In the last couple of weeks at Vegan Bits, Lane started a discussion about natto. Having multi-generational familiarity with natto, I thought I’d share some additional information to help uninitiated westeners navigate this unusual food.

Like so many other great foods out there, natto was invented quite by accident according to Hiroko Shimbo, in “The Japanese Kitchen”. This accidental invention involved a bacteria residing in rice straw. Before natto was packaged in styrofoam or plastic containers it was once sold in wrappers of rice straw. Shimbo also explains that until not that long ago there were some places in Japan where natto was not a popular food item!

Natto is made by inoculating cooked soybeans with the natto bacteria and allowing them to ferment. Fresh natto is best eaten within the first few days, but freezes very well. I buy my natto from the freezer section of the Japanese market. It usually comes packaged in sets of 3 small foam or plastic containers weighing about 1.75 oz. each.

Natto is a good source of calcium, iron and magnesium. It is a very easily digestible protein and the fermentation gives the added bonus of supplying vitamin B12 - an important nutrient for those adhering to a vegan diet.

Shimbo recommends trying natto with miso soup. I second that recommendation as it makes the acquired taste of natto completely disappear.

For using in miso soup, remove natto from one 1.75 oz. package and rinse in a colander. Roughly chop, add to the soup water and cook for a couple of minutes before continuing with the recipe. If desired you can use a bit of the mustard sauce included with the natto as a garnish for the soup.

One last note for vegans and vegetarians: When shopping for natto, you may notice on some packages the addition of bonito flakes or extract. Typically this is part of the soy sauce mixture contained in a tiny sealed plastic packet with the natto. If you have no qualms about buying this and simply throwing it away, it will make your search for a dietarily acceptable natto much easier.

Those of you looking to try new healthful foods or in search of a way to enjoy natto, I hope you try it in the soup. Let me know how it goes.