickly.
Also real wasabi has a complex flavor that also has a fresh aroma, sweet undertones and a spicy kick to it that also fades quick and can be described as aromatic and fragrant.
Fake wasabi is just dyed horseradish as the majority of wasabi paste that is sold outside of Japan is made out of regular horseradish root and green food coloring is added.
Real wasabi is made from the wasabi plant known as the Wasabia Japonica and is much harder to grow and more expensive.
So most of the wasabi that is bought and sold outside of Japan is just dyed horseradish and not real wasabi.
Real wasabi has a more delicate flavor when compared to horseradish and is often only found in high quality sushi restaurants.
Most commercially produced wasabi paste is colored with food dye to mimic the green color of real wasabi.
The wasabi is made from the grated rhizome of the wasabi plant also known as the Wasabia Japonica.
The Wasabi paste that is sold in many restaurants and in U.S. grocery stores is imitation wasabi and not real wasabi.
Imitation wasabi is made of horseradish, green food dye and mustard powder.
Imitation wasabi mimics the flavor and the color of real wasabi and is commonly used in Western restaurants.
Real wasabi is a root vegetable in the mustard family of Brassicaceae.
Real wasabi also has a potent flavor and aroma and is finely grated into a paste and uses an oroshigane and is also difficult to grow because real wasabi requires specific growing conditions.
Real wasabi is also expensive and loses it's intensity within 15 to 20 minutes of it being grated.
The real wasabi is also made of Japanese Horseradish and is the plant known as the Eutrema Japonicum or Wasabia Japonica.
Fake wasabi is instead made of European horseradish and often with green food coloring added to it.