Green Lentil Natto!!!

This is one that I have been wondering about for years. Can you make natto from lentils? Well today I found out. Yes of course you can but.... will it be like natto... the answer.... sort of!

Ok so I don't sound convincing eh. The truth is it smells very natto like but it lacks the moisture to make it really stringy and sticky, this aside the taste is really, really good. If you like natto and you like lentils that you should like this. It's dry texture would b good in some natto recipes that I am thinking about (natto lasagna) but I wouldn't hesitate to enjoy it just as it is on white rice.

The verdict is that I would definitely make it again but I will experiment with letting it sit longer and play with the recipe a little.

Stay tuned for my natto lasagna post!!!

pjt

Kiriboshi Daikon Natto!

Well as you may have already guessed from just the nature of this blog but I love Japanese food! One great find for me was Kiriboshi Daikon, which is simply dried strips of daikon radish usually mixed with dried carrot. It can be re-hydrated and stir fried or eaten any number of ways. I am lucky enough to have some that is hand made as well as home grown by some of my wife's family in a very rural and beautiful of Tochigi prefecture.

On one trip to Japan a friend gave me some natto from Ibaraki that was made with Kiriboshi daikon as well as soy beans and it has always been my favorite natto memory ... until now! I made some, using my standard natto method except that for the last 5 minutes of steaming the beans I added some re-hydrated, chopped Kiriboshi daikon. The result was amazing, the natto was richer, stronger and stickier than ever. A friend of mine gave me a (backhanded) compliment by telling me it tasted "like from a store". Ok I can live with that I guess, although I would like to believe that it tasted better!

Hey folks, feel free to comment or add your recipes or requests!

pjt

Natto Idea #4 Natto Bison Burger!!!

Ok maybe the worlds first Natto Bison burger ever! And I have only one thing to say.... Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

I was really in a rush when I made it so it was not very pretty but the taste was great! Bison is already crazy high in protein and adding the natto gives it a boost in flavor, protein, vitamins and taste! I loved it and I plan to add it to more homemade burgers this summer!

Oh by the way the natto that I used was my own homemade with dried daikon radish (kiriboshi daikon) and I will post the pictures for that little bit of deliciousness very soon!

pjt

Natto Idea #3 Natto Kimchi Fried Rice

Ok, this Idea came from somewhere on the internet (my wife found it) and I thought it sounded absolutly delicious! Here we again have two very smelly foods, offensive to some and adored by millions comming together to become something even greater than the sum of thier parts! Too dramatic???? Maybe, but.....

Ingredients:

Homemade black natto
cooked Japanese rice
diced pork belly
slightly sour Kimchi
green onion
soy sauce
mirin
seasoned soy sauce
sea salt
egg

Method: stir fry the pork with the green onion. Add the beaten egg and scramble. Next add the kimchi and the natto and continue on high heat. Throw in the rice and season with salt, soya, seasoning soya and mirin, keep on high until the fice on the bottem gets a little crunchy and enjoy!!!!

Black Natto ~~~ Yum!

Ok so.... A little more education about natto in Japan. There are many variety's and manufacturers of this wonderful food throughout the country. Some are very large with Mito Natto from Ibaraki prefecture among the most famous and some are tiny traditional places still making it by hand with no preservatives and so on.

Traditionally natto is made from Soy beans, some are grown domestically but these days Japan imports a great deal of it's beans from abroad. Recently black bean natto or Kuro Mame natto ha been gaining popularity. The flavor and texture is similar to regular natto but the smell is less pungent. Newcomers to natto and foreigners are often encouraged to try this modern twist to the old standby as it is easier for folks with a more sensitive nose. I have seen different types and sizes of black beans used and for my own purposes I selected small black turtle beans.

My first attempt worked well but I found that the black beans required more cooking time than the soya beans (about 60 min) and during the fermentation process the smell, although not distinctively natto like in nature was somehow more pungent and rotten then with soy beans!

The taste! Ummmmm definitely less strong and a friend said "slightly sweet". I enjoyed it very much and I have plans to get a little more radical soon and try "Green Lentil Natto"

wish me luck

pjt

Natto Idea #2 Natto Onion Salad!!!!

So this one comes to us from my wife's friend's mother in Japan. Your favorite Natto mixed in the usual way with Soya sauce and maybe a little spicy mustard over a mixture of shredded daikon radish and thinly sliced onion. Please forgive me as I have not seen it or tried it but if you happen to be a lover of strong smelling food than this one might be for you! Just don't plan on anything romantic afterward!

Natto Idea #1 No rice? No problem!

So most of you must know that normally Natto is eaten at breakfast with rice, on it's own or as part of a full breakfast with fish, miso soup and so on. Well here in North America we are not always so organized as to have rice ready in the a.m. and not all of us are blessed with rice cookers with timers or maybe we just like the idea of toast in the morning!

