Dutch Wasabi

Who's behind it

Sander van Kampen worked in IT before he became the first in the Netherlands to grow wasabi, in 2016. Wasabi grows almost exclusively in Japan and has a handful of growers outside that country. He sourced young plants from England. His first modest harvest came in 2018; in 2019 he went into the business full-time. From a greenhouse in De Lier he now supplies chefs across the country. Innovation support from Hagelunie and Rabobank helped, and a nomination for the Tuinbouw Ondernemersprijs followed. Alongside wasabi he grows ginger, yuzu, myoga and passion fruit.

Why this wasabi

The green paste that usually sits next to sushi is mostly horseradish with mustard and food colouring. Fresh wasabi gives a heat that rises short and clear and then fades, with a floral, lightly sweet undertone. That heat is fleeting: once grated it evaporates within minutes, so you grate per course.

A rhizome takes about two years to become harvestable, and the crop is sensitive to disease and pests. That's why it's rare. Handy for a kitchen: you use the whole plant. Besides the rhizome, the leaf, stem and flower each give their own, milder wasabi heat. Dutch Wasabi also turns leaf and stem into paste themselves.

In your kitchen

Grate the wasabi at the table, so the guest sees and smells it straight away. Keep a grater on the pass and work per plate, so the heat reaches the table at its peak. Use the rhizome for raw fish, tartare and sashimi. Put leaf and stem in a dressing, pickle or beurre blanc where you want a mild heat; that saves the expensive rhizome. The flowers go on top as garnish.