Natto : The Fermented Soy Superfood

Natto is a traditional food usually consumed at Japanese breakfast tables together with miso soup, fish, and rice. Tofu, tempeh, miso and natto are all whole food forms of soybean.  The key to natto’s health benefits is that it is fermented. Natto is made by soaking whole soybeans, then steaming or boiling them, and afterwards adding the bacteria Bacillus subtilis to the mixture.  It is then allowed to ferment over time.

This natto brands normally can buy in the supermarket.

This packing is include bonito and kelp stock, usual natto pack is came with soy sauce. Of course, mustard sauce is a standard.

~~~ Let's reveal what is natto ~~~

Hmm... Not things special

...... Maybe nightmare for someone......

Condiments that include with the packing, the mustard sauce and bonito kelp stock.

Mix well

Enjoy~

Natto is known to be a rather acquired taste, probably due to its smell and texture; and for many people the ammonia smell may evoke a mixture of old socks and cheese. As for the texture, it’s resembles a gooey, stringy and sticky small bean, which also adds to its unappealing nature.

Natto that before mixing the condiments

People have strong feelings towards natto – they tend to either love it, hate it, or eat it until it grows on them. Actually, the taste of natto is not that bad, it’s the unpleasant smell and stringy texture which can be surprising and it is simply not a texture that  Asian and Western taste buds and palate are used to.

 !!! Warning to those Muslim that want to have a try for natto !!!

Note to Muslims – If you’re interested in trying natto, BE CAREFUL OF THE INGREDIENTS. That is because those packs that you see in the photo above contains ALCOHOL in all of them. With Japanese food, pork and alcohol are almost ALWAYS part of the ingredients. So for Muslims who can’t read Japanese, and the box has no translated ingredients, you’re screwed so better stay away from them.

Also, DO NOT believe the translated ingredients. When I checked at both Gama supermarket Penang & Queensbay Cold Storage Penang, they only listed the ingredient as ‘soybean’, but they did not list all the ingredients in it including ALCOHOL. So, please be careful if you don’t know how to read Japanese. Many foods will NOT list alcohol by the importer. Please blame the importer who is lazy to translate every single ingredient.

Please look for this kana in the ingredient: アルコール , that's Alcohol in Japanese.