Friday, March 7, 2008

Natto - fermented soybeans


I love Natto. Natto is very special Japanese food. There are some fermented foods in Japan. It has intense smell and it seems not to be able to eat it, when you smell it. It’s like going off. However, it is very healthy food in Japan. After stirring, natto becomes stringy. It was basically fermented by natto germ that is called as “Natto kin" covering with a sheet of straw.
I will show you how to cook natto.
1) The seasonings are soy sauce and Japanese mastered (Wa Karashi).
2) Add leek, seaweed (Nori) in strips and wa karashi in natto and stir all ingredients with soy sauce more than 50 times. It is better to stir many times.
It is basic how to cook Natto. These ingredients are essential to eat it better. It is OK to add boiled Okra in strips. Okra has stringiness, too.
We eat the stirred Natto on the rice. The smell and stringiness divide our favor, like or not. After knowing the special natto taste, everyone is attracted to it. I can eat it everyday. Otherwise, I sometimes put Kimchi, Korean food, in the basic natto. I call it Kimchi Natto. It is more delicious and becomes nutritious food. Lactic acid bacteria of Kimuchi make it more nutritious. You will think that both of foods, natto and Kimchi are very unique. However, please try to eat.You are surely addicted to it, too.
If you can eat Natto, you will be real Japanese. (The picture above is Kimuchi natto on the rice.)

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