Alishan’s towering Taiwan red cypress trees aren’t the only treasure hidden in these scenic southern Taiwan mountains. Beneath the forest canopy lies an unexpected and fiery culinary gem—once in decline, now making a flavorful comeback.
In part three of our five-part series “Where’s the Chiayi County Chief Taking Us?” Andrew Ryan visits a wasabi farm where tradition meets innovation. From its roots in Japanese colonial history to its modern revival, learn why this spicy plant has locals calling it “green gold.”
In part three of our five-part series “Where’s the Chiayi County Chief Taking Us?” Andrew Ryan visits a wasabi farm where tradition meets innovation. From its roots in Japanese colonial history to its modern revival, learn why this spicy plant has locals calling it “green gold.”
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00:00Most visitors to Alishan spend their time gazing up at the towering trees
00:06reaching more than 40 meters into the sky. These Taiwan red cypress are
00:12thought to be thousands of years old. But down beneath the surface of the earth
00:16there's another treasure that's often overlooked. The locals call it green gold.
00:30This is wasabi, an essential Japanese condiment that's paired with something
00:41that's hard to find in these parts, sashimi or raw fish. Wasabi is a finicky root.
00:48You can only harvest it during a two-month period once every three years. Farmers have been growing
00:55wasabi here since the Japanese colonial era, even though these forests are off-limits.
01:0270-year-old Zhang Jinping, the owner of this small farm, began trading wasabi at the age of 22.
01:09But when the authorities began cracking down on the harvest, it almost wiped out a beloved tradition.
01:15Now he's trying to find a viable way to bring it back.
01:25The distinct nose-clearing
01:54heat of wasabi comes from the root, and you get maximum flavor by grinding it fresh.
02:01While most people eat wasabi with sashimi or sushi, you can also enjoy it as a juice
02:06or a flavored salt. And there's another, more unconventional way to experience it.
02:12A dessert that bites back. Ice cream. Wasabi ice cream.
02:19Never heard of something like this before.
02:29That's great. It has all of the sweetness and the fragrance of the wasabi with just a
02:35tiny bit of the spice. Very refreshing on a hot day.
02:41Wasabi farmer Zhang Jinping is working alongside local indigenous farmers
02:46to cultivate these precious plants at lower altitudes, where it's legal to grow them.
02:52And they've got support from the county government.
03:08From a centuries-old condiment to a bold new ingredient,
03:12wasabi has become a symbol of Alishan's resilience.
03:16Even though it's rooted in the past, it continues to offer fresh possibilities for the future.
03:22Devin Tsai, Joseph Wu, Peachy Drong, and Andrew Ryan for Taiwan Plus.
03:29Coming up in part four, what do you do when a typhoon deposits stacks of wood in your reservoir?
03:35We'll take you to a village that's turning driftwood into violins.
03:42you