🍱 Wasabi zuke

Wasabi pickles are made by marinating chopped wasabi leaves, stems, and roots in sake lees. Wasabi is said to have originated during the Keicho era (1596-1615), when wild wasabi, which had been growing wild on Bukkoku-san (Mt. Butsudani) in the Aoi Ward of Shizuoka City's Aoi Ward since before that time, was planted near a spring source in the same area. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who spent his later years at Sunpu Castle, forbade the wasabi from leaving the area, and for many years it never left the Aritogi district. However, in the mid-18th century, the cultivation method spread to the Izu area, and later, when the "tatami-ishiki" method of cultivation was developed in the Naka-Izu area, it spread throughout Shizuoka Prefecture and even throughout Japan. Shizuoka Prefecture boasts the highest yields and quality of wasabi in Japan due to its abundant rainfall, geological features, and spring water that is around 13 C year-round, making it ideal for wasabi cultivation. Currently, wasabi is cultivated without the use of fertilizers as much as possible by creating stepped wasabi fields in mountainous areas with spring water, and the "Traditional Cultivation of Shizuoka Water Wasabi" has been recognized as a World Agricultural Heritage and Japan Agricultural Heritage. Wasabi pickles were first sold in Shizuoka Station, which opened in 1889, and are still one of the most popular Shizuoka souvenirs, and are often served at home. It is a favorite dish mainly among adults because of the pungent taste of wasabi and sakekasu (sake lees). Source: Shizuoka Wasabi Agricultural Heritage Promotion Council