So all of the above applies to you? Don't fret, here is a simple, quick, nutritious way to enjoy your natto in the morning.

One piece of lightly grilled bread (toast)

One fresh egg, over easy or however you prefer!

Natto! Pictured here is black natto with soya sauce and fresh wasabi

Assemble all items on a plate and enjoy!!!!

Caution...... one might not be enough!

Enjoy

pjt

Third times a charm!

Ok, this time everything felt right!
I feverishly worked to cook my beans to exactly the right texture, made sure to sterilize everything!

Then waited for the next 24 agonizing hours!


Then....


Wait...



Voila!!!!!!!

success!!!!!


Oh finally I could enjoy the fruits or beans of my labor!!!


Stay tuned for my attempt to make the "gentleman" of the natto world... Black natto!!!

Take 2

Okay... So we all remember how successful our little experiment has been so far right? Well don't worry folks, we are not about to give up so easy! After a few days of deep introspective thought and meditation I was ready to climb back on that horse and give her another go.

So first step soak the beans.....Check
Next, steam the beans (LONGER).....Check
Next mix them with natto bacteria, salt, sugar and water....Check

Ok so here was the mistake, instead of making haste and very quickly mixing the bacteria in with very clean utensils as you must, I slowly stirred as if lost in a day dream allowing the beans to cool and possibly allowing other bacteria to invade!

The result???

After 24 hours of magic I joyfully took my baby out of the oven, ripped off the foil lid, took a long long sniff...... and very quickly realized that what I had produced could probably poison a drunken donkey!

So naturally my wife and I tried it!..... Ok, I know what you are thinking. Why if you were suspect of having created a monster then why did you and your wife BOTH put it in your mouths? Simple answer: I didn't want to die alone!

So what now? Back to the drawing board!

First Attempt

So, after years of saying "I'm going to make natto at home" I finally got off my ass and gave it a try.......... With less than stellar results.

First I soaked the beans. For this time I chose average Canadian grown soy beans of a medium large size. I happen to like natto made from bigger beans but I understand that I am in the minority here.

Next I boiled my beans in a pressure cooker and sterilized by equipment. When I thought the beans were cooked enough I mixed them with the natto bacteria a little salt, sugar and boiled water and placed them in a baking dish in my oven with the light on and a utility light in there as well to try to keep the temperature at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit and let the bacteria work it's magic for the next 24 hours or so.

After (not so) patiently waiting for a day I turned out the oven lights and checked on my creation! Oh my, my first time oh what joy..... for a minute. I quickly realized my grave error..... my beans were hard!!!! Little stinky, sticky rocks. The kind you could chip a tooth on! In my zeal to create my own version of perfection, I had neglected to cook the soy beans long enough. I also realized that my oven temp. was way too high and the beans were dry as well as hard. Oh well I thought to myself, let's use this as a learning experience and try again..........

My Point

I guess this is just my spot on the web to share (with anyone who cares) my experiments, failures and hopefully success in my quest to make traditional natto as well as new types of natto using different beans and technique's. I want to encourage people to share their recipes for natto as well as other recipes that incorporate natto! Hopefully we will begin to convert the non-believers one horrified member at a time until natto finally enjoys the popularity that this glorious food of food truly deserves!

Can you smell it?

So.... You like natto and you speak English? You are not Japanese or of Japanese decent? Then you might be a member of a very small strange but hopefully growing group of people!

We look like normal people. We act like normal people. But hidden under this non discript veneer lies a love of sticky, stringy, pungent fermented soy beans.

How long have you kept this deep dark secret? How long have you felt alone, lost and confused? Worry no longer, here you are among friends. You are home!

What is it?

So you might be wondering just what is natto?

Natto is the Japanese name for cooked, fermented soy beans eaten throughout Japan but especially enjoyed by people in the Kanto area. Bacillus natto is the bacteria used to ferment the beans and transform otherwise averagve soy beans into the sticky, stringy, gooey, strong smelling mess that is in my opinion the worlds greatest breakfast food! Healthy? You bet! Natto is high in vitamin B12 and is thought to aid in the prevention of everything from heart attacks, strokes and senility to the prevention of cancer! So can I sit down to breakfast in a greasy spoon or any other morning type restaurant in Canada or anywhere else outside of Japan and say to my friendly server "yes, I will have an orange juice, some toast and a bowl of Natto
"...... nope. Can I walk to my neighborhood grocery emporium and buy some of this glorious miracle food?.......nope. So you ask what can I do to satisfy my craving for this wonderful staple of the Japanese morning tradition? Simple.... Make it myself!