Natto

[JasonTrue]

Unless you're buying a fairly unusual wasabi product (fresh, or from that Oregon company that produces all-wasabi wasabi paste), you're basically using a mix of Japanese mustard, western horseradish and food coloring (with some small amount of real wasabi in some products) when you buy wasabi in a tube or can. So the difference is rather small.

[Hiroyuki]

How long can refrigerated natto last? I'm not sure but I'd say one to two weeks. When natto smells of ammonia, has turned dark brown, and is no longer thready, it's no longer good to eat.

As for wasabi, wasabi is for the maguro. Whether the maguro, natto, and everything else should be mixed together? Well, I had a little discussion in my blog, where Kake provided a link to her beautiful natto maguro.

[Domestic Goddess]

What do you call natto in Korean? I'd like to try out the chongukjang that Sheena has described since I have a lot of sour kimchi in my fridge.

[SheenaGreena]

its just called cheonggukjang in korean (: and the stew that it's usually made into is called cheonggukjang chigae

[melonpan]

cheonggukjang is probably the best name for it, but they are different. cheonggukjang isnt eaten the way natto is, instead it is almost exclusively used in stews. of course there are people who find novel ways to use food stuffs... but its usually a base for stews.

they are similar yet different in the way the following are the same yet different:

miso:duenjang

makizushi:kimbap

natto:cheonggukjang

of these three examples, id say that natto/cheonggukjang are the least similar in usage.

i like natto and it appeals to my korean tastes and i think koreans in general would like natto more, but maybe in the end, its too mild even with wasabi/karashi. not enough garlic, not enough chiles! ;-)

Edited May 5, 2009 by melonpan (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

Okay I did it...I finally ate the natto,,,,Annnnd I love it.

I made two types, the one that Torakris eats for breakfast and plain with the soy sauce, mustard and scallion.

I like the Torakris version better...

I just could never get thru the smell in the past

YAY, Im over that hump now

[Wholemeal Crank]

Waking up this dormant topic because I've got a question about homemade natto vs prepared frozen natto:

 

The diabetes educator was very pleased when I mentioned that I'd enjoyed natto as part of a more savory breakfast on travel to Japan (she notes that starting meals with a protein by itself is better for blood sugar levels), so I decided to get some prepared versions to get a sense of what I should be aiming for when my spores arrive next week.  I went to Nijiya market in Japantown, but was disappointed to only find frozen versions already portioned out in quite remarkably wasteful packaging.  I checked the miso and tofu shelves 3 times, and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything there.

 

The labels were naturally rather opaque being largely in Japanese; the ingredients were all similar (natto, little packets of soy sauce and mustard); so I rather randomly picked two versions.  I let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and tried one of each today. And....I didn't like either of them.

 

The point of making my own would be to start some meals with a spoonful or two of it by itself, then waiting 10 minutes to start on the carbs etc, so diluting it by putting it over cereal for reasons of flavor sort of defeats the purpose.

 

Remembering now how much I disliked matcha based on the sad matcha I was preparing from supermarket offerings before I went to Japan and learned how much I could like it when prepared properly from fine matcha....is this going to be like that?

 

Is it that the prepared versions are stronger flavored than the version offered at the hotel's buffet.....or was it because that was seasoned already.....or was it just that I was eating it with rice and so the strong flavor was diluted....or are they just not very good versions?