PDA

View Full Version : Vegan Wasabi



fondducoeur
Jan 3rd, 2012, 03:18 PM
Since relocating back to St. Louis, MO, USA, my husband and I have had some issues finding wasabi (even in our Asian grocery!). The grocery stores seem to only carry the dry powder, wasabi mustard, or wasabi mayo. We finally found some in the paste form that we were used to at a Global Foods market, but discovered after purchasing that it has lactose in it! I do not remember ever seeing this before.

Does anyone (especially in the US) know a brand of wasabi that is vegan (I may have to order online, or call around to stores farther away)? And also, does anyone know if the wasabi used in Japanese restaurants is usually non-vegan? I am paranoid now.

Thanks!

Blueberries
Jan 3rd, 2012, 05:19 PM
I'm not sure about restaurants, but if you have wasabi powder you could make your own, if you Google it surely you'll find a recipe :D

Desertthorn
Jan 6th, 2012, 12:58 AM
We use the powdered also.

Andy_T
Jan 12th, 2012, 09:23 PM
Oh no, thanks for alerting us!

Non-vegan horseradish! I checked some products the last time I was in an Asian shop, and - lo and behold - many of them definitely contained things that should not be there :-(

What I found was Kinjirushi Wasabi - apart from the potentially non-vegan E473, it seems to be fine, and the allergen information specifically states no dairy: http://www.amazon.de/Kinjirushi-Wasabi-Japan-Meerrettich-Packung/dp/B0049NT3JI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_grocery_2

Best regards,
Andy

Minatomachi
Mar 22nd, 2013, 09:17 PM
The powdered wasabi I use (Hime Brand) has FD & C colors that are not vegan according to the ingredient list of Happy Cow... I'll be looking through other options, though I like the powder better than the premade pastes (you don't need a recipe to use the powder by the way, simply add a very little powder to some water). Though I guess most brands of wasabi use colors, since most are made with horseradish, which isn't green, and no actual wasabi.