Natto tales

I just love natto - those stinky, gooey, stringy fermented soybeans traditionally eaten for breakfast in Japan. Natto on toast, natto spaghetti, natto brown rice, natto omelette.. I could eat natto every day and not get fed up of the stuff. Natto is a great source of protein and vitamin B2, so it's great for vegetarians, plus it has high levels of vitamin K2 which can combat osteoporosis, and vitamin E which can slow the ageing process. The stickiness of natto, the nattokinase is an enzyme which can prevent bloodclotting. I'm sure that these health benefits add to its addictive properties.

Speaking to a fellow natto-addict last week we remarked that there seemed to have been a run on the natto at our local Nara and Osaka supermarkets. The natto section was bare, save for a lone pack of pre-chopped spreadable beans (blergh). What's going on we cried? Has there been a soybean blight? Is natto seasonal?

I'd forgotten all about the natto shortage until I overheard an animated natto conversation in the staffroom this week. It was explained to me that a hugely popular health show on TV had claimed that eating natto morning and night helped shed the pounds and people had rushed out to stock up on the stuff. The show later had to take back its claims as it seems they weren't strictly, you know, 'scientifically' true. Hilarious ! One teacher was fuming that he had stockpiled so much natto that he couldn't fit anything else in his fridge.

The BBC reports that the incident has led to a row in the national media about the show.



The whole incident highlights the sad fact that obsessions with health are often linked to being slim as opposed to being truly healthy.

Sarah's natto brown rice salad

Try this recipe if you want to try natto but the smell puts you off. I guarantee that even self-confessed natto haters have enjoyed this ! I think the natto makes the rice salad moist and yummy and more-ish.

1. First of all put a cupful of brown rice on to cook
2. Put the natto into a small bowl. Now stir the natto vigorously with a chopstick. The Japanese recommend you stir* at last 100 times, but I don't think that's necessary. Just make sure the natto has woken up !
3. Add a little soy sauce and mustard to the natto. These are usually provided in the pack.
4. Grate a carrot
5. Quarter some cherry tomatoes
6. Cut half a cucumber into smallish chunks
7. When the rice has cooked just add the carrots, tomatoes and cucumber and natto to the rice, giving it a good stir
8. Pour the mixture into a small bowl.
9. Top with sesame seeds, nori and squeezed lemon juice.
10. Enjoy.

(*The more you stir the stringier it gets, but the stringier it gets the more healthy it is..)

Of course you can experiment with this recipe, I especially like spinach and mushrooms added to this if you have the time..

Natto nuts on the web:

Nattoland
The Natto Project
Natto for Everybody

Fighting fire with fire

Report described as 'wonderful' by PM urges Japanese schools to consider reintroducing corporal punishment in order to tackle bullying.. Other measures discussed include increasing class hours and switching the start of the school term from April to September.