O cruel fate with all thy spite
with false dreams and fake delight
I shake my fist and frown at thee
for all the treacheries given me.
(L.E. Conley)
I can deny it no longer.
Though it breaks my heart to admit it, I can’t keep lying to myself.
I think I have an allergic reaction to wasabi. [1]
I’ve tried to rationalize it. Trivialize it. Make excuses. Write it off as a mere coincidence.
(Wasabi – Japanese horseradish)
Eventually, the weight of the evidence came crashing down on me.
When I eat that delicious hot spicy green paste, the next day I start to develop a kind of rosy rough skin above my eyebrows and along the creases that run from my nostrils to the edges of my mouth. The rosy skin goes dry and flakey. I hate it. It looks awful and makes me feel even more than usually self-conscious.
I thought at first it may be some other spices that caused it. Curry, perhaps… or maybe chili flakes or chili powder. It could have been when I used too much black pepper.
Over time, I started cutting down on those and other strong spices to the point where I just about eliminated them altogether.
Recently, I was enjoying some Japanese food with some wasabi. I was particularly delighted because I hadn’t had either Japanese food in general or wasabi in particular for months.
(Wasabi paste, pickled ginger and maki rolls)
Looking at my face in the mirror the next day (a daunting task at the best of times) was all the confirmation I needed.
Fortunately for me, I only had a small bit of wasabi so a few days later, things pretty well cleared up.
While my complexion may now be clear, my heart is heavy and I feel like there is a dark cloud over my soul.
Life without wasabi. Sushi and pickled ginger… without the bit of green paste! Passover seders without wasabi as the maror!! [2]
Truly, this is a bitter thing to swallow.
O cruel fate… I shake my fist and frown at thee!
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[1] What we call wasabi in Canada and the US is not actually wasabi. It comes often in powder form and is mixed with water or sometimes vinegar. It is basically a mix ordinary western horseradish, hot mustard and green food colouring processed to look and taste like wasabi. Authentic wasabi is hard to cultivate and can be very expensive (up to $100 a pound).
[2] One of the ingredients on a Passover seder plate, the maror is the bitter herbs.
My condolences to you during this difficult time. 😦
I love wasabi. I can’t imagine a wasabi-free life. The thought is too much to bear.
I am still hoping that I have misdiagnosed. A chef and dear friend of mine took me out for some Japanese food this afternoon and, once again, I tried a bit of wasabi as an experiment. If tomorrow morning, my face breaks out again, then I am as doomed as doomed can be! 🙂
Thank you for your kind words.
I’m allergic to avocados. Fate is cruel.
Cruel and heartless! When I was a child, I had an odd reaction to provolone cheese… I would get this weird rash but only at the corners of my mouth. I outgrew that, thank goodness! 🙂
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