Natto= Fermented soybeans. Very Japanese. Natto is kind of the litmus test to see if you are truly immersed in the Japanese culture. Japanese people love to ask, with a grin on their faces, "Do you like natto?" If you answer no, you get a sympathetic smile. If you answer yes, you get as close to a back-slapping celebration as a Japanese person gets.
I guess I have immersed because I love this stuff.
It is slimy, frothy, sticky, stinky- really stinky (it smells a lot like dirty socks or garbage or BO or all of the above,) and gooey. But I love it. Why? you ask. I don't know, but I do. Our daughter, Kristen served a mission in Japan and she also learned to love this stuff.
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| This is my favorite way to eat natto. On a piece of buttered wheat toast. |
It comes in little Styrofoam packages, with three in each bundle.
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| This is how it looks before you mix it up with the sauce. |
You take the Styrofoam lid off and remove a plastic wrap covering. It is sticky and slimy and stinky. In the top is a little package of soy sauce and a little package of mustard to open and put on the natto in most varieties.
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| You take off the waxed paper |
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| And mix in the soy sauce and mustard |
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| It gets foamy and frothy . . . . |
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| Ooey . . . |
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| And gooey . . . |
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| And slimy . . . |
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| Look delicious??? |
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| Oh, so delicious!!! |
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| But this is my favorite kind. You open it and just crack the lid to release the sauce onto the natto. Then you mix it up. |
Natto is very nutritious. It is full of vitamins and is low calorie. It also is a good source of protein. It also is a pro-biotic. It is Japanese super food. I eat natto every day. One day I ate three of these packets and that night my tummy didn't feel so good. So now I limit myself to one a day. It truly has become one of my favorite things. I know I will really miss it when we go home.
Natto: One of my favorite things!!!
If you want to read more about it,
this is a good article about it:
5 comments:
I thought I was the Queen of liking weird food - I crown the new champ! Who knew!
Interesting! You make me want to try it even though it looks disgusting. Bring some home for me ;)
You are truly immersed in the Japanese culture! I am so proud of you! Natto really looks disgusting - you were so brave to try it the first time and now you love it!
Mmm. That brings back such happy memories! I am so glad you love it too. I can't wait to see the back slapping ceremony!
Wow. The description of the scent alone was enough to scare me away forever... dirty socks, BO, and garbage. Nice! Sounds like one of Elizabeth's diapers... I bet you could order it on Amazon though when you get hit with a craving here in America!
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