Fugu and natto plus#

Soy beans are used to make tofu, miso, natto and other staples of the Japanese diet.Ībout 80 percent of the soy beans consumed in Japan are imported, mostly from the United States, Canada, Brazil and Australia. The Japanese consume more than 20 kilograms of soy beans per person a year. The finding, announced in 2007 by officials at the Yamanashi Prefecture Museum of Art, suggest that soybeans have been cultivated for more than 5,000 years, making it one of the world’s first cultivated foods.

Making miso A clay pot, dated to the mid Jomon period (10,000 to 400 B.C.), was found in Hokuo, Yamanashi Prefecture with Japan’s oldest species of cultivated soybean imbedded in it. I try to eat them mixed in within rice which improves both the visual consistency and the odor.SOYBEANS, SOY SAUCE, NATTO, MISO AND TOFU IN JAPAN

It is commonly sold in Asian food stores in the refrigerated section, with one of the popular brands called ‘umainen natto’.īoth my wife and son love these smelly beans, so I’ve managed to accustom myself to eat them on occasion. Natto is also touted for it’s many health benefits to the heart and skin, and contains many vitamins including K1 and K2.įor those who are looking to really experience Japanese food culture, or just looking for something different, I highly recommend trying Natto out. One of the later episodes of the drama “Starman” had a scene where one of the main characters mixed a big bowl of Natto for his family. This ritual was a bit confusing to me at first, but having done it myself a few times I noticed it seems to change the consistency and make it easier to eat. Before eating it, it is common to put the Natto in a bowl (possibly with some other ingredients like Soy sauce or some topping that comes with the Natto) and mix it vigorously with chopsticks.

Fortunately once you get past the smell and the scary stringiness, the actual flavor is quite good.įrom what I’ve heard, Natto is eaten pretty commonly in Japan, though I wouldn’t go as far to say everyone eats it. See the featured image to get a good idea for what this looks like.

Fugu and natto plus#

Natto is fermented bean curd which is well, fermented, so it has the double punch of a rather stinky smell plus a characteristic “stringiness”, the latter which can be expressed in Japanese as “necho necho”. Japan has other unique foods apart from fish products, and one such interesting one is ‘Natto’ (written in Japanese as 納豆). Fugu (blowfish) is another good example of a Japanese dish that is very unique and very ‘risky’ (in theory), due to the fact that the fish used contains deadly poison. But if you go to a Japanese grocery store and head over to the seafood section I guarantee you’ll be surprised by the strange and mysterious items you see there. When I first heard of eating raw fish (in Sushi) may years ago it was a crazy idea to me which I had doubts about, but since then I’ve eaten much Japanese Sushi (and never gotten food poisoning a single time). One thing great about cultures of the world is that each has it’s own set of foods, and usually there are some that haven’t quite become popular outside that country.įor Japan, the wide variety of fish products and the many ways they can be used in cooking is very unique.