Wasabia japonica is a perennial brassica, native to the Japanese mountains. Semi-aquatic, wasabi grows in the wild alongside streams with large trees overhead that provide a canopy of shade. Wasabi will also grow very well in soil in the garden in a damp shady spot. Wasabi will also grow into a large houseplant in a pot and is a stunning plant that can be enjoyed in full - flowers, leaves, steams and, once mature, the prized rhizome.

Wasabi plants are available from our site at most times of year and further information is available HERE. They are beautiful looking and great for the garden as will be happiest in a shady corner of your garden where other plants wouldn't like it so much. Wasabi will grow in soil or a pot and the soil should be kept moist, for more information on care at home please see our WASABI GROWING GUIDE.

Wasabi should be planted in free-draining, fertile soil. In a pot use standard compost with added perlite or bark and gravel in the base of the pot. Guard from snails and slugs and provide shade over the summer. For more information on how to care for your wasabi plant, please see our WASABI GROWING GUIDE

Wasabi is 100% edible, so the leaves, leaf stems and flowers can all be enjoyed while you wait 18 months for the rhizome to develop at the base of the plant. Once rhizomes are present you can choose to pull the whole plant and grate your own fresh wasabi. There will be several small offshoots / plant-lets at the base of the harvested plant, these can be separated and re-planted to continue your fresh wasabi growing.

Wasabi plants are available online from The Wasabi Company website most of the year and make a great addition to your garden, house or a beautiful gift. You can find them here on our website. If they are not in season, then simply click Notify Me and fill in your email address: we will let you know as soon as they are available again.

Yuzu fruit, also known in Japan as "the queen of citrus" is a citrus fruit widely used in Asian cuisine. It originated and grows wild in central China and Tibet. It was introduced to Japan and Korea during the Tang Dynasty.Yuzu delivers the famously aromatic and complex blend of citrus with notes of mandarin, grapefruit and lemon. The most popular Japanese citrus is used to flavour ponzu and soy sauce the wonderfully tart yuzu zest and juice are also used in small amounts in dressings, soups and marinades with all types of fish. Yuzu also combines spectacularly well with creme based desserts and sorbet, makes wonderful jam, candied or chocolate peel and adds a fantastic burst of powerful citrus to cocktails and sparkling water.

There are many ingredients and products that benefit from yuzu's supreme citrus flavour and we've compiled a whole range of them for you to browse through - check out our Yuzu Range

The yuzu's flavour is tart, closely resembling that of the grapefruit, with overtones of mandarin orange. It is rarely eaten as a fruit, in Japanese cuisine its aromatic zest is used to garnish dishes and its juice is commonly used as a seasoning. The juice is also great in drinks (think fizzy water with a cube of ice or gin & tonic on a summer's day!) or to liven up a sauce or marinade.

Sudachi is a Japanese citrus fruit, the majority of which is cultivated in the Tokushima prefecture. The squeezed juice is often used as an alternative to vinegar. Sudachi are very small fruit that grow in clusters on branches and have a lime flavour with peppery, herbal undertones.

Sudachi juice is sour citrus, not eaten as fruit, but used as food flavouring. The flavour is comparable to that of a sweet lemon or lime.

Miso is produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and koji and is a traditional Japanese seasoning. Rice, barley, or other ingredients are added to influence the flavouring. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup.

Miso soup is very easy to make, nutritious and delicious! There are a number of miso recipes available in the RECIPES section of our website. And we have put together a simple step-by-step guide of How to Make Miso Soup

A family business now run by the fourth generation, Marusho's vinegar brewery is located in the same building where they began in 1879. Fermented and aged for 90 to 500 days in Japanese cedar wood casks (each one named after championship winning sumo wrestlers!) the vinegars are made with rice grown on the family estate, water from the Kumano mountains and only the highest quality natural ingredients.

The range of fermented vinegars includes: Sake vinegar (Sakazu), Dashi vinegar (Tosazu), Bonito rice vinegar (Sambaizu), Sushi vinegar (Sushizu), Kombu seaweed black vinegar (Kombu kurozu), Black garlic vinegar (Ninniku korozu).

See the full range HERE

Classically paired with wasabi and eaten with sushi & sashimi but also used anywhere you are seasoning with salt and seeking to deliver an umami flavoured depth: grilled meat, tempura, vegetable stews, vinaigrettes and noodles.

Sushi is vinegared rice so all you need is sushi rice and sushi vinegar, you can then top it or roll it with any ingredients you choose. Maki rolls are made by placing cooked and vinegared sushi rice on nori and then laying other ingredients on top. The nori and rice are then rolled to enclose the other ingredients and sliced into rounds. We have a special area on our website for sushi ingredients

Nori is dried seaweed flattened into sheets to be rolled with sushi rice into maki rolls. Nori can also enjoyed on its own or shredded into soups.

Ponzu is a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It delivers a distinctive umami flavour. Tart, thin and dark brown: ‘pon’ in Japanese means ‘punch’ and ‘su’ is vinegar so the name literally translates as ‘vinegar punch.’ Ponzu with soy sauce added, such as Champonzu and Sudachi Kombu Ponzu from traditional Japanese makers Marusho is known as ponzu shoyu.

Soba Noodles are made from buckwheat, they are usually thin and are sometimes a combination of buckwheat and wheat flours.

[image courtesy of @tokyopony]

Somen noodles are very thin white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour, less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The noodles' diameter is the chief distinction between sōmen noodles and the thicker wheat or "udon" noodles.

Sesame seeds can be use in salads and pasta dishes to give a rich, nutty flavour. They are also sprinkled over sashimi, sushi, salads, fish and desserts.

Sesame oil is used in dressings, vinaigrettes, meat marinades, fish, tofu, sushi & sashimi. Very small amounts are required as the flavour of the best quality oils are very strong. Just a light drizzle will be sufficient to flavour a serving of freshly steamed or fried vegetables. Add the sesame oil after cooking and just before serving.

Black garlic is a type of "caramelized" garlic. It is made by heating whole bulbs of garlic over the course of several weeks, a process that results in black cloves. Bulbs are kept in a humidity-controlled environment at temperatures that range from 140 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit (60 - 77ºC) for 14 to 40 days.

Black Garlic was first used as a food ingredient in Asian cuisine, but has since caught the attention of chefs across the globe, and is used in a wide variety of dishes from Risotto to poached eggs!  As well as the bulbs of the Black Garlic, also available are Black Garlic Sea Salt and Black Garlic Sugar.

Japanese teas include Genmaicha, a flavourful blend of sencha and toasted brown rice traditionally drunk by the workers on the tea plantations; Gyokuro and Houjicha are other green teas and of course the famous matcha tea. Green teas are so named as the natural oxidisation process is halted by heating the leaves at harvest so the leaves stay green and when brewed correctly are free of bitterness.

Here you can place an explanation or answer to the question.Shiso tea is made from the dried or fresh leaf of the shiso plant. Shiso leaves can be green, red / purple or a combination of these colours. Red shiso will produce blue and once brewed for longer, purple tea.