History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

egional name. Shiro miso: white (or light) bean paste.
Shôyu: soy sauce. Teri yaki: glaze grilling. Tôfu: bean curd.
Usu kuchi shôyu: thin or light soy sauce. Yuba: thin brittle
sheets of soy milk (by-product of tôfu-making).
Also includes: Each of the basic sea vegetables / sea
greens used for food in Japan (ao nori, hijiki, konbu, nori,
wakamé, etc.). Umé-boshi: pickled plums.
The book contains excellent recipes and descriptions
(see the index) using bean curd [tofu] (7 recipes), eda mamé
(1), fried bean curd (abura agé) (5), grilled bean curd (yakidôfu)
(3), miso (17), and soybeans, dried (1); natto is not
mentioned.
Elizabeth concludes the Introduction by explaining:
“What I’ve tried to write here is the very book I wish I’d had
with me when I started out fourteen years ago.”
About the author (last page and with portrait photo
on inside rear dust jacket): Elizabeth, who was raised in
New York and graduated from the University of Michigan,
traveled to Japan in 1966 to study Japanese, lived with the
Andoh family on the island of Shikoku, and married into
that family two years later. Shortly after her marriage, she
enrolled in a class at the Yanagihara School of Classical
Japanese Cooking, where she studied for six years. She has a
daughter, Rena, to whom this book is dedicated.
The copyright page states: “Many of the recipes which
appear here were originally printed in slightly different form
in Gourmet magazine, 1975, as part of a 6-part series entitled
‘The Seasonal Japanese Kitchen,’ by Elizabeth Andoh.”
Address: Tokyo, Japan.
830. Esko, Edward; Esko, Wendy. 1980. Macrobiotic
cooking for everyone. Tokyo: Japan Publications, Inc. 272
p. Nov. Foreword by William Tara, Director, Community
Health Foundation, London, England. 26 cm. [50 ref]
• Summary: The authors studied in Japan (mostly Kyoto),
from Sept. 1978 to May 1979, at which time they returned
to Boston. In the summer of 1979 “more than 100 delegates
from various regional centers throughout the United States
and Canada met in Boston for the fi rst North American
Congress of Macrobiotics.” Part I of this book discusses
the theory of macrobiotics and Part II gives recipes.
Unfortunately, the book has no index, and the bibliography
gives no years of publication. There are chapters on: Seitan,
fu, and noodles (incl. soba), and Sea vegetables.
Soy-related recipes include: Brown rice and soybeans
(p. 90). Miso soft rice (p. 96). Somen with deep-fried tofu (p.
118). Kenchin soup (with deep-fried tofu cubes and tamari,
p. 130). Okara soup (p. 132). Miso soups (p. 137-143; 12
recipes are given plus a long letter from Jan Belleme, about
how she and her husband, John, who arrived in Japan in late
October 1979, are now living with the Onozaki family and
studying miso-making there–p. 138-39). Sauteed cucumbers
and miso (p. 154). Boiled cabbage, sweet corn, and tofu (p.
155). Udon-vegetable bane (with deep-fried tofu, p. 159).
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 269
Steamed kale and tofu (p. 161). How to make sprouts (incl.
soybean sprouts, p. 177).
Chapter 5 is titled “Bean dishes, including tofu and
natto.” It states (p. 178-79, without citing the source) that
“In China and Japan there is a proverb, ‘A man who eats too
many beans becomes a fool.’... Lima beans and soybeans are
both very yin, and require thorough chewing. They should be
eaten only on occasion and in small quantities... Kombu can
be placed on the bottom of the pot when cooking chickpeas,
soybeans, lima beans or kidney, pinto and navy beans. I
have found that kombu defi nitely improves their fl avor, and
because of its high mineral content, creates a very balanced
dish.” To pressure cook soybeans so that they do not clog
the steam escape valve, fi rst boil them for 30 minutes. Skim
the foam off the top as it rises, and when no more foam
rises to the surface you may place them in a pressure cooker
and continue cooking until done. Recipes include: Japanese
black beans (black soybeans). Soybeans with kombu and
burdock. Soybeans with lotus root and salmon. Following a
long discussion of tofu, Homemade tofu. Tofu with scallions.
Tofu with bonito fl ake broth. Baked tofu with miso/lemon
sauce. Broiled tofu. Tofu loaf. Steamed tofu rolls. Deep-fried
tofu cakes. Aburage (Age or deep-fried tofu). Stuffed age
pouches. Okara. Okara croquettes. Sautéed natto. Natto rice
or noodles. Natto tempura. Dried natto.
Hijiki with soybeans (p. 193). Hijiki and deep-fried
tofu (p. 194). Tempuraed tofu-nori rolls (p. 198). Koi-koku
(Carp miso soup, p. 220). Daikon and tamari. Scallion
miso. Green peppers and miso (p. 224). Miso condiments
(p. 226). Tamari. Moromi (p. 227). Rutabaga-tamari pickles
(p. 233). Quick miso pickles (p. 234). Tofu tamari dressing
(p. 236). Tofu-sesame dressing. Shiro-miso-tofu dressing.
Miso dressing (p. 237). Tamari-lemon dressing. Tamari-rice
vinegar dressing. Miso-tahini dressing (p. 238). Miso-rice
vinegar dressing. Miso walnut dressing. Miso-tahini spread.
Sesame miso spread. Miso-nut spread (p. 239). Lentil-miso
spread. Lima bean miso spread (p. 240). Tofu dip (p. 243).
Amazake (p. 247-48). Clear broth soup with tofu & scallions
(p. 253). The glossary lists many soy products plus azuki
beans, sea vegetables (many types), gluten, koji, kuzu,
mochi, natto, nigari, okara, seitan, tekka, tempeh, umeboshi,
unohana (okara), and yuba.
Macrobiotic periodicals include: East West Journal
(Brookline, Massachusetts). Kushi Institute Study Guide
and Kushi Inst. Newsletter (Brookline, MA). The Order of
the Universe (East West Foundation, Brookline, MA). The
Macrobiotic Review (East West Foundation, Baltimore,
Maryland). Spiral (Community Health Foundation, London).
Le Compas (Paris). Note: The date each periodical began
publication is not given.
The lengthy section on seitan (p. 110-13) gives a
detailed recipe for making seitan at home using the short
method and 3½ lb hard spring wheat fl our or hard red winter
wheat fl our. The broth is made with kombu and tamari.