Natto Idea #8 Natto Cananloni

Of course I had to try making one of my favorite childhood comfort foods with natto! I once again used lentil natto for the filling and this time I used ground lamb as well. The strong taste of the lamb went really well with the natto. I used a classic Italian tomato sauce and then topped them with a creamy bechimel sauce and some parmesan cheese.

The result, absolutly amazing! I liked this recipe even better than the lasagna. Cooking with natto, even Italian food really works!

pjt

PS. I used no bake pasta for this recipe and it was so quik and easy that it could be made on a weeknight!

Huge Natto!!!!!

Sorry folks, I know it has been a week since my last post!

This time I indulged myself and made homemade natto with the largest soybeans I could find. Normally natto in Japan is made with very small soybeans, in fact I have been having trouble finding beans that small in Canada. I however am always on the lookout for natto made with the biggest beans possible. Although it is possible to find natto made with larger beans, I have never seen anything like the beans that my sister in law found in a department store near her house. these soybeans are grown in Hokkaido and are friggen huge! I have compared them with average sized ] beans (in the photo) and I have also taken some photos of some fresh natto that my friend brought from Japan. Mito natto is probably the largest and most popular natto manufacture in Japan (my direct competition).

This natto is by far the best that I have made to date!

Natto for dogs?

I have been seeing some dog foods and dog treats in Japan that contain natto and I was wondering if any of you feed or have fed natto to your dogs? I know that getting my 2 large breed boys to eat it would be no problem (they have great taste) but I also wonder if there is any health risk to them as this is not a natural element to a dog's diet.

I currently feed my dog raw food and I am always interested in adding healthy probiotics such as yogurt or cottage cheese and natto seems like a good Idea. Just in the area's of circulation and digestion alone but I do have concerns about alergy's.

For now I think that I will give it to them in small amounts and moniter them for change so if any of you have some info, please let me know! I will of course share my findings here.

pjt

Natto Idea #7 Spicy Natto Yakisoba!

Is there anyone out there who doesn't like yakisoba? I doubt it. I love all noodles and you already know how I feel about natto, so of course I wanted to introduce these 2 great tastes to one another.

I used frozen yakisoba and added beef and shrimp, (using up leftovers) green onion and some thai chilies as well as some chillie paste from Taiwan (thanks Michael) to make this! Oh yeah... we ate it for breakfast!

I liked this dish, although I enjoyed the fried fice more. Next time I think that I will do the same but make it with Udon!

Oh yeah, I used Kiriboshi daikon natto again in this one.

enjoy

pjt

p.s. thanks for the comments, especially my wife's friend (are you coming soon?)

Natto Idea #6 Natto Lasagna

Alright, soo..... Natto pasta? Yeah everybody has heard of that right? Well maybe in Japan but even in Japan I think that my version and the standard Japanese version might differ a little! So when I brought up the Idea of natto lasagna even my very supportive wife was skeptical to say the least!

Despite the cool reception that I got when I mentioned my latest harebrained culinary attempt, I was undaunted and even more intent on succeeding in this multilayered endeavor than ever. For this plan to work I needed just the right kind of natto.... not to strong, not too stringy hmm...... Oh yeah..... perfect... I just happened to just the right legume for this situation.... LENTIL NATTO!!!!!

I set to work as soon as I got home. I feverishly prepared my best sauce, pan fried very lean beef with garlic, onion and chili. I shredded some nice Italian mozzarella and assembled the whole mess with about half a kilogram of lentil natto and popped it in a 350 degree oven for about 45 min.

I could hardly wait.....

Finally I served.......

How would she like it....

I was worried......


SUCCESS! She ate like a chipmunk in a nut factory! Despite her earlier skepticism my wife devoured 2 pieces like a prisoner on parole, i couldn't have been more proud!

enjoy

pjt

Natto Idea #5 Natto Omelette

Ok, this idea comes from my sister in law in Japan who is a fantastic cook with a love for food. I was lucky enough to have her prepare one for me in January in Japan and since then I have made many natto omelettes with all different types of natto and I have loved every one. I the pictures here I have used kiriboshi daikon natto and this was my favorite. I like to leave them a little runny in the middle but that is just my preference!

Recipe:

2 eggs
1 chopped green onion
1 tablespoon seasoning soya or soba sauce or soya sauce and dashi (bonito stock)
2 tablespoons of water
50 grams of natto (or more)

just beat all ingredients together and test out your omelette skills!

enjoy

pjt