Full of Wasabi

We are lucky to live near good fish market.
It's a little pricey but  has quality to match and people are knowledgeable and friendly, so we do most of our shopping here.
Being a loyal customer for more than a decade is sometimes rewarded with great surprise like this:

Big wasabi! presumably from Oregon.
Somebody ordered this but cancelled, and somehow they gave this to us so that we could try wasabi dishes, which we did!

First, we had to have it with sashimi.

Namerou
Sashimi-quality fish is minced finely with miso and aromatic vegetables.
This is originally fisherman's food.
Hamachi-zuke
Sashimi of Hamachi is marinated in soy sauce and mirin for 10 minutes.
We had these with Junmai Ginjo sake.

Next day.
Grilled Salmon with wasabi and Wasabi mashed potate
Simply grill the salmon and paste freshly grated wasabi on it.
This is not picturesque, but tasted great.
Although if you use tube wasabi, it would become too spicy, I assume.

We had this with Caroline Parent Sauvigny-les Beaune 2011
Modern-style? Burgundy Pinot Noir with big oak flavor which is balanced with fruit.

The spiciness of wasabi was well integrated with the fattiness of salmon and went good with the wine.


Third day.

Umeboshi Dip
Umeboshi is chopped into paste then mixed with miso, mirin and wasabi.
Good with rice, good as otsumami (sake-friendly food).
Surprisingly this was good with Napa Cabernet Sauvignon.

Fresh wasabi is not simply spicy: it has good flavor and is versatile.
It can be used as a reliable condiment.