For the past several years, dedicated nattophiles have
been organizing an annual dinner for that humble fermented bean, natto. On its
own day no less. What? Natto has its own day? Why yes! And it always falls on
July 10th every year. Simply because “nana” or “na” represents the
number 7 and “to” represents the number 10 hence 7-10 or July 10th. And
once again, the dinner was hosted by the Le clan of The Pig & the Lady. The
festivities usually always include the crowning of a Natto King and Natto Queen
along with various games like natto tossing, natto eating and even natto haiku…
Stinky, slimy bean
Who was the first
to eat you?
Must have been
starving
What is natto and do they make it like that
intentionally? My educated guess is way back when, someone in Japan steamed
some soybeans and unintentionally misplaced a batch somewhere. It just so
happened that this misplaced batch was placed on the straw that coincidentally
harbored some Bacillus subtilis and
it was in a warmer location of the house that allowed the B. subtilis to start fermenting the cooled soybeans. After a couple
of days, the occupants detected the subtle aroma of used gym shoes in the
kitchen and found the now fermented lost batch of soybeans. They probably were
very hungry – like eat the slimy, smelly beans or starve to death hungry
because I can’t see the first gourmands who actually put the natto in their
mouth to really be enthusiastic to chew and swallow something that smelled of
toe jam with the appearance of hanabata.
So it was probably eat it or starve.
Early in my youth, I too never had any inclination to
consume natto willingly. And this was despite learning in my undergraduate
nutrition classes that natto was actually a healthy dietary option. You see
beans are good sources of protein but humans don’t digest these bean proteins
as readily as we digest animal proteins. The fermentation process by B. subtilis helps to pre-digest these
proteins making it a better protein source than if we simply consumed the
steamed soybeans. Natto also contains nattokinase, an enzyme that might help
prevent blood clots from forming – the same blood clots that can lead to a
heart attack or stroke – or assist in dissolving clots that have already
formed. But you still have to get past that smell and texture.
Slimy but it’s
fine
Stinky but so is
French cheese
And tasty with
rice
So though I never tried the fermented bean for more than
half my life, I now enjoy it in certain applications. Like mixed with raw ahi
and Japanese pickles. Or when experiencing the creativity of Chef Andrew Le during
the Midsummer Natto Feast:
BITES
• Natto bo la lot — garlicky beef rolled and grilled in a betel
leaf, with natto
• Natto beignet, parmesan, pickled date
The bo la lot was the Chef’s usual garlic and spiced beef rolled
in betelnut leaves then grilled and simply topped with natto but the beignet!
Crisp exterior, soft almost creamy interior with the umami of both the parmesan
and natto…
FIRST
• Natto and bone marrow, ikura, black truffle, baguette, sake bone
luge — after everything goes on the crisped baguette, you get to drink sake out
of the giant marrow bone
My favorite course of the evening! I know it doesn’t sound like it
would work but earthy, funky natto with fatty bone marrow, briny ikura that
popped in your mouth and truffle… I told Chef Le that he needed to add this to
his regular menu!
SECOND
• Natto pho-sta — think pasta, but you know, with slimy fermented
beans
The pasta itself mixed with the natto was good but the raw sprouts
mixed throughout wasn’t my cup of tea probably because I’m not the biggest fan
of raw bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts. For my personal taste, if he
substituted julienne pickled ginger or cabbage for the sprouts, it then would have
been winnah, winnah, pho-sta dinnah!
THIRD
• Cha ca la vong, natto nuoc cham — because sweet-tart fish sauce
isn’t funky enough by itself
The works, which will have natto on July 12
Another great dish where you added your own “toppings” to
Vietnamese style “somen salad”. Something about the fresh herbs and noodles
with earthy natto flavors and the slimy texture actually enhanced the sauce.
SWEETS
• Natto gelato, brown butter coconut crumble, warm bourbon maple
syrup
• Natto rice crispie treats
Once again, Chef Le astounded me with a natto dessert creation!
The earthiness made the gelato almost savory (Chef Le once sprinkled shaved
truffles – the mushroom variety, not the chocolate variety - on ice cream which
was fabulous) with the brown butter tying together earthy natto and sweet maple
syrup. And those natto rice crispie
treats topped with crumbled bacon... sweet and savory!
Needless to say, it was a very enjoyable dinner and I do plan
attending next year’s Natto Day dinner. If you feel the urge next year, just
view the “Natto Day” web page on Facebook or follow Mari Taketa’s blog on
Frolic Hawaii.
Now I crave natto,
Ahi, fukujin-zuke
On sushi rice… mmmm…
So my natto palate has evolved from “not ever trying that” to it’s
good mixed with the perfect culinary partners to “when’s the next Natto
Dinner”? I’ll come clean, I’m no where near the natto fanatic as most of the
diners who attended this year’s dinner. On its own I still feel that natto
simply tastes like used coffee grounds. Like the grounds found at the bottom of
a cup of Turkish coffee. Though I’ll still try to attend these annual natto
dinners mainly for the camaraderie of sharing a table with fellow foodies whose
craving for natto is the same as my craving for cilantro or the perfect Syrah…
but that’s another column…
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