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

e eaten anytime).
“One or more side dishes are selected from these
categories; you don’t eat them all in one meal! Every
morning you can arrange a new combination. Interestingly,
as you increase the number of side dishes the portions of
each decrease, so that you are always serving the same
amount of food...
“Long ago Japanese people did not eat sitting around
large tables. When sitting around the irori [sunken fi replace],
a small tray was placed on the right side of each person. On
each tray was a small side dish plate... After the meal, warm
water was poured into their rice bowl and they used their
chopsticks to clean it. After a sip of the water was taken, it
was poured into the soup bowl, swirled around, sipped again,
poured into the side dish plate, swirled and drunk... No
washing required! We can conclude from this that the foods
being eaten at the time were not oily, as the dishes could be
easily cleaned with hot water.” Note: This may well be the
origin of the Zen oryoki (nested eating bowls and chopsticks
wrapped in white cloth) and its ritual.
Also in Chapter 5, under “Breakfast,” is a section
on “Daizu seihin–Soybean products,” which includes a
subsection on “Natto–Fermented soybeans” (p. 139): Natto
is a very popular breakfast food made by stuffi ng boiled
white [yellow] soybeans into a tsuto (casing made from rice
straw) and leaving them to sit in a warm, darkened room.
Before they are stored, a natural natto fungus [sic, bacterium]
is introduced to start the fermentation process. The result
is natto, which has a sticky ‘gooey’ texture and a pungent
odor. Most Americans in my experience turn their noses up
at the sight (and smell) of natto. Continued. Address: Former
owner and head chef, Domo restaurant, Denver, Colorado.
Founder and chief instructor Nippon Kan Aikido and
Cultural Center, Denver, Colorado.
1401. Homma, Gaku. 1991. Natto (Document part II). In:
Gaku Homma. 1991. The Folk Art of Japanese Country
Cooking: A Traditional Diet for Today’s World. Translated
by Emily Busch. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books.
xii + 270 p.
• Summary: Continued (p. 139). “When making natto, the
mixing bowl needs to be completely clean and free from
any traces of salt. The natto fungus [sic, bacterium] is easily
destroyed by salt. Salt is used to preserve most Japanese
foods but natto is completely opposite.
“There are two kinds of natto. The fi rst is called tsubu
and is made from whole soybeans. The second is called
hikiwari and is made from slightly crushed soybeans.
“Commercially made natto can be found in the frozen
section of your local Oriental market for about one dollar.
There are many different brands to choose from. Defrost the
natto to room temperature before eating. Making natto from
scratch involves a fairly complicated procedure. This book
will concentrate on how to enjoy commercially produced
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 432
natto.
A sidebar across the bottom of page 139 is titled “How
to eat natto:” “1 package natto (tsubu or hikiwari).
“Suggested garnishes include chopped scallion, cilantro,
parsley, trefoil, seaweed, Japanese hot mustard, seven-taste
pepper [shichimi togarashi], and ginger.
“A. If frozen, defrost natto at room temperature.
Remove from package and put in a bowl. Stir vigorously
with chopsticks until sticky. Fold in one or two types of
garnishes. 1 teaspoon each, and stir vigorously.
“B. Choose from 1 teaspoon shoyu, 2 or 3 pinches of
salt, or 1 teaspoon miso. Add and stir again.
C. If you like it spicy, add Japanese hot mustard, seventaste
pepper, or thin matchstick slivers of ginger to taste.
Other garnishes include soaked sukikombu [sliced dried
Laminaria kelp soaked and dried in thin sheets] and funori
(fl oating seaweed; [Gloiopeltis furcata]).
“Follow steps A, B, and C just before meal time.
“D. Serve with a bowl or warm white rice. Place about
1 teaspoon of natto onto your rice and eat them together. The
chopsticks used for serving natto are separate from your own
chopsticks because the natto is so sticky. Try not to touch
your own chopsticks to the natto; touch the rice only. If your
chopsticks do touch the natto they will become slippery and
other foods will tend to slip. Another method is to use the
nori (dried strips of [paper-thin] seaweed) to pick up the
natto and rice. Place a 2-inch square of nori on top of the
natto and with your chopsticks scoop up a bite of natto and
rice wrapped in nori. This method is the least sticky.”
On page 170 is a recipe for Natto soba, in which 3
oz. of natto, stirred until sticky, is used in place of grated
Chinese yam in Tororo soba. Soba is the Japanese word for
“buckwheat noodles.” Address: Former owner and head
chef, Domo restaurant, Denver, Colorado. Founder and chief
instructor Nippon Kan Aikido and Cultural Center, Denver,
Colorado.
1402. Passmore, Jacki. 1991. The encyclopedia of East
Asian food and cooking (Document part II). New York, NY:
William Morrow. 320 p. [44 ref]
• Summary: Continued from p. 153: Korean bean paste: See
Dhwen jang. Koshi-an (Japan): See Azuki beans (an). Koya
tofu (Japan): See Bean curd, freeze-dried [sic].
Kuzu (Japan): See Flours and thickeners. Lentil (Lens
esculenta): Red lentil, Red mung beans.
Light soy sauce: See Soy sauce.
Lu soy (lo shui, China): See soy sauce.
Maltose: Made by fermenting germinated grains of
barley. When used to glaze foods, may have soy sauce and
red food coloring added. Also known as: Malt sugar, [barley
malt syrup].
“Ma-po” dofu [Mabo-dofu]: See beef.
Mean see jiang [mian shi jiang] (min see jiang, China):
See Bean pastes and sauces.