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

kedele, taugeh. Japan: daizu no moyashi. Korea: Kong
namul. Malaysia: kacang soja, taugeh. Philippines: utaw.
Thailand: thua-lueang.
Soy sauce (p. 351-52). Chinese soy sauce: Dark soy
sauce. Light soy sauce (“Usually labeled ‘superior soy’”).
Mushroom soy sauce (Dark soy sauce that has been fl avored
with straw mushrooms). Japanese soy sauces: Koikuchi
(regular shoyu), tamari, usukuchi. Korean soy sauce
(“About the same colour as Chinese light soy sauce, but not
as fi ercely salty and with a sweet malted aroma”). Thick
and fl avoured soy sauces: Kecap asin (“A dark, salty soy
sauce, from Indonesia, a little thicker than the dark soy of
China”). Kecap manis (A thick, sweet soy sauce from Java,
Indonesia). Kicap cair: “The Malaysian equivalent of light
soy sauce.” Kicap pekat: “The Malaysian equivalent of dark
soy sauce, though thicker than the Chinese version, but not
as thick as kecap manis.” Ponzu shoyu. Toyo mansi (p. 352):
“A soy sauce used in the Philippines soured with kalamansi
juice.”
Tempeh (p. 386). Incl. recipes for Savoury Tempeh and
Thai style tempeh. Tofu (see bean curd).
Also discusses: Adzuki bean, agar-agar (incl. almond
bean curd, awayuki), almond, amaranth, cowpea, crab
in black bean sauce (recipe at crab), daikon, millet,
monosodium glutamate (“I would strongly recommend
omitting it”), Nonya (pronounced ‘Nyonya.’ The unique
cookery found in Malaysia and Singapore resulting from the
fusion of Malay and Chinese cuisine during the last century),
peanut, peanut sauce, sago (this palm fl owers only once in
its life, at about age 15. Just before fl owering, it builds up
a large reserve of starch in the pith. The tree is felled, the
pith scooped out, ground and washed to make sago starch),
seaweed (incl. agar-agar, hijiki, kombu / konbu, mozuku,
nori / laver, wakame), sesame paste, sesame seed, vegetarian
meals (“By far the most important vegetarian food in the Far
East... is bean curd”). Address: Australia.
1626. Tamang, J.P.; Nikkuni, Sayuki. 1998. Effect of
temperatures during pure culture fermentation of kinema.
World J. of Microbiology and Biotechnology 14(6):847-50.
[13 ref]
• Summary: Using a pure culture starter, whole cooked
soybeans were fermented at 35ºC, 40ºC, and 45ºC for 24
hours. Key variables were recorded. At higher temperatures
the bacteria grew more rapidly. “A remarkable increase in
the relative viscosity of kinema was observed at 40ºC...”
Moreover, kinema matured at below 10ºC for one day after
the desired fermentation showed an additional signifi cant
increase in viscosity. The quality of kinema was maintained
by pure culture fermentation using a select strain of Bacillus
subtilis at 40ºC, for 20 hours, and matured at 5ºC for one
day. Address: National Food Research Inst., Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 2-1-2, Kannondai,
Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305 Japan 305. Present address of Tamang:
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 503
Microbiology Research Lab., Sikkim Government College,
Gangtok, Sikkim 737 102, India. Phone: 091-3592-31503.
Fax: 091-3592-22707.
1627. Tamang, Jyoti Prakash; Tamang, Namrata. 1998.
Traditional food recipes of the Sikkim Himalayas. Gangtok,
Sikkim, India: Sikkim Biodiversity and Eco-tourism Project,
GBPIHED. 31 p. [Eng]
• Summary: The three main ethnic groups of the Sikkim
Himalayas are the Nepalis, the Bhutias, and the Lepchas.
Table 1 shows the traditional fermented foods of this area;
one of these is kinema. Table 2 shows the traditional nonfermented
foods of this area; one of these is Vatamas ko
achar, a pickled soybean food [seasoning].
Recipes for kinema (p. 6-7) and Vatamas ko achar (p.
7) are given. The ingredients for the latter seasoning are:
Soybean 200 gm. Ginger paste 1 tablespoon. Chili powder 1
teaspoon. Salt 1 teaspoon. Mustard oil 1 tablespoon. Method:
Roast soybean in a pan, then grind. Add all the ingredients to
soybean powder and mix well. Keep in a covered jar; it can
be kept for several days. Serve with cooked rice / Selroti.
Note: According to a PowerPoint presentation by
Dr. Tamang in 2010, Vatamas ko achar is consumed in
Nepal, Darjeeling, and Sikkim, primarily by Nepalis, who
also consume (in this same area) roasted soybeans (called
vatamas) and boiled whole soybeans (also called vatamas).
Address: 1. PhD, PDF (Japan); 2. M.Sc., B.Ed. Both: Food
Microbiology Lab., Sikkim Government College, Gangtok,
Sikkim 737 102, India.
1628. Watanabe, S. Assignor to Suzuyo Kogyo Co. Ltd.
1998. [Fermentation room with a horizontal fl ow type of air
conditioner. Fermentation room for natto]. Japanese Patent
No. 0289668. [Jap]*
1629. Watanabe, S. Assignor to Suzuyo Kogyo Co. Ltd.
1998. [Continuous fermentation system and fermentation
room. Applicant]. Japanese Patent No. 2760380. [Jap]*
1630. Wood, Brian J.B. ed. 1998. Microbiology of fermented
foods. 2nd ed. 2 vols. London: Blackie Academic &
Professional / Thompson Science. An imprint of Chapman &
Hall. [300+ ref]
• Summary: Soybeans are discussed extensively. In Vol. 1,
in the chapter titled “Fermented protein foods in the Orient:
shoyu and miso,” by Yokotsuka and Sasaki (p. 351-416) are
detailed and historical discussions of chu (koji), chiang (p.
355), and shi (fermented black soybeans, p. 355-56), chiangyu
(soy sauce, p. 356-57), etc.
In the Ben-Chao-Gong Mu [Bencao gangmu, The great
pharmacopoeia, 1596] many types of shi are discussed. In
more recent times these have apparently been classifi ed
into three types depending on the microorganism used in
the fermentation: (1) Aspergillus oryzae type. (2) Mucor