Natto (Fermented Soybeans) with Somen Noodles

Posted by Judy | Bebe Love Okazu on July 18, 2011 in Baby's Food, Blog, Japanese Cuisine Favorites, Pasta & Noodles, Rice & Sushi, Toddler, Vegetables & Vegetarian | 14 comments

Great news! Bebe E graduated from “Tadpole” to “Guppy” at her swim school! (In other words, from beginner to intermediate.) Hurray for Bebe E! OK… I admit that I am an overly proud parent who is using this blog to boast about her child’s accomplishment, but seriously, can you blame this first-time parent?!?

Rather than continue to gloat about Bebe E’s achievement, I will share with you the school that we attend and why we chose this school over other swim classes available in our area.

We attend Waterworks Aquatics. They have locations in three cities across Los Angeles and Orange County. Their focus is on water safety versus water play. This means that our class is very focused. Fortunately, we are given “free play” time before and after class so that we can spend some time in the pool playing with toys and hanging-out.  So our goals for the beginner class were to get comfortable going under the water for a slow three second count (with adult assistance) and also being comfortable floating on the back (with adult assistance).  The school’s goal is to get kids comfortable with being under water (if they happen to accidentally fall in the pool) and roll over and float on their back to breath (and not drown). I think it’s a great goal.

From what I understand, in the intermediate, or Guppy, class we focus more on learning to kick while going underwater simultaneously with less adult assistance (i.e. short periods of actual swimming alone) and rolling over onto the back (and kicking) from a face down position (a learned response to prevent drowning). I’m not sure how Bebe E will adjust to her new, more challenging class but hopefully she will continue to enjoy her time in the pool.

Summer water safety event: Bebe E, Aya-chan and I got a tour of the fire engine and ambulance on display. We also got to meet Sweetie the Duck, a few fire fighters, paramedics and police officers. Then we got to take a swim in the outdoor pool after Bebe E scored a Junior Fire Fighter’s hat.

So what about natto?

Ahhh natto… To me, this is the quintessential Japanese food.

If you’ve never met natto, and do not already love natto, it is potentially a very offensive food and what some may refer to in a politically correct manner, as an “acquired taste”. To say that it’s aroma is not pleasant, might be an understatement for some. It is, after all, fermented.

Those of you unfamiliar with natto will:

A) Never try it because the smell is so offensive you won’t touch it with a 50-foot pole.

This is Bebe Dada. This was also me when I was younger and before I became a vegetarian for a while. My Mom used to eat this all the time when I was a kid and it always smelled so horribly foul from across the dinner table, I refused to ever try one bite. No one could pay me to eat it.

B) Try it because someone will pay you $0.25 cents to eat one smelly fermented bean.

This is Big Onechan. She ate one bean and said, “It’s not THAT bad, but I don’t want any. Can I have my quarter now? And Daddy, remember when you told me you would give me $0.10 cents if I would eat that red egg (she was referring to ikura), well you haven’t paid me for that yet.” To this day, she has not been paid for eating either natto or ikura, but any time we mention either of these, she says, “Oh yea, I remember that. Hey, you guys said you would pay me to eat those but you never did!” LOL. Now that she’s older, we can’t pay her to eat anything, although she might try to negotiate in $5 denominations.

C) Take one bite, just because you are naive and don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.

This is Bebe E. Bebe E is still learning about different foods and she’ll usually try one bite of anything you put in front of her. After that first bite, however, there’s no guarantee that she’ll take another bite. She made a funny face after I fed her natto. I’m going to try again and see if she pulls away, or if she’ll happily chew a few fermented soy beans. (Bebe E is now a toddler and she loves, loves, loves natto. It is now our favorite go-to lunch!)

D) Try it, just one little bite, because you’re vegetarian and your mom says it has a lot of protein. Turns out you love natto.

That’s me. It turns out that natto only stinks from a distance. When you eat it all dressed up (with the fixins’), it is pretty tasty and it doesn’t really smell anymore. Immediately, I found myself asking why I never tried this before!

What is natto, exactly?

Natto is a traditional Japanese food that is often eaten with rice for breakfast. Many of you might be wondering why anyone would want to eat such pungent faire for breakfast but protein is excellent brain food and a great way to start the day! I’ve never eaten it for breakfast, however, I’m more an oatmeal, cereal or yogurt-kinda gal.

According to my Google research, natto is thought to have originated during Japan’s feudal times (1185-1868). Others believe natto originated in China during the Zhou Dynasty (1134 – 246 BC), while others believe natto was discovered independently at different times throughout history.

There is also the Japanese story of Hachimantaro, a Japanese samurai of the Minamoto clan, otherwise known as Minamoto no Yoshie who is thought to have discovered natto. According to legend, Hachimantaro was in battle during 1086 – 1088 in northeastern Japan when his clan was attacked while boiling soybeans for their horses. They hurriedly packed their beans in straw bags but did not open them for a few days after battle. When they discovered the beans, they were fermented but the soldiers ate it anyway. (I’m a little confused at this point in the story because I thought the beans were for their horses but I assume they had a food shortage because they forgot about the horses and ate rotten soybeans.) Apparently, the soldiers liked the taste, thought it was good despite the smell, and offered some to Hachimantaro who also thought it was good.

Interestingly, after further research, it turns out that natto can be made in the oven, packed in between straw. (I read this on eHow.com) It is first soaked, then steamed, then baked, packed in straw, in the oven. It is then stored in the fridge.

I’ve never considered making natto myself although my Mom has friends who make natto at home. I simply buy it at the local Japanese market. There are a number of different varieties – big soybeans, small soybeans, chopped soybeans. They also come in different flavor sauces – shiso flavored sauce (perilla leaf), dashi shoyu (soy sauce) flavored, with karashi (hot mustard), or plain. I typically buy the small soybeans or the chopped soybeans with a simple dashi shoyu tare (sauce). Then I add all the fixings.