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What Does Natto Taste Like? – Learn Everything About Natto

Tim Parry

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Natto is a traditional Japanese food that has been eaten in Japan for centuries. In this blog post, we will try to answer what does natto taste like and what are the benefits of eating it.

What Is Natto?

Natto is a traditional Japanese nouveau dish made with boiled soybeans fermented with Bacillus natto. The natto culture comes in two forms, nattokinase, and nattofactor.

Nattokinase is the enzyme that helps break down blood clots, while nattofactor promotes intestinal health by helping to neutralize toxins in the gut.

It’s very popular among people who are at risk for heart disease or stroke because it contains high levels of vitamin K2. As an added bonus, natto also contains all nine essential amino acids (the ones your body can’t make on its own), which makes it a complete protein source!

How To Make Natto?

How to make natto

There are many ways to make natto, but the following is a simple recipe anyone can do at home.

  1. Soak soybeans in water make sure they are fully submerged overnight.
  2. Heat beans until boiling.
  3. Remove from heat and let stand for five minutes.
  4. Add “cooked rice, koji (a specific kind of mold), and salt”, mix well.
  5. Cover with lid or kitchen towel.
  6. Leave out of the refrigerator for three days.

At this point, the beans should be fermenting. You can taste them to see if they are tangy enough for your liking. Once ready, you can chill natto in the refrigerator or serve it cold.

Natto can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week and is best consumed on the same day it is prepared.

The Taste of Natto 

If you’ve never tried natto before, you’re probably wondering how it tastes. It has a strong flavor and smells that most people find either disgusting or an acquired taste. Others love it for its unique flavor and texture. If you’re in the latter category, then we’ll explore what does natto tastes like.

The first thing to know about natto’s taste is that there are different opinions on what exactly it tastes like.

  • With its slimy consistency and strong smell that many describe as “slimy,” “putrid,” or “rotten eggs,” few would say that the taste of natto is pleasant for everyone.
  • Some say they can detect hints of soy sauce, while others say it reminds them more of cheese with a pungent odor when cooking with onions.

But all agree that once they got over the initial taste, they came to enjoy it.

Natto tastes best when served warm and mixed with a few other ingredients. It’s important not to overcook because it can become very slimy and difficult to eat if cooked for too long at high heat. Instead, you should add the natto towards the end of cooking or just mix it into the dish without cooking it.

Natto is often served as a breakfast food in Japan, so you should also consider adding some eggs and other items to your meal for an even more filling meal!

Benefits of Eating Natto

Natto is a very good source of vitamins that’s important for health as:

  • It is an excellent source of vitamin K2, which aids in the absorption of calcium from food. Vitamin K2 also helps maintain healthy bones and teeth by regulating the semi-calcification of bone tissues.
  • This particular food also contains beneficial bacteria called Bifidobacterium, which usually helps with digestion.
  • Boron is another mineral in natto that can improve brain health and also lowers the risk of developing osteoporosis.
  • Natto contains all eight essential amino acids but has a higher protein content than tofu or other soybean products because it is fermented.

It may not be an easy food to get accustomed to if you’re new to eating natto, but it’s an excellent choice for healthy, sustainable weight loss.

Recipes With Natto

Recipes with natto

Natto can be added to many different recipes, but here are some that taste especially good with it!

Natto fried rice – A simple dish made by cooking natto in soy sauce. It tastes similar to traditional Japanese “tendon” (tempura) but is healthier.

Yakisoba (Japanese stir fry noodles) is a popular fast food dish in Japan. It’s usually topped with a delicious sauce, but you can make it healthier by adding natto to the pan before cooking!

– Noodle soup is considered one of the best winter dishes because it warms up your body and wards off colds. Adding some natto makes this beloved Japanese dish even more nutritious than ever!

Natto spaghetti is a great way to get kids who hate their vegetables to eat them. The sauce can be made from tomato, cream, or cheese – it all depends on your child’s tastes! Just mix the natto with cooked pasta and top it off with whatever spices you think would taste best. It will definitely become one of your kids’ favorite meals!

– Any type of Japanese curry tastes great with natto. The sticky texture and nutty flavor make it an especially good fit for the more traditional types of coconut milk curries (like Katsu or Kare), but you can also add them to milder dishes like beef, shrimp, okra, and eggplant without altering the taste too much.

Top 5 Ways To Enjoy Natto

Natto can be enjoyed in many different ways: on toast, in a salad, as an ingredient for sushi rice balls, as a topping for hot pot and ramen noodles, or even eaten alone with curry sauce over rice or noodles. These are just five possible ways to enjoy the deliciousness of Natto without being put off by its unique texture and pungent smell.

Toast

The first way to enjoy Natto is on toast. Simply spread a generous amount of natto onto buttered bread and add some pickled ginger for an extra kick!

Salad

It can also be enjoyed in a salad by mixing together with other vegetable ingredients such as carrot, onion, and lettuce; this will not only make it easier to eat but also make it more delicious.

Sushi rice balls

Natto can be used as an ingredient for sushi rice balls where the natto is mixed with other ingredients such as sweet egg, salmon flakes, or chopped tuna to create a sticky consistency that sticks together in your hands when forming into round shapes.

Hot pot & ramen noodles

Natto tastes great on top of a hot pot and ramen noodles! Simply mix it with the rest of your hot pot or ramen ingredients, and you’ll have a delicious meal in no time.

Curry sauce

The last way to enjoy Natto is by eating it with curry sauce over rice or noodles. To make this dish, simply warm up some Japanese curry on top of cooked white rice or soba noodles and add natto while it’s still hot.

If you can get past the texture of Natto, we promise that you won’t regret trying this traditional Japanese dish!

Conclusion

If you are a fan of discovering new foods and have an adventurous palate, then this might be the perfect dish for you. Natto is a traditional Japanese food that has been eaten in Japan for centuries. In this blog post, we will try to answer what does natto taste like and what are the benefits of eating it.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, it looks like sticky rice or mashed potatoes but tastes very different from either one!

There are many different ways to enjoy Natto, and the only limit is your imagination. It can be served warm or cold on top of sushi, over steamed rice as part of a bento box lunch (with tamagoyaki), or eaten by itself mixed with soy sauce and wasabi. Thank you for following our post!!!

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Tim Parry

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