And it is served with fresh wasabi, a long, gnarled green root that is grated right at the table.

Given the expense of fresh wasabi, most Japanese families use wasabi powder or paste for daily meals.

I fished the opaque sheets from the bubbling water and dipped them in a sauce made from soy, dashi, mirin and fresh wasabi.

"Grating fresh wasabi," I replied.

Now, Kinihiko Nakano, a former chef in San Francisco, is importing fresh wasabi from Japan.

He sells fresh wasabi for $75 a pound, including shipping, but it is not necessary to order a full pound.

There also are small tasting plates, like seaweed salad, asparagus salad, itawasa (a pressed white-fish cake with fresh wasabi), which can be shared.

He then grated fresh wasabi root into the pot.

A small dab of fresh wasabi is the exclamation point on this flavor-packed dish.

"Very few places use fresh wasabi, but the flavor is much subtler and more delicate than the usual powdered sort."