DISCLAIMER: This post is not meant for the faint-hearted!!! Read on at your own risk. Photos may be graphic to some! 😛
This corner is where I’ll be introducing interesting things I encounter while in Japan, sometimes unexpectedly.
For my first edition, I’m going to talk about a certain natto recipe! Actually, this is hardly a secret recipe, I googled it and found many people posting about it, but this is a combination that I myself had never tried before…Until that recent trip to Tokyo. My dad was born in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, well-known and famous for natto, so I LOVE natto!
Wait, I gotta backtrack. There may be some of you who don’t know what natto is. Natto to me, is delicious, yummy and slimy goodness!
It’s fermented soy beans, often topped over rice, or rolled into a sushi roll, put in soups, mixed in pastas or pizzas. Creations are endless.
Whenever I go to a sushi restaurant, I always make it a habit of ordering natto sushi.
I smile as I recall the time during Taste of Japan this year, in a Tsukiji sushi joint, when Casey and I devoured natto sushi and grossed out some of the people in our group. Sorry about that, but I was in heaven! 🙂
Natto, as smelly as it is, actually has fantastic nutritional benefits. (Some people say it smells like stinky feet, but not to me!) Some even say natto is the reason why Japanese people live such long lives.
My dear Osakan friend that I mentioned in my Slang blog (you know, the one that always says NANDEYANEN to me after everything I say) never liked natto growing up. Common fact: Many people in Osaka dislike natto. However, she grew to be a fan as she got older. She introduced me to the new natto dish when she made dinner for us. We had grilled salmon, salad, and rice with 10 different grains (healthy!) AND a natto & avocado mixture!
I tried it and LOVED IT! I would have never guessed that natto would go SO well with avocado. I wish I had known sooner!
So, here I am, back in California, where avocados are delicious and plentiful! I recreated the yumminess I had in Tokyo. Did you know there’s even “Niowa-natto,” which literally translates to “no stink natto!?”
I documented my experience. (OMG, right?) Have a look. (Note the glistening-ness of the natto LOL)
“Niowa-natto” and Avocado
YUM YUM! I even licked the bowl. JK! But seriously, give it a try! Be adventurous! 🙂
Hmm…natto and avocado. I can see that as a texture-thing. Sounds good. Now if only I could get natto in the midwest to try this.
Hey Rich! Aww-Natto is not easily accessible there 🙁 Is an Asian market too far to cycle to from your house? 😛 I’m sure you could go the distance